Day 11

Day 11: 34 miles

Early in the morning today I came upon an opening in the trees to see the sun just upon the horizon as Roar by Katy Perry and I knew it was going to be a good day. It felt like a scene out of a 2009 feel good movie.

It was a fast moving morning to get out of the smokies. I was in a hurry to get out of the constant ice and once I got down to like 3500 feet elevation I finally got to walk on some dirt for the first time in a few days. It felt good to finally take off my microspikes.

I did a food resupply at standing bear hostel which seemed like a great place. Really nice workers.

I left there at 2:45 starting with a 2000 foot climb and 16 miles to go. I ended up finishing earlier than I hoped, around 9:30.

There was a few other thru hikers camped at the same place I was. They were mostly sleeping when I got there there and still sleeping when I left in the morning. One guy did sound like he was dying in agonizing fashion in his sleep. He kept moaning things like “ohhhh my gosh” “it hurts” “the paaaiinnn.” Nobody else seemed concerned so I guess he was alright.

I passed some beautiful places today but didn’t stop to take a ton of pictures. I was a man on a mission for football. Only 18 miles into town.

Song of the day: Roar- Katy Perry