Elmer’s dinner has yet to be beaten, but his breakfast has been surpassed. Mary of the Mountain Harbor prepared an amazing array of dishes – tomato pie, eggs, crispy bacon, cinnamon roles, a fruit salad, puffs with eggs and ham, and most delicious of all french toast. The french toast was made with real french bread crispped on the outside to a golden brown, still soft on the inside, and served with an amazing sauce combining real maple syrup, diced pecans, and a hint of butter. Great way to finish off a good stay at Mountain Harbor.
Yesterday featured mountain balds, today it was streams and waterfalls. It was super nice to not have a huge mountain or two in the middle of the day – there was a small hill to start the day and another just before Moreland Gap but in between was the smoothest sailing yet. I think there were three decent waterfalls today, the largest was Jones Falls, 0.2 miles down a blue blazes side trail. Not too far after Jones I came around a bend in the trail and saw two deer on the trail about 30 yards ahead, they heard me coming and bolted into the woods. The trail was soft and often muddy from last night’s rain and there was a stretch of almost a mile with clearly visible deer tracks imprinted into the AT.
Just incase walking on flat terrain wasn’t magical enough, I came across a nice wooden bench sitting right on the side of the trail overlooking the only vista of the day. There are usually plenty of fallen trees or rocks to sit down on, but a real bench was magnificent. I chilled there for about 15 minutes before continuing. More magic was in store just ahead, my first actual trail magic in fact. The trail led down along a creek, and sitting on the hand rail of the little wooden bridge was a cold Coor’s Light. There was a sign for a hostel near the trail along the creek, so it looks like they were trying to entice hikers with a little refreshment. It was too early in the day for a hostel, but cold drinks are always good.
It started raining tonight after getting into Moreland Gap. Strider is here as usual, and we have Pockets with us tonight. Not sure if I’ve mentioned him before, but he is a cool guy we met back at the Sunnyside Inn in Hot Springs. Another of the recently retired hiker sort, but this guy can move. He did 20 miles in a day up the hardest parts of the climb into Roan Highlands. Until now I haven’t seen him much on the trail, but Strider and I have hung out with him in towns and at the hostels.
It ended up being the longest mileage day yet, 18.9. Also hit the 400 mile mark, now 410.5 at day’s end.