After our reunion with Candy Pants and Two Pack we decided over dinner to wake up early and tackle the mountains that the morning had in store.
In the morning our alarms went off at 5:30am sharp and we peeled ourselves from our wet sleeping bags, thankful for the frosty mornings to be (hopefully) behind us for good. We were on the road before 7am which made us the first group to reach the huge container of cold sodas 500ft before the summit of the mountain. De-licious.
The day went slowly and smoothly with all of us taking our time and enjoying the scenery. It was beautiful and sunny with views of rolling hills back to the mountains we had just completed. The last climb of the day up to the ridge line was brutal - pretty much straight up for a 1500 ft elevation gain (the Revenge of Jacobs Ladder, Red Knees deemed it - affectionately). At the top we took a good long break to let our hamstrings recover before setting out for the next shelter.
As we got to the first shelter the sky began to darken and we heard thunder far in the distance. The shelter was a ways off the trail so we opted to push on. After a mile or so on the ridge line it began to rain. And then thunder. By the time the lightning began rolling through, Barbarossa, Red Knees, Two Pack, Candy Pants and myself were mid rock scramble on an exposed rock ridge line. Perfect. When the hail started coming down, the girls all finally gave in and found shelter beneath a slight rock overhang. It didn't help much but it kept us from being pelted by the marble-sized hail (I MAY be exaggerating a bit).
When the rain finally subsided we emerged, soaked to the core, and began to trudge on. I wiped my mental copy of my last will & testament from my mind and went back to walking. The rocks, however, were slick with the fresh rain and our girl Two Pack just about slipped off the rock on several occasions. It would've been scary if we weren't all giggling deliriously.
The decent into camp was slippery and slow, especially with our wet clothing on. The sun was beating down yet again so we all stripped down to our very basest layers (we kept it PG don't worry!) and finished the hike with our clothes drying on the back of our packs. Are we ready for hike naked day? You bet!
That night we knew the rain would be back so we quickly set up tent and made our dinners under the protection of our rain flies. Not before, of course, us finding a black and yellow turtle making his way through the camp (a turtle? Really?). I, of course, did the smart thing and stayed away from it, fearing that it's neon yellow coloring indicated that it may be poisonous like some brightly colored frogs. At least this was my logic. Le sigh.
We woke the next morning to find the entirety of the tribe had rolled in late the night before and we were finally reunited for good! The hike was simple and thankfully dry over the Dragons Tooth (beautiful view) and we got into Four Pines Hostel by late afternoon.
The hostel is nothing more than a three car garage emptied out and filled with a motley assortment of questionably stained couches, cots and recliner chairs. There was a makeshift bathroom in the back which had septic tank problems and definitely required shower shoes but for the price (read: donation based), it was perfect.
When we arrived the cots and couches had been claimed so we cleared a huge space on the floor for our epic slumber party. That night the owner of the hostel, Joe, drove us into the Home Place restaurant for all you can eat traditional, home-cooked southern food. It hurt so good.
Today we left late after waiting around most of the morning for our laundry and did a short, relatively easy 10 miles over McAfee Knob, hands down the most widely known view on the AT, falling at about the 700 mile mark.
It is beautiful where we are camped, amongst a rock outcropping just below the summit but it is cold and I am wiped. Headed to Daleville tomorrow!
I love these pictures, Emily! Especially the one of you on the rock ledge, dangling over NOTHING! Keep it up, girl!
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