Miles: 551.2 | A late checkout turns into one last McDonald’s brunch and a trail angel rescue back to the AT. Miles and I settle into an easy rhythm, covering 19 miles through on-and-off rain, deep conversations, and a surprise deer sighting. We roll into camp after dark, spooked briefly by glowing eyes that turn out to belong to an adorable (but suspicious) raccoon. Warm air, rushing water, and finally feeling in sync with a hiking partner make the long day end on a high note.
Miles and I left the motel at exactly 11:00am (checkout). We made our way over to McDonalds one last time to get ‘brunch’. Terrible, hiker trash, I know! While there a woman came over and asked if we were thru-hiking. We told her we were. She explained that her husband and her were road tripping down the coast. She asked if I was online at all. I wrote down my blog for her and she followed me!
So exciting to make some new friends! We ate and had some coffee and then called the local bus which was supposed to go to the trail. We just missed the morning shuttle and the next wasn’t until 4pm. We called Jim, the trail angel instead. He was there in a jiff and he took us back to the trail, leaving us with protein enhance cookies at the trail head. Such a nice guy.
We did 19 miles and felt pretty good most of the day. We bonded while we hiked and talked about absolutely everything. We ran into some people that I’d never met but that Miles had met before. It’s insane how you might never meet the people behind you! Clouds slowly moved in throughout the day and it rained on and off throughout our hike. We saw some deer run across the trail!
We got to camp late, around 9pm since we hadn’t left until noon. We set up next to a flowing stream in the dark. I went to get water and in the rhododendron bushes I saw a pair of eyes reflecting back in the light of my headlamp. I squealed a little.
Miles came over. “What is that?!” We asked each other. We crept closer and the animal didn’t move away. Closer and closer we crept and in the light of my headlamp we finally saw it was a little raccoon! It was adorable but definitely a little burglar. We made sure to hang our food bags well that night. It was warm and humid when we went to bed. We shared Miles’ tent that night.
1. I didn’t have to set up my own tent
2. Finally vibing with a hiking partner
3. Wildlife!