Day 15

We had a lot to tackle today.  Woke up at our camp site on Hobo Island along the Nantahala River.

Starting from our site we had a loooong climb up to the top of Cheoah Bald and then on to Stecoah Gap to be picked up by shuttle to go to the Nantahala Lodge.  So we climbed and climbed and climbed.  And then we climbed again.  Total elevation gained today was over 5,000 feet.  

Along the way we came across a memorial to Wade Sutton who lost his life fighting a forest fire near there.  Nice that they have this memorial for such a brave man.

Some spectacular views again as we climbed.

It was sunny and warm but not hot except from our exertion.  

Made it to the top of Cheoah pretty worn out from the climb and we stopped for lunch.  Needed that break and fuel for the second half of the day which while mostly downhill still had several smaller peaks to scale.  No wildlife today but lots of butterflies; mostly blue, black with some orange on the wings.  Foliage is beginning to bud out at the higher elevations as well.

Finally made it to Stecoah Gap  at 4:45 which gave us 45 minutes to wait for the scheduled shuttle to the lodge.

We got picked up by Steve who owns the lodge with his wife, Maggie.  They are both British.  He is from Manchester and she from Newcastle.  He is a former thru hiker in 2010 (trail name Wiggy).  Loved his dry British sarcastic sense of humor.  Had us laughing all the way to the lodge.  Lodge is pretty nice.  This is the common area:

They are very particular about cleanliness.  All packs are kept outside in a shed and you must remove the clothes  you are wearing and take a shower before you can get your room.  They have loaner clothes if you don’t have any clean ones.  They take all your dirty clothes and wash right away.  It’s a good thing as things can get pretty gross.  Now you have a cleaner, healthier place to stay.  Guest rooms are pretty nice for a hostel.

Tomorrow we have a short slakpacking day.  Only 7 miles without a full pack.  Yes!!!  My legs will appreciate the rest😩.  Expecting good weather tomorrow before things turn for the worse.

Time to catch some 💤.