It Puts the Lotion in the Basket...
Day 13 of the Trail: 13.8 miles hiked
Today Thomas and I slept in till about 6 pm. We're probably gonna hit the trail early afternoon which means we may have to do a bit of a night hiking if we want to get any decent miles in today.
After getting up, we needed breakfast and McDonalds was only half a mile down the road. Unlike McDonalds back home, this one was calm and quiet. Normally I avoid fast food, McDonalds mainly, but options are limited as a hiker. It was a nice, quiet, and clean store though and we got our food quickly.
This is where things get weird. I am convinced Thomas and I narrowly escaped being stuck in a basement being forced to put lotion on the our skin. As we were leaving and crossing the street a car began to honk at us from the McDonalds parking lot. The female driver, I think it was female but it was still dark and the voice was one of those raspy 50/50 kinda voices, yelled, "Where are y'all going?" In my defense, it's been my experience that small towns like this are full of good people eager to help hikers, so I yelled back, "Budget Inn." One would expect an additional exchange of information at this point, like, "Can I give you a lift," or "Do you need a ride," but what actually happened is the driver paused, started to sing loudly, and slowly drove off. It was a bit creepy but it wasn't over.
The streets in this area are basically divided into one way streets. Thomas and I were walking against traffic back toward the hotel and the car went the same direction ahead of us on the opposite side of the divided street. We could see the car drive about a block or two then turn into a gas station on our side of the road. The car sat there and randomly honked the horn as we got closer. The odd thing is we couldn't see the car and they couldn't see us because they had parked on the other side of a van which was obstructing our view of each other.
Thomas and I already planned to walk and now we were about half way to the hotel, anyhow. When we walked past the gas station the car backed up and pulled to the exit right where we were walking by. They then turned the radio up as loud as they could and sat there watching us pass by. Thomas and I then stopped at a lighted intersection we needed to cross. The stalker car pulled out onto the street, going the wrong way on a one way street, and went head to head with on coming traffic; turning down a side road right in front of us.
After that, Thomas and I played ninja in the alleys trying to get back to the hotel without the stalker seeing us, all the while Thomas scolding me about telling them where we were going. We did make it back safely but it was a crazy way to start the morning.
In the afternoon, we went with the local American Legion and were treated to a BBQ lunch. We were also presented with Freedom Quilts made by the Smoky Mountain Quilt Bee. It was a nice celebration and the people were very kind. After the quilt ceremony Thomas and I got a ride back to the trail head at Winding Stair. We hit the trail at about 1:15 pm and busted out nearly 14 miles by 7:00 pm. Our goal was to get over the steep mountain that was after Winding Stair and make it to the other side before dark. Weather said it was gonna be cold and windy. Well, the weather was right!
It was in the low thirties where we camped and the wind was reminiscent of Oklahoma, not in a good way. The wind blows hard in Oklahoma and now at nearly 5000 feet it was blowing very hard. I neglected to check for dead branches above me prior to setting up my tent and as I laid there all toasty in my sleeping bag I could hear the ominous creaking of branches above me. I imagined large logs plummeting down on me while I dreamt. Optimistically, I shielded my head with my arm and sleeping bag as if it would help. Realistically, it would have been a bad night all around. My eyes closed and I drifted off, none the less.
