Look at you: member of the honor roll, assistant to the assistant manager of the movie theater. I’m tellin’ ya, Rat, if this girl can’t smell your qualifications, then who needs her, right-Mike Damone in Fast Times at Ridgemont High
I barely slept, woke at 5:00 am, barely ate, spoke to nobody, snuck past EMO TOLSTOY’s dog and made my way outside the base camp, to prepare my pack for the day. I reduced my pack weight by at least 25%, and made my way towards the trail at about 7:15am and headed out on my own. Dave Mathews music still rung in my head from the night before, and i wasn’t happy about that. I was scared that this climb out of the NOC toward the Cheoah Bald would be too much for me. Its considered the toughest climb of the southern Appalachians, and a day where many thru-hikers do less than ten miles. Quickly my apprehension went away as i was gaining a thousand feet per half hour to 45 minutes. My Legs felt good and i passed Sassafras Gap shelter at ten minutes till 11:00 am. I pushed on till 1:15pm near Stecoah GAP and then jumped down accidently at some point to a service road that led me quickly back towards sassafras. I met up with Robert and Jon at darn near three o’clock. they were heading up to the Bald to camp, (frankly i was shocked that it took them that long to get to there, but they were taking lots of pictures). I felt too good to stop and i pushed down towards the NOC, retracing my steps, but not before a run in with three younger people, likely late teens. A girl named Ashley, a white trashy blonde with two goofballs came stumbling down the mountain from Cheoah Bald. To see this girl is like getting transported back 20 years. she had big blond hair, a white “i Love the USA” t shirt with a blue bra underneath that showed through the t shirt. it was also cut off about 3 inches under her breasts, exposing her slighltly paunch midsection. She looked like Jennifer Jason Leigh in “Fast Times at Ridgemont High” after Linda (Phoebe Cates) turns her into a slut that leads to sleepin with that older guy Doug and then Mike Damone. The rest of the trip back to the NOC i had that Jackson Browne song stuck in my head “Somebody’s Baby” from the scene in the movie where Stacy is riding in Doug’s Camaro toward the dugout up at the “Point”. I hiked the last couple miles in the dark and i scurried a couple of bears away at dusk. They move so quick, you never have time to get the camera out. i got back to the NOC after 6:00 pm and ate nothing. I just went to sleep. i don’t know how many miles exactly i did since i used the service road some of the way back but it was over 23 miles and likely more. i ran for a good chunk of the day, especially at the end.
