Sprout Day 174 (Saturday, September 17, 2016)

We got back on trail after taking an unplanned zero in Buena Vista. Bubbles shoes didn't show up at the post office so we had to figure out a plan B. She couldn't hike anymore in crocs as she just did the past 50 miles in them. The shoes that she got in Richmond did not fit her feet right and were giving her major blisters and hurting her feet in general.

We didn't know what we were going to do because the post office wasn't going to be open again until Monday and they told us they already got all the deliveries for the day. To make matters worse, New Balance wasn’t much help. They couldn't even give us a tracking number for the order!

Poppa Lip decided he was going to bring Bubbles the shoes she needed. He had an extra pair at the house for when the ones we were waiting on got too beat up and needed replaced. He drove six hours to meet us at the campground in Buena Vista! Thanks a lot Poppa Lip. We appreciate everything you do for us!

It was great seeing him and we were at a perfect spot for him to come meet us. He was able to drive his van right up to where we were camping. We got up early this morning and went to the Food Lion and grabbed breakfast at Denney’s.

By 11:00 a.m. we were on the trail and went 11.3 miles to the Punch Bowl Shelter. There are three other people here, two section hikers and I'm not sure about the other guy. I got here at the same time as Whiskers. We filled our water and set up camp on top of a hill behind the shelter. We are planning on 15 miles tomorrow now that Bubbles isn’t hindered by her Crocs!

Interesting Sculpture

Back on the trail

Brown Mountain Creek History

You can see some ruins through the leaves

Make it to Brown Mountain Shelter

Look at those new shoes!

More Brown Mountain Creek Community History

Taking a short break

Time to fill up the water

It's great to get some history of the area when we are on the trail

Dinner on the trail

Day: 174
Miles hiked: 11.3
Total Miles hiked on the trail: 1399.7
Baby Bear: 1
Bald Eagle: 1
Bluegill: 2
Butterflies: 8
Chipmunks: 3
Cows: 24
Crawfish: 1
Deer: 20
Donkeys: 2
Grouse: 1
Horses: 15
Hummingbird: 1
Inchworm: 1
Really Big Dog: 1
Mice: 2
Moose: 2
Nest of bugs: 2
Newts: 2
Owl: 1
Rabbit: 1
Red Squirrel: 1
Skunk: 1
Snail: 1
Snake: 2
Squirrels: 12
Toads: 3
Trout: 2
Turkeys: 4
Turtles: 107
Vultures: 6
Woodpecker: 1