Day 134, 21.8 miles
Damascus, Lady Di’s B&B/ SOBO mile 1727.2 to TN 91, Switchback Creek Campground/SOBO mile 1749.0
Slept super well at Lady Di’s. Eight straight hours!!! That rarely happens. My body needed that. I also ate a fantastic home cooked breakfast that Lady Di includes in her price.
Perfect hiking day today. Cool, crisp weather with cold wind. The climb out of Damascus felt gradual, then it was minor PUDs. First Class and I leapfrogged all day – he is a faster hiker but he takes longer breaks, so we kept catching up and passing one another – and he too thought the day felt super easy. Got almost 22 miles done in 8.5 hours. First Class said we had done almost 5000 feet of total elevation gain, but that doesn’t seem right to me. Certainly didn’t feel like that much.
Mostly in the trees today except at the very end when the trail went through a pasture.
I’m staying in a tiny cabin at Switchback Creek Campground. The owner came and picked me up and will return me to the same spot tomorrow morning. First Class and a LASHer named Ted are camping together just a couple tenths of a mile farther from where I was picked up. I’ll see both of them at Boots Off hostel tomorrow night if I don’t see them while hiking tomorrow.
My ankle felt pretty good today. The cooler weather helps everything IMO. A good night’s sleep and yummy breakfast also helps.
