Big Butts, April 26th

Today started with the climb up Big Butts Mountain. I'm not sure why is called that but I got a kick out of the name.

I was thinking of staying at the Rector Laurel Hostel for the night but after getting there that was not going to happen. It was barely a shack that looked like it was just tossed together with plywood. It was extremely disappointing and very sketchy. It looked very red neck deep south horror flick roach motel, you check in,  but you don't check out kind of vibe place. One of the guys sitting around working there had a swastika tattooed on his arm. I did not stick around.

 I was really exhausted wanting to camp soon but I wanted to put some distance between that area and myself so I continued on to the next camp site. I couldn't find the campsite. It wasn't marked or obvious so I ended up hiking way further than planned to the next shelter. I was really shakey and exhausted by the time I got there. I'm just glad I made it before dark. I had heard noises behind me like someone was following me but I had never saw anyone. I felt like I was going crazy! I'm just glad to be with hikers for the night. There were a lot of people camped here.

Tonight at Hogback Ridge Shelter I'm at mile 315.8 with 1874 miles left to go.

Mud for Days, April 25th

My ice cream was still melty in the morning after spending all night in the freezer. The freezer was broken. I talked to the office about it and they let me take a new one. I didn't really want to start the day by eating a pint of ice cream but I didn't want to waste it since they had just replaced it so I ate up. The hostel even gave me a ride back to the trail thankfully.

The ice cream ended up being a mistake. I felt pretty sick while hiking and went really slowly. The trail was really intense and rocky with a lot of climbing so it ended up being just a 10 mile day.

The amount of mud all over the trail was just crazy. I just kept slipping and sliding on the downhills.

On the way down from the rocky crest I got got off trail to pee walking a number of steps away not to be seen only to find after I peed that the trail does a long switchback and comes back right next to where I went. I'm so glad that no one stopped by. It would have been so embarrassing!

The shelter was crazy crowded. I'm caught in the bubble of people leaving Hot Springs and the amount of tents set up felt like tent city lined up along the trail. There was surprisingly a spot left in the shelter so I took it. I lost my earplugs and there were some powerful snorers in there

Tonight at Jerry Cabin Shelter I'm at mile 300.3 with 1889.5 left to go.