Day 20- I was up and at ‘em again this morning and was sure to eat my oatmeal (for some energy hopefully) before I left. I made good time my first three miles and actually saw 2 deer. The last 6 plus miles were grueling, with lots of boulder climbing and tree jumping, and lots of mud which made walking slower and more precise (so I don’t slip). It continued to rain through the mid morning and when I got to Round Bald, what a sight!

When I got to the shelter I was starving so I made a quick peanut butter tortilla roll up and later made supper. I was glad to see the same people from the night before. Tadpole, from Nashville, was here and Roy from Savannah. No Eyes made it here too, he is a nice kid. The sun started shining and felt good.  Around 5:00 pm or so we had thunderstorms, sun, rain, and now more rain. The air is pretty cool so I am in my bag to keep warm and try to stay dry and not muddy. People keep showing up and the shelter is full, a couple of them are from Fontana and like to party but there is a ridge runner here and he’ll take care of that. A ridge runner works with the Forestry service for a certain length of trail to make sure things are okay and you are doing what you should be doing.

I should make it to Newfound Gap in a couple of days. It will be the hardest day with a climb up to Clingmans Dome, the highest point on the AT. I hope to get to Gatlinburg to resupply, wash clothes, and eat. Tomorrow should be the last day for rain. Not much happened today except for awesome views. I will try to get enough service to send the pictures, if not then I will later. I am going to snuggle into my bag and try to get some shut eye. Good night and sweet dreams!