That was the plan. Early to bed. Get up early and then have an easy break in day.
It was cold. Ice on the ground in places.
Mild wind.
Then we got to Sassafras and it is lunchtime, dirty, cold and empty. We were too early.
So, just a few more miles.
Instead of 6.9 …
Closer to 17 instead of 7.
Beautiful views.
Caught a shuttle. Next thing we were Warm. Real bed. Did laundry and showered. In this section we mett a 68 year old retired farmer and hiker. Great guy. Just Alan. (He was renamed ninja mouse). Earlier we were given trail magic muffins by Too Bad.
Passed nine hikers, passed by seven. The numbers are backwards.
The Smokies were neat. We had a cold spell. Met a lot of people including a pediatric neurosurgeon who missed the weather update about snow rolling in.
We met trail runners and forest rangers. Stayed in several shelters. Met Rambling Man and Venom who we overlapped with for a while.
Also met Pony Keg and some others. These entires were much too short and missed a lot.