{"id":237,"date":"2014-04-24T09:00:04","date_gmt":"2014-04-24T13:00:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hnatow.com\/wordpress-happytrails\/?p=237"},"modified":"2014-04-24T09:00:04","modified_gmt":"2014-04-24T13:00:04","slug":"day-8-mile-84-to-rock-gap-shelter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/hnatow.com\/happytrails\/?p=237","title":{"rendered":"Day 8 – mile 84 to Rock Gap Shelter"},"content":{"rendered":"

Great day for hiking – sunny and low 70s all day. Camp was very cold in the morning but warmed up quickly. We pushed hard and put in around 21 miles today. The elevation change is a little more forgiving in NC vs. GA. We summitted Standing Indian Mountain in the morning to probably the best views we’ve had yet. <\/p>\n

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Summit<\/p><\/div>\n

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After that most of the day was relatively easy grade through rhododendron tunnels.<\/p>\n

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In the late afternoon we summitted Albert Mountain, which had again a relatively easy ascent except the last .25 mile. That consisted of our first rock scramble, where you have to use your hands to climb up some rocks. <\/p>\n

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On the summit there was a fire tower…<\/p>\n

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We climbed up and the views were crazy cool. <\/p>\n

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The rest of the day was a slow descent to a stealth camp. We definitely camped on too much of a slope because we almost completely slide out of the tarp by morning. Oops! <\/p>\n

Thursday we are hiking about 4 miles and then heading into a nearby trail town called Franklin, NC, to resupply and rest up from the big day of hiking.<\/p>\n

Vital stats:<\/strong>
\nMood – satisfied
\nPhysical state – twinge in knee, but mostly good
\nSmell – man o’ the mountains
\nSong stuck in my head – Tokyo Police Club – Feel the Effect<\/p>\n

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