Day 8 (120.4-136.9)
The views were excellent, the weather was perfect, I took the blue blaze to the top of Rocky Bald and they DIDNT NOT disappoint. I sat there for a few moments to take it all in, by take it all in I mean a handful of snacks.
Climbing down into Tellico Gap was a breeze, I was feeling better, knees were holding up and my Achilles wasn’t bothering me at this point. I took my time and pressed on to Wesser Bald, a 1000 foot climb to the top but well worth the effort. As I made my way up, I ran into Dozer filtering his water on the side of the trail, we stopped to chat for a moment and discussed evening plans.
The top of Wesser Bald was better than Rocky Bald by a long shot, the views from the fire tower were absolutely breathtaking. For a moment it felt like I had jumped into a Virtual Reality version of a Bob Ross painting. In the distance I could see what appeared to be the smokies, the next destination.
Leaving the fire tower I began the excruciatingly long decent down into the NOC. The almost bald ridge walk, the type of climb down where you have to toss your poles in front of you, sit down and lower yourself to the next section of trail. Mileage was very slow, but the weather was nice.
I arrived at the NOC early in the afternoon, the convenient store was still open, which just so happened to be the spot to check in for a bunk. The prices were so similar that I opted to take the double bed, private bunk room as opposed to the community room. As I was checking out, Dozer stumbled across the street and placed his pack on the bench outside of the store, he reached his destination for the evening as well. I wandered out and offered the extra bed in exchange for dinner. He agreed to share the room.
We walked across the street to Rivers End where I ate “The best damn chicken sandwich”, macaroni and cheese and a beer from one of the local breweries “Innovative Brewing” from Sylvia NC . I’d have to say, after a long day of hiking the sandwich definitely lived up to the name, it was pretty good.
Shortly after dinner Dozer and I wandered over to the bunkhouse, Masa was the name of the cabin. We unlocked the doors and wandered in, excited to have a place to rest for the evening. Opening the door and turning on the lights revealed an 8’by 8’ box with a bunk bed against one of the walls. Dozer and I couldn’t help but laugh hysterically at the room we were given. As funny as it was, we were thankful to be out of the elements for the evening.
