Highway 19E (2,861 feet) mile 395.3 to Moreland Gap Shelter (3,823 feet) mile 413.7 for a 18.4 mile day!

What a day today was!! It was a long day, but I came, I saw, and I conquered this day!!

It started out with a trail magic breakfast, you see, it appears that someone may have made a donation to the hostel through http://www.trailmagicdesk.com, and super cool website that they have setup that allows folks to give trail magic virtually but the Thru-hiker receives it for real!! So, I willingly accepted, scrambled eggs, biscuits and gravy, a pancake, and potatoes, and enjoyed every bit of it, oh and it was all you can eat!!!

Started this long day climbing up and out of the gap that Highway 19E was in up to around 3,800 feet, it was a 1,200 foot climb in 2.7 miles.

As usual, we got to the top and started right back down, but this time, there were two rewards down the trail, the first was mile 400!!!

The second was the beautiful, Jones Falls. The falls are about .2 miles off of the white blaze trail down a blue blaze, but oh was it worth it, even if for a brief moment.

Back on the white blazes for another mile and then came to a nice size river running along the trail. The Elk River runs along the trail for about a mile with some nice views to be had and if you’re feeling strong, you can take a dip in the river because the banks aren’t too steep!

There was a nice view about 6 or 8 miles ahead that was nice.

I was getting to be around 5:00 and I was starting to get tired, and my feet were arguing with the rest of my body to stop, but the rain was coming and I needed to get to the shelter so I had a dry place to eat and to wait for the rain so I could set up my tent.

I kept pushing forward and with .5 miles left, I could see the rain moving over Roan Mountain, TN, so I did the only thing I knew to do, I prayed and asked God to hold it off for a bit and then I walked fast and at times ran!!

I got to the shelter, no rain, through up my tent, and the drizzle started!! Thank you Lord for keeping me dry. I made my dinner, and in my dinner, i had fresh veggies, where did i get them you might ask, i got them around the shelter! I added ramps and Garlic Mustard plants to my spaghetti, and it added some great flavor.

Then I hung my food bag, and got in my tent, dry. Now, as I finish this, it’s raining.