Day 14 - My Trail Legs Came Early (April 22)

We hiked out of NOC yesterday at about 4 PM. This is supposed to be the third toughest climb on the trail. We got to Sassafras Gap shelter by about 7 PM. I will have to look at the mileage, but I think we were traveling at nearly 2 miles per hour uphill including breaks.

It was a strange feeling walking up steep inclines with virtually no pain in my legs. We would occasionally rest when we were winded or over heated.

We met Woof Man and Camel in the laundry. Road Rash and I were hoping not to see them again. We met them way at the beginning of the mountain. I'm not sure they are going to make it up. If they do, we will have so much mileage between us that we will not see then again.

We also met Red Eyes and some others in NOC. They were supposed to be on their way out by 2 PM. They were drinking beers so they must have done a zero day in NOC.

Doctor Dee was the only one we met going up the mountain. He looks to be in his 50s, but he is in good physical condition. Even he did not make it all the way up. He told Thought Foot he was going to camp near an overlook. I'm really glad I did not wait another 10 years to do this trip.

The three of us are putting in more mileage at a faster rate than just about anyone else. This is not intentional. We were finding ourselves at camp before anyone else so we decided to go further. It feels good having our trail legs.