We got lucky again, dodging rain overnight. Started the day with precooked smoked bacon, instant coffee and classic rock blaring out of my phone.  If  bacon and “Eye of the Tiger” doesn’t get you going, I don’t know what will!

It was another foggy morning as we prepared for a 14 mile day that included a steep climb up Albert Mountain.

The trail started off pretty flat and went through several rhododendron tunnels

As we climbed higher, the fog burned off and we were rewarded with some great views from the side of Albert Mountain.

Eventually our group started to drift apart with plans to meet at the top for lunch. It was nice to walk by myself for a little bit.  I took my time and snapped a bunch of pictures along the way.  Its amazing what can be found along the trail if you look hard enough.

The trail got a lot steeper near the top m, with several good boulder scrambles.

Can you spot the trail?

The climb was worth it though, we were rewarded with incredible views from the top, off of an old fire/observation tower.

We had lunch at the top, then started down the mountain with the intention of meeting two shelters down the trail.

The rhododendron provided a nice break from the otherwise bleak landscape on the back side of the mountain.

Again we split up a bit. I had to hang back for a bit to address some chaffing (always try to catch this as soon as possible!)

Eventually it was just Doug and I. As we neared the first shelter, it began to rain so we stepped inside for a bit. It was a brand new double decker shelter and a couple of hikers had already stopped for the day.

We talked to them for a bit, before deciding to hike the three miles to the next shelter to meet up with our group.

As soon as we left, it began raining harder and began flashing lightening.

We finally made it to the shelter, only to find that it was half the size of the first one, had a leak in the roof and had one hiker staying there that passed word that our group had left for town.

Rather than sleep in a leaky shelter or risk setting our tents/hammocks up in the rain, we decided to hike on.

The next couple miles were full of rain, stream crossings (that were now cascading down the mountain) and flooded trail, to get to a parking area near a road.

We made it with about 15 minutes of daylight left.

As we walked down the path to the road, we found a bit of trail magic, a box of little cookie packets! Funny how trail magic seems to pop up when you need it the most.

We stood in the rain, by the road trying to call into town, when a big, extended cab pickup truck pulled up and asked if we needed a ride. Absolutely! We couldn’t throw our packs in the back quick enough.

It was an older guy on his way home from work, said his he and his wife pick up hikers fairly often. He also happened to have a lunch box in the back with a couple beers and a mason jar!

We warmed up pretty quick on the way to town. Stopped along the way to pick up a 12 pack to celebrate the end of a rough day  (also got the guy a case of beer as a thank you) and got dropped off at the Budget Inn in Franklin NC were the rest of our group was.

We are going to take our first zero day in town and hit the trail again Thursday.