Wayah shelter to Wesser Bald shelter (mile 130.8)

It turned into a beautiful day. The sun was shining and it was warm! Sweet, sweet warmth. How I missed thee.

But…I struggled. Felt absolutely shattered and had no energy in the legs. I think I may not be eating enough.

Of course being tired and having no energy meant lots and lots of climbing.

I also struggled mentally. The trail can be lonely place. And dull. It can be pretty boring at times. I passed the time listening to podcasts all day. I highly recommend ‘The Dollop’ if you like history and comedy combined.

Feeling low on energy I decided to actually stop for lunch. I usually just eat on the go but I had to get some calories down. So I made a nice lunch of summer sausage and cheese on a tortilla. I also forced down a Snickers bar.

I had one climb after lunch, and it was a doozy up to Wesser Bald. I was rewarded with 360 degree views and It was pretty damn gorgeous.

Wonder of wonders I also had phone reception! I talked to Nae and the girls for about 30 minutes, which was great. But…the homesickness hit hard. It is always worse when I’m exhausted. And climbing multiple mountains isn’t great for the energy levels. As I said before, the trail is a lonely place. Yes, there is usually always someone to chat with at the end of the day but you are on your own for 8-10 hours everyday. It takes it’s toll. To be honest I thought I would handle it better. The first few weeks were really enjoyable in that respect, but now it seems to be getting me down. Seems I like people after all. Who knew?

There were only a couple of folk at the shelter, so there was plenty of space. This was good as rain was forecast early in the morning and I did not want to pack away a wet tent.

I was chatting to a father and son from Gainesville who were thru-hiking, Beanbag and Pyro. Pyro cooked my ham and cheese which I wrapped in a tortilla. It was great. Spam is good, cooked spam is better. Cooked spam and melted cheese is hiker heaven. I also had a tuna wrap and noodles for dinner and could have eaten more.

Spent the rest of the night talking shit around the fire with Beanbag and Pyro.

The homesickness pangs settled a little.