Appalachian Trail: Day 24
Disclaimer: This post is NOT sponsored. All the gear mentioned in this post was purchased by me at retail prices. I have no affiliations with any of the companies or brands mentioned.
Today was a better day than yesterday. I saw a deer this morning. It came walking around the shelter. Ended up hiking with Steve and Farrah for a while today. That definitely helped. Of course, when we got to the steep climb up to Rocky Top, they left me behind as I struggled up the mountain. And when I got there, the clouds had rolled in, so it was a wall of grey.
We saw a deer near the shelter in the morning. I got a great video of the deer walking around.
Ended up leapfrogging with Sophie and Amanda today too. I've seen them around recently, but only really met them today. Surprisingly, I didn't get passed until the last couple miles when Deli ended up passing me. Somehow I beat Sugar Baby and Trout to the shelter.
I picked up some cheese and a packet of dehydrated tomato bisque in Fontana which I had for dinner tonight. Attempted to make grilled cheese and tomato soup. The grilled cheese didn't work very well, but the packet of soup was really good. Dollie Foods was the brand that made it. I'll have to remember them and look for more it was that good.
I decided to setup my tent tonight too instead of sleeping in the shelter so I have a bit more privacy tonight. Had to send a message to people using the Garmin InReach today too since I haven't had enough signal recently to keep people up on my plans. I'm hoping I got enough battery backup left to get things to charge since I'm still 4-5 days from the next hostel unless I want to go into Gatlinburg, which I am trying to avoid.
Also saw a deer at Derricks Knob Shelter, but sadly I didn't have my phone on me at the moment, so I couldn't get a picture of it. And had a good conversation with Amanda and Sophie. They seem nice.