Meeting the Pack

Day 55 8/6

Mileage 10

Camped at Branch Mountain Shelter

Today we got a ride from Will to the trailhead at Highway 140. I hope he's back in action soon. It was weird being off the trail even for a short time. I think being off-trail for a bit helped renew my enthusiasm for being on trail. The days had started to blur together a bit, so it was good to have the chance to step back and remember how much fun I'm having. As we started hiking it became clear that we've hit the northbound pack. We might have seen 30 or 40 thru hikers today. Whoa. It made me glad I'm going south, but also made me wish a bit that I had this kind of extended community all around me. We did get to hang out a bunch at the shelter tonight, which was great. There are maybe a dozen people here. Most aren't even in the shelter.

Trail crews are superpeople