A wickedly steep uphill from Bly Gap right off the bat this morning, but it wasn’t too long. Had a delightful hike with Topher this morning. We’re taking a break at Muskrat Creek, North Carolina, with Big Bird and Farmer Bob (McKenzie didn’t stick so we changed his name again to Farmer Bob). Rewards this morning have been many. At the top of almost every hill, there have been groves of rhododendron trees that make little tree tunnels. I love the tree tunnels. Topher took a nice seat slide and I did the splits so we’ve had our laughs this morning. And a fantastic view of the valley and Hiawassee.

You’d think with all the fat I have on my rear that I could sit anywhere and be quite comfy. Not so. My rear hurts on these rocks and logs. Maybe it’s getting in shape!

We got to Standing Indian Shelter about 3:00 p. m. and all felt pretty good and decided to go 1 1/2 more miles and camp. As we were leaving the shelter, I said, "This is not gonna be another one of those cheese factory hikes, it is? And Jiff said, "No." Walking up Standing Indian Mountain (which is over 5,000 feet – our tallest one yet and the tallest in NC), it looked like rain. So I’m thinking to myself this is not gonna be a good place to camp. I round the corner at the top and they’ve all got maps out, and I knew we weren’t camping there tonight. Jiff walked up with a worried look and said, "Remember what you said?" I said, "About what?" She said, "The cheese factory." (That was the night they were only going a little further and I camped by myself because I never caught up with them.) I laughed and said, "I knew we weren’t staying there." Nobody wanted to tell me. They then told me it was ONLY three more miles, but mostly downhill. As we walked, I saw four signs saying "N. Carolina Wildlife Bear Sanctuary." 

Got a picture of one. Motivated me all I needed! The view from the top of Standing Indian was incredible, I didn’t even take a picture because I knew it couldn’t do justice. So now there are ten of us here. Doug caught us late this afternoon. We sat around a pretend fire and I gave everybody Easter candy for dessert that I carried from Hiawassee. We laughed and giggled till dark, and now we’re all heading off to bed. Long, long day, but still loving it. Did make one big mistake. My buddy ERROR popped up today. I didn’t stop as often today and take my boots off, and now I have some small blisters. Won’t do that again! I tossed and turned so much last night that I figured if a bear came I’d never be able to find the zipper on my sleeping bag, let alone get out of the tent. Actually, last night was the first time it’s been cool enough to zip it all the way.

This was the most miles in a day for me yet … even if it was by accident. Encountered more trail magic this afternoon. A former thru hiker/volunteer trail maintainer named Pilgrim played Easter Bunny. Everyone he passed while doing maintenance today, he pulled a Ziploc bag out of his pack and gave them. It had an orange, a mini muffin, a Snickers, some hot chocolate and candy in it. Best orange I ever ate! I’m beginning to understand why they call them trail angels. These angels seem to get great pleasure and joy in being kind to thru hikers. I still can’t believe the people "dynamics" out here and have heard lots of others say the same. People are so much more tolerant and kind to each other.

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