Appalachian Trail: Day 27
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 short day. I had to wait for the outfitters to open at 10 since they closed at 6 yesterday. The last bit of resupply I needed was some fuel.
This meant that I didn't get on the shuttle back to trail till 11 and didn't get started till about 11:30. With such a late start, my options were to either hike the 3 miles to Icewater Spring Shelter or continue another 7.4 miles past that to try to reach Pecks Corner Shelter. Knowing my speed and terrain, I opted to go to Icewater, which meant my day ended at around 1.
This choice gives me a 12.4 mile day tomorrow to reach Tri-Corner Knob Shelter followed by a very long but mostly downhill 14.6 mile day to reach Davenport Gap Shelter and exit the Smokeys.
I did see another deer near the shelter. This makes the third deer I've seen on this hike so far. Still no bears.
It is REALLY cold, so I spent most of the time laying in my bag listening to an audiobook. May have drifted off a bit here and there. I didn't get much sleep in Gatlinburg for some reason.