May 24 - Day 39: Easy Going Around Watauga Lake

May 24, 2013

Day 39 – U.S. 321 (Braemar Castle Hostel) to Iron Mountain Shelter

15.7 miles, 440.8 total miles

 

Today I passed the 20% mark!  I have finished one-fifth of the AT!

Well, anyway, today it took me a while to leave town.  I wasn’t really dong much, just taking my time, calling my parents, getting my resupply and packing my bag.  By the time I ate lunch and was on the trail, it was 1 p.m. and I had nearly 16 miles to go.

Today’s hike wasn’t actually very hard.  There were no long ups or downs – all either flat or gradual elevation change, nothing too challenging.

And throughout all of today’s hike, you could see the Watauga Lake in the distance, and I even crossed the Watauga Dam.

Tonight was pretty short because I got to the shelter around 7:30 p.m. and it was starting to get dark outside.   I set up my tent, had dinner, and went to sleep!

Here tonight are MacGyver, Half-life, and four other hikers I haven’t met yet.