Days 41 and 42 - Xmas in August (11-12/8/2016)

I hadn't thought I'd have much to talk about these last couple of days, but how wrong I was!

I'd planned to collect a bit of mail in Glencliff, only to discover that a "bit of mail" was:

2 t-shirts
2 tensor bandages
Some safety pins
2 bags of Nibs
4 boxes of smarties
An SHDC adapter for my camera
A USB cable
2 letters from Russia
A bag of maté tea
A rittersport candy bar
Electrolytes
A pound of Italian speck
A pound of Italian parmesan

I took a bit longer to get organised than I'd expected, but last night I had a speck and parm pasta dinner that could rival any Italian restaurant. All I needed was a nice Pinot Grigio.

This morning I set out to do 16-18 miles. I made it 3. A group of hikers waved me over to the truck that had just dropped them off. Indicating the driver, one said "This is Pete. You should go hang out with him for the day."

I paused. I'd just promised friends I'd be in NY in 3 weeks, which already meant 16 mile days.

Then I remembered a decision I made early on: since getting to Georgia wasn't the most important thing on my list, I would take advantage of any opportunities that could prove interesting. This seemed like one of those.

Pete, it turns out, is the son of a former state Governor who runs a sugar shack. For decades he has had hikers sleep in his shack in the summer, giving them free coffee, pancakes and maple syrup. Let me repeat that: pancakes and maple syrup, from the very shack I'm sleeping in, are FREE!

So here I sit, on the porch of a sugar shack, stuffed with pancakes and sipping beer, having completed only 13 miles in 2 days.

Life is good.

MacGruber, Sweetfeet, & Trotter at the sugar shack

Start: Mooselaucke peak
End: Mt Cube Farm
Distance: 13.5 miles