Beach Day, May 10th

Sushi left early in the morning to hit the trail because she hikes slower. Barefoot and I got going much later. We came across Laurel Falls, a fantastic waterfall with swimming. The water was quite cold but I did go in and went underwater twice. It was comparable to icewater.

Shortly after leaving the falls we came across a rattlesnake on the trail. Barefoot has a phobia of snakes so I saved the day by gently encouraging him to move off to the side of the trail by poking him with my poles.

We made our way to Wautuga Lake and there was a fantastic beach there with an actual swim area. I had to go swimming. It had been a long hot day so it was much welcomed.

Sushi beat us to our destination, 4 miles up the trail so we just had our packs dropped off at the swim area and ordered a pizza for delivery. It was actually quite a wonderful day. It was just such a nice way to spend the afternoon.

There was a hostel nearby so we ended up tenting there (their bunk rooms were not availible). We got a free shuttle into town and snacks. Sushi got a ride back from the road to the hostel so the three of us are all camped together again. It's been so long since I've been in my tent it feels like. I've either been in hostels or shelters for the past week or so.

The hostel had a big campfire and it was a great way to wrap up the day along with snacks from the shuttle into town the hostel provided earlier.

Tonight at the Boots Off Hostel I'm at mile 426.9 with 1762.9 left to go.