Why the photo of a candy bar outside a tent? Well, that’s Green One’s tent. And cold isn’t his favorite part of the hike. So in the morning I take our food bags down from it’s hang, have breakfast and pack up. And I chuck a candy bar at the door of his tent before I hit the trail . He’ll unzip enough to snake an arm outside the tent, grab the food, and start building sugar-based energy while in the warmth of his sleeping bag! Sometime around lunch, he’ll catch up and on we’ll go.

Today was our longest day yet – almost 16 miles to Wallace Gap. We’d done 10 miles by lunchtime and decided to head for the heated bunkhouse where we’re spending the night. Do you know how good a crappy frozen pizza tastes when you’ve spent 10 days backpacking in the cold?

We’ve had a chance to meet many of the thrus ahead of us including Dragonfly, Timber, Tumbleweed, and many others. We hiked the last 8 miles of the day with Piphan- a slightly older hiker and made great time. Other thrus: Koi, Goldfish, Smokey Mountain Steve, Smokey, Trunks and Wolf Wind.

Now it’s time to try to get some sleep with a dozen of hikers in the room. In the morning, it’s 5 days to Fontana Dam and the start of the Smokies!