4/24 223.4

Well, the free shuttle was full, but with our thumbs out for less than a minute on the main street in Gatlinburg, Glenn and Joyce were kind enough to give Rambo, Chilidog, and I a ride back to Newfound Gap. Thanks again! Pleasant hiking again today, we couldn’t have timed the weather better for the Smokies. And today the views were near-constant.

Up on “Charlie’s Bunion”
My lunch spot
This shelter was busy, but the conversation and vibes around the fire in the stone fireplace were lovely
You could’ve filmed an REI commercial
Fireplace gazing

4/25 241.8

Finished the Smokies! TONS of downhill today (like 5000ish feet total leaving the Smokies). I’ll sure miss that gorgeous spruce forest. We did descend into full spring foliage, though. Everything was just beginning to bud up in the Smokies (which was neat because of visibility and it really felt like early Spring extended just for us). Down here, everything is nearly fully leafed out at this point. Feels like a different world.

Was crazy to see this much water in one place just after the descent, it was mostly just small springs before
River crossing just out of the Smokies

After finishing the Smokies and encountering some lovely trail magic (thanks to Snore’s parents and to the other amazing duo who were there celebrating a 10th thru hiker anniversary) I picked a site just off the trail a bit past Standing Bear Farms, a hostel. After setting up, I walked the .2 to the hostel because I figured some friends of mine would be there, and they sure were! Not only did I get to see Sprout, Jessie, and Rambo who I’ve hiked with recently, but Gwen, Pyro, Nick, and Hannah, all of whom I’ve known since early in the trail, were there. It was a lovely reunion, and I hung out for hours to catch up with folks. It’s amazing how running into someone you hiked a few days with soon after you started the trail feels like a reunion with an old, dear friend you haven’t seen in years.

4/26 257.0

After encountering Gwen last night at standing bear, I heard his voice saying Hello outside my tent as I was packing up this morning! I finished packing up, and then we hiked all day together. Today was rainy, but not in an unpleasant way. One of those rains that lends a misty, mystical, rainforest feel to everything. Gwen and I were so invested in the conversation, today’s 15ish miles absolutely flew by. We didn’t stop talking for the whole 7 hours or so of hiking, and it was lovely, especially on a wet day like today. We also made it to the famous Max Patch!

A couple fun stats: we passed the 10% point back at 220 miles! And, this became my longest hike so far at mile 231!