Miles: 207.3 | A full town day of logistics: getting shuffled between motels, waiting on Lyfts, doing laundry, and squeezing in a resupply. Exhaustion, rain, and overstimulation hit hard, leading to a quiet breakdown on a Gatlinburg bench and the realization that town days can be just as draining as trail miles. A few gear upgrades, familiar trail faces, and a long nap help me finally slow down, regroup, and rest before heading back out.
We got kicked out of the Travelodge at 11. We cut it close packing and Josh accidentally left his wallet in the room after we had already checked out. We got a Lyft (we had to wait 25 minutes for it but it was so worth it) to the Laundromat. We did our laundry and got some supplies at the Dollar General next door. We ran into Tater Tot and Trashman there as well!
After laundry we walked over to the grocery store. We called our Lyft back to the hotel on the way to the grocery store since we knew we'd have to wait half an hour. We hurried through or resupply and took our Lyft back to the Motel.
After we got back I went out in search of some Chinese food. I was having a craving. I found some about a mile from the hotel. It was disappointing. I had a mental breakdown on a bench in the middle of Gatlinburg. I was exhausted, overwhelmed, and I was feeling stressed out. Not having a plan really wore on me. Brit in between motels while we had to run our errands was a bit difficult. I felt like I needed to just be alone and sleep for like 12 years.
While I sat on that bench, it started to rain. I got up and walked in my crocs and fleece, I had forgotten my rain coat back at the Motel. On my way back I stopped at the NOC to replace my food bag.
I had also gotten the idea from a guy called Fanny Panther to pick up a Fanny pack for my snacks since my hip belt pockets were so small. I got some gear patches (I used all of mine up) and some more bear rope (I made mine into guylines for my new tent). I got back to the Motel and organized my food resupply.
While we were organizing our food back at the Motel we saw Cinnabun, Peanut, Blade, and Cackles walk by our window! We hung out with them for a bit. They went to some moonshine tastings. We opted to stay in and keep out of the rain, and keep from spending too much money. I took a good, long nap.