Today’s miles: 15.9
Total miles: 32.3
Camped: Designated campsite just after side trail to Lower Whitewater Falls
Woke up to freezing weather. I was toasty in my sleeping bag and did not want to get out. I slept pretty well and did not hear or see any animals whatsoever. I took a long time getting ready (sat in the outhouse for a minute making sure something happened, as who knew when the next outhouse would be, never perhaps). I started hiking before 9am. A couple miles in, I was working up a sweat on a hill and stopped to take off my puffy. As soon as it was unzipped, it started to rain. I might have swore out loud and went into “must keep everything dry” mode. Made sure everything that needed to stay dry went inside my waterproof liner and hoped for the best. Wouldn’t you know it, about 2 minutes went by and it stopped raining. Not another drop for the rest of the day, woohoo! The hiking was slightly more challenging than yesterday, but my body handled it well, although a blister sprouted it’s ugly head on my left big toe. I did some blister maintenance after dinner, gross. Highlights today were a view of Lake Jocassee with mountains in the background as well as crossing the Whitewater River. I only saw one other hiker today, another thru-hiker going the other way. I ran into a trail maintenance crew, and I immediately recognized someone from the trail board whose pictures I’ve seen on the trail’s FB page. He was friendly and we talked for a bit. This trail is extremely well maintained and is definitely a gem. I’ve only been out for two days and have been awestruck several times. I also like that there’s not a ton of hikers out. It may be the time of year, or maybe everyone is distracted by the nearby AT. While I am happy to hike alone, I’m still nervous about camping alone, with no good reason. It is starting to get dark and I am the only one at this campsite. It definitely isn’t as well established as last night’s and I am a little nervous. I tied my ursack food bag to a tree and definitely do not want any visitors tonight. I hear lots of things moving on the leaves, but they sound like chipmunks and birds. My shuttle driver Jim said I’d be lucky to see a bear. Lucky isn’t a word I would use… =/
