Over the Counter with Binjali: Wesser Bald through the NOC

4/2/15 - I woke up at 6:15, realized it was a 6 mile downhill to the Nantahala Outdoor Center (NOC), and fell back asleep, only firmly awaken at 7am. Everyone else was still asleep. Resigned, I ate breakfast and packed up and hit the trail to 'town'. I ran into Mainer as I passed the last shelter about a mile before the NOC. He'd gotten there, by headlamp, at 10:30 last night! Crazy hiker, the trail down was steep, rocky and slippery in spots! I had a section on a particularly steep section collapse out from under me. Trying to keep from planting my face in the dirt and rocks and stay on the hill, I bent the lower section of my left hiking pole a good 10 degrees off true. And Mainer had been hiking in the dark!

I had planned on getting in around 1 or 2pm, about check-in time, but got in about 11:30. The NOC outfitter looked at my bent pole, went into the back of the shop and returned with a replacement section. 'No charge', he said, 'Leki covers it.' Saved my about $100! Thank you Sir!

4/3/15 - Today was a zero day, no miles to hike. Dinner yesterday was a rainbow trout patty sandwich with a chipotle mayo sauce on the side with home style fries. I thought hard but skipped the blackberry cobbler with ice cream. We had rain last night, not heavy, just a light shower that sounded nice on the tin roof of the bunkhouse here at the NOC. The wind was light and from the front of the building, which has a wide overhang so we left the back window open and even had the door open until we went to sleep. Made for a gentle rain-smelling breeze to lull us to sleep. Tonight its forecast again showers that should end before daybreak. Good, cause we've got a 3000ft climb out over seven miles to Sassafras Gap shelter. And yes, I've mentioned a shelter/camp by that name before. The previous one was in Georgia, on the 17th of March. I guess there wasn't much communication between areas back when they were naming things up in these mountains.

We rolled out at a lazy 7:30 this morning because the restaurant doesn't open until 8am. Tucson, Spider, a hiker from Quebec named Sublime, and myself had a lively discussion over breakfast. Sublime is a little older than I, probably of an age with Tucson, while Spider is a tattooed younger fellow of roughly college age. We talked immigrant assimilation, diabetes, medical marijuana, and why not voting is the same as voting for the candidate you don't like. Fortunately the staff and customers early in the morning were either of a like mind as our group or just sleepy enough not to care as we got a little loud at times.

I noticed from Bean Counter's journal that How Far wrenched his knee and is at least temporarily off trail. Bean Counter, How Far, Dusty Pilgrim and Sherpa Sam are two to four days ahead of my group. We'll probably run into them up trail somewhere. How Far is planning on resting and then skipping forward to Hot Springs,NC. As long as he completes the missing section some time, he will still get to call it a completed hike. Do it this year, and it's still a thruhike.

My group of Tucson, Wilson , Coed and myself plan to attend a thruhiker film at 7pm tonight. Hopefully it ends before the rain starts. Tomorrow we'll start out for Fontana.