Day 37 - Orchard Campsite to Roan High Knob Shelter
12.6 miles
Another beautiful day.
Left orchard campsite at 7:40. I was tired this morning, and uninspired but tried not to complain.
At second break made a mocha drink. That second shot of coffee and extra sugar seemed to help.
We set a good pace today. At 1:30 we had only 4.4 miles to go, up Roan Mountain. We ate a nice long lunch at the water source near the bottom of our Roan climb.
Tenacious Bling was bored today, wanting distractions, but no one else was too inspired to play games, etc.
The climb up Roan was quite beautiful. Arrived at camp around 4pm, which meant 4 hours to make camp, eat supper, clean up and relax before going to bed.
Roan High Knob Shelter is the highest shelter on the AT and a beautiful evergreen campsite.
I had time to take a "bath" today which involves heating water in my titanium mug (the same one I use for eating) and using my washcloth and a bit of soap to give myself a sponge bath.
Otter and Tenacious Bling made a fire. Padawan was feeling a bit low. The site was quiet and kind of lonely until about 7pm when familiar faces arrived. We enjoyed some pre-bed conversation with Hurricane Jane, Lobo, GoFar, and Pockets (from Switzerland). Lobo is a big Star Wars fan so there is instant common ground there.
Sharing a tent with Otter and Tenacious Bling tonight. Going to bed nice and early, lights out by 8:45.
