Left camp 7:30am for a long down hilled day. My IT-bands were not the main issue. I may have tendinitis in my right heel. I need to be sure to stretch. I was not stretching as needed in those cold temps when in the Smokies.
Hiked with another Amish guy for a good bit, Blue Whale is his trail name. I was very interested in hearing about his life because I honestly only know the stereotypes. He certainly found those funny by the way. He doesn’t believe it, but the endurance certainly shows.
Made it to Standing bear hostel about noon. Managed to dry my clothes there. Oh yeah…Meet John from the channel, “Nemor’s World” I followed on Youtube for trail research. He thru-hiked the AT in 2015. For the first 30 minutes, I was acting like a fan, probably even annoying, but after some time passed it was chill. Cool guy. Not too serious either. Got that slight smart ass personality. All postive vibes though. Not completely sure why he is thru-hiking the AT again or if he intends to finish, but he is quite fast. He started late April, crushing 20-30 miles a day.
Yeah I got a photo of him…
Rumors about the Standing Bear Farm hostel do add up when you get there. This place is paradise for hikers, but I am convinced after being there myself, that the hostel is a perfect cover up for what is really going on there. If you are interested in more details, message me or check it out yourself! It will not take you too long. Message/text me if you are interested in hearing more. There are details I am leaving out.
The Porta potties by the way, at the Standing Bear Hostel were the cleaniest I have ever seen a porta potty…looked up at last service date on the inside of the door while I was doing my business and it was today’s date, May 8th, 2017. What a great day! =)
Great future conversations with NPA. Like what our next moves might be next in life. Talking about how much we very much appreciate where we are right now. This really passed the time for those last five miles.
Got into camp real late. The fellows in the shelter squeezed some room for me so I am very greatful. 🙂 Suprisingly met up with Mountain Man and Sprout again. As mentioned earlier before we left Gatlinburg when the roads to Newfound Gap were closed, they were thinking about a flip flop. So it looks like after staying one more night in Gatlinburg, they decided to execute those plans, likely to avoid the snow, which certainly was a good idea. Anyways, I got to know them a little better, eating our dinners at the same time, 9pm. Yes, hanging our food, was not pleasant this late.
