The Sprout: Day 5 (Friday)

Jeff not too far ahead of me

We got an even earlier start today than yesterday.  We were on the trail at 6:00 a.m.  Word on the trail was that it was supposed to rain throughout the night.  We didn't get any rain but it was super windy.  It was pretty dark when we hit the trail and about 45 minutes in it started to thunder and lightning off in the distance.   All I really wanted to do at this point was to get off the mountain and get into the valley before it started storming!  Luckily, the lightning passed but we did have to deal with a little rain.  At least now I know my rain cover works!  At the top of Bald Gap the fog was rolling in the mountains.  It looked like something out of a movie.

Tree down

The White Walkers taught us how to make cowboy coffee so we made a batch when we got to Swift Gap.  Cowboy coffee is just boiling the water and dumping the coffee grounds in and let it sit for about ten minutes off of the fire.  Fortunately, we had service at Swift Gap so we called everyone in the family to let them know we were safe.  

Another great view

There were so many squirrels on the trail today, at least 5 that I counted, one chipmunk, and a huge deer too.  Every morning while we're walking I always hear woodpeckers off in the distance.

Spring is poking through

The nats have been bad lately.  Maybe it's because we smell now haha.

If you look closely we are at the red dot

We did 12 miles today that puts us at 54! A mile from our hut we stopped at this camp store it was the best thing ever. Jeff and I got there before Maggie.  I got a cinnamon roll and a 20oz Coke. Jeff got a Yoohoo and a blueberry muffin and we split a sleeve of Oreos! It hit the spot!

White Walkers Dogs.  Hence why White Walkers has a plural trail name.

They had showers there and we definitely took advantage of that!! $1.00 for five minutes. I washed my clothes the first five and took a shower the second round. I can't even tell you how much we needed a shower, lol!!

Maggie carefully walking the trail

Today was a good day. Since the hut was so close we bought some hot dogs and hot dog sauce. We bought some other things for the rest of the week too.  Ramen, pop tarts, and trail mix. We're all set and ready until our next drop box.  We gave White Walkers a couple of hot dogs too. We all had a good time and he showed us a few natural fire starters.  I think this is his third time on the trail so he knows a few tricks!

Happy Hiker

Day:  5

Miles hiked:  12.4

Miles off trail to shelter:  0

Total Miles hiked on the trail:  54.8

Blisters:  0
Real Bears:   0
Deer:  5

Squirrels: 8
Chipmunk: 1
Snail: 1

We smell!