Got a decent start in the morning.  Hanging the hammock in the barn, meant less to break down and pack up.

The trail immediately brought us up to the first of many balds that make up Bald Mountain. It was a fairly steep trail, but the views were great

It was a clear day that quickly became hot as the climb went on.  There were several false peaks on the way to the to of 5587ft peak, each with its own little rock formation.

Bald Mountain was our only climb of the day, the trail took us mostly downhill the rest of the day.  We crossed out of North Carolina for the final time, leaving us in Tennessee for a couple more days.  (At the time, I was excited thinking we were in Virginia)

When we got to the bottom of the mountain, we hitched a ride to town with another hiker (Wildman) who’s friend had picked him up for lunch.  We ate at a place called Bob’s Dairyland.

For 8.99, you got about a half pound of BBQ pork, a mountain of crinkle cut fries, coleslaw and three giant hush puppies. It was all we could do, to finish.  That’s saying a lot for some hungry thru hikers!

After we ate, we did a small resupply then were dropped off back at the trail.

I had been looking forward to the second half of the day, after seeing several streams and the Elk river marked on the guidebook.

When we got to the river, Seeker and Wildman hiked on to the next shelter about two miles away while I stayed to fish with what was left of the day (about an hour and a half)

After about 20 minutes, I realized the best spots on the river were on the opposite side and further downstream.  It would have taken too long to wade over, fish and still get camp set up, so I decided to head up to the shelter.

About a half mile down the trail, the first grew in and you could no longer see the river. I saw a little path through the woods that led back down to the river, so I gave it a shot and walked down.  Once at the river, I heard the thunder of a waterfall coming from downstream.  A five minute walk led me right to it and after climbing some boulders I was there.

The falls were two tiered and dropped a total of about 25 feet into a massive pool.

I quickly made the call to set up camp and stay the night so I could fish what was left of the day and be able to come back in the morning before meeting up with Seeker at the next shelter.

I fished until it got dark with just one bite.  I headed back to my personal little camp, ate dinner and laid in my hammock with the satisfaction of finding an awesome place to camp and fish, that most people have no idea exists.