April 6
End: Deep Gap
Miles: 21.1
Total: 2216.5
I woke up in the cabin and got ready to go, only to open the door and find a light rain drizzling. If I had not been hit by heavy rain a few times I might have hiked on, but I was very wary of getting wet, and stuck around.
Soon we were shuttled to a convenience store with breakfast food. On the way, we passed a hiker walking to town. It was Lakeland! I felt so bad that we did not stop for him.
As soon as we were let out of the van, I walked back a short distance to meet up with him. We were both glad to see the other ECT guy, and walked together to a grocery store and a Dollar General (the official ECT resupply store). The pizza buffet was not open yet, and we were both ready to hike.
We walked to the convenience store, I declined a return ride to Uncle Johnny’s, and we had lunch. The walk back to the trail was not short, but I enjoyed catching up with Lake, and we got a few good photos while waiting for a train to pass.
Lake hit the trail and I grabbed my gear from the cabin and was soon just behind him. We agreed to hike together for the day and camp as well. I was tired from the previous night’s partying and did not mind a short day on the trail.
After missing the first camping spot we were looking for, we settled on Deep Gap. We camped down low, away from the road, but not the wind. For some reason, a strong wind blew up the wooded mountainside continuously and made camping difficult for me.
We talked some with Boxhead and an older couple who all camped near us, and after a small dinner I tried to stay warm in my tarp, which was set up on the inconvenient mountainside.
I kept sliding to the side because there was no flat ground to camp on, and the wind and cold temperature made it difficult to sleep, but I managed to get some limited rest.
