Today was a day of catch-up and interesting firsts. Everyone got up before seven to finish loading the truck with Keeper's sister's belongings. We then drove up to Daleville to drop our backpacks off at the Howard Johnson. Today would be the first day of slack packing or slacking. This term basically means the heavy stuff gets left at the day's terminus, and you'd only carry snacks, water, and other necessities. I made an awesome day pack using a dry bag and my bear line (50 feet of paracord). Today would also be slightly above 25 miles.
But it was worth every step even with a shin splint in my right leg. There were a ton of vistas off of ridges (including the most photographed on the AT), three decently long snakes, and a wild black bear! It was toward the end of the day when we literally just happened to get lucky enough to see it. It was in a gully and we were on the ridge. It even stayed still long enough for me to take a poor picture.
Even though we slack packed, today was exhausting. Due to the nature of the day's accomplishments, we treated ourselves to beer and pizza. Yum!
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