Hiking Recap

April 14: I was up pretty early today, up before everyone else, trying to be ready so I would not be the one holding everyone up in the morning. I had a rather weird moment where I felt like I had so much to do and just not enough time. Why would I think this? I have my morning routine pretty down pat and I was up before everyone else. I wondered if this was just a passing moment or if this was part of my personality: always feeling rushed and overwhelmed, always feeling like I had too much to do? Then I remembered that today was Sunday. I fantasized about spending Sunday morning sitting on the sofa, a cup of tea in my hand, watching television and reading the newspaper. Then I sat down on a log and watched the sunrise. I had a nice breakfast and a cup of tea, all without holding anyone up.
The hiking today was much harder than anticipated, with lots of steep pitches interspersed with ridge walking. We climbed a fire tower for some magnificent views of the North Carolina mountains, had lunch up on a ridge, then had a dramatic descent to stop at the NOC for soda, ice cream, and a quick hand and face wash in the bathroom. Both Chiclet and I were feeling sort of nauseates, probably because of the 3000 foot elevation drop. We both started feeling a bit better as we climbed back out of the gap into the mountains again, to set up camp by Wright Gap. Got everything all set up and buckled down before the night's rainfall.