8:42 Pm April 13th
Total Miles: 180
Started out the morning waking up to the birds chirping and an absolute beautiful sunrise. Needless to say, I took my time getting around and headed out around 9.
The trail took me across the Fontana Dam. It was a gorgeous, gorgeous morning.
I made my way into the Great Smoky Mountains. Here they require you to pay for a permit and you must sleep inside the shelters.
I spent the first couple hours passing a few people and then made my way into complete solitude for the rest of the day walking. I actually really enjoyed it.
To make sure my feet were fine…I slowed down my pace and found myself looking up more.. And breathing deeper. Truly truly taking it all in. It was a good feeling, and my feet hurt less. 😁
Later in the day I came upon a mountain top and saw white covering the grass… I had to take off my sunglasses because there was no way it was snow.
To my surprise. It was wild flowers blooming. I crouched down and they were white with purple on the inside. Just beautiful.
I also ran across a peculiar tree…I wanted to just camp out in there. HA.
Made my way to the shelter. It is big!
I expected it to be super full but there are only 3 of us tonight. Most people went to the one before or one after. Hey, I’m not complaining. 😂I’m not a fan of shelters but will sleep in it if I have to.
Hopefully the mice don’t come out. But I can already hear them. 🙈
Wish us luck.
Iz and Oz
Izzy + Ozzy 