Day 11 update

So its been a crazy few days here. First, on last week Tuesday I stayed at Tray Mountain Shelter in Georgia.  This is a shelter about 4300 feet on the top of a mountain where winds do not stop at night. I should have known something was up when I saw that the shelter had tarps hanging at the entrance. This was to protect hikers at night from the ever blowing wind. That night it also went below freezing which meant that I had to get my rain gear out and wear it all night to stay warm. I don't think I've ever been so cold.

Sometime after Tray Mountain I crossed the GA/NC line. It was a nice spot in the middle of nowhere.  I sat down and had lunch and relaxed sitting on the border. I had covered about 75 miles by this point!

I planned a zero day in Franklin, NC on Monday. I ended up arriving in Franklin a day later than planned because I was sticking with my hiking buddy Turtle (aka Sam). After getting into town before noon and seeing the hostel I decided against staying for a zero day. I restocked my food, bought some new hiking supplies that I needed, and rested. I decided to not post that day just because of how crazy the day was.

I had a nice 15 mile hike yesterday where I was able to try out my new gear like my new hiking poles. I can't believe how much those help relieve stress on your knees! The poles were probably the best $80 I spent for this trip so far!

Today though has not been my day! I rolled my right ankle twice, left ankle once, slid down a rock and tweaked my knee, and I ran out of water while hiking to the Nantahala Outdoor Center (NOC). All of that was in a 12 mile section of the trail. I'm currently eating lunch here at NOC. I'm debating on continuing to the next shelter that is 7 miles away as planned or just staying here for the night. I think my left ankle is telling me to stay, but the rest of my body feel up to continuing.  I'll make up my mind after I finish lunch...probably gonna stay.

~~Manalive~~