June 12 - 17.9 / 1,184.4

Before going to bed, we decide that we were going to get up early to hike into town and catch the soccer match between the US and England. I got yup around 5 and was out by 6. I came across some trail magic within the first two hours. It was a cooler full of snacks, soft drinks, and popsicles. I was the first to arrive and decided to start eating a popsicle. Once o heard the others walking down the trail, I started to walk southbound. They saw me eating the popsicle, got excited, and started to yell. We sat around for about 30 minutes enjoying the trail magic and then hiked on. Again, I was the first one to leave. It wasn't 30 minutes later that I came across another thing of trail magic. The local trail boss had set out a cooler full of snack bars, fruits, and drinks. He was actually around when I got there. We talked about the trail which was pretty cool. He was about to walk to the top of the mountain to do some trail maintenance. Again, I hiked on.

I made it to the top of the climb and started to walk across the ridge. The top was very overgrown and there was poison ivy everywhere. I am currently waiting for it to pop up on my body. Being alone, I kept hiking and made it to a shelter. I breaked there while the others caught up.

Eventually, DS, Castor, and Spatula showed up. They took a break too, and then we all pushed on wanting to make it to town. We had about 5 or 6 miles to go from the shelter. Finally, pretty worn out, we made it to Hwy 501 and the 501 shelter by 1:00! That was the earliest I had ever finished 17.5 miles. It felt really good. We dropped our stuff off at the shelter and talked to the local caretaker who lived a few yards away. Being new to the area, she wasn't sure of a place to watch the game. However, the did offer some Ben & Jerrys which we all four gladly excepted. We walked back to the road to try and hitch into town.

It was about an hour before we got a hitch. Probably the second longest I have ever had to wait. Castor claims it was the "double delorian" that got us a ride. He was on Spat's shoulders with his thumb out when a car pulled over. The guy gave us a ride into town to O'Neals Pub. There we caught the second half of the soccer match. Overall, I was pleased with US's play. I wish we attacked more, but England is a tough competitor in our pool. A tie is better than a loss.

After the game, the four of us walked to the grocery store to resupply. We then got a hitch back to the shelter. For dinner, it was my specialty. I made chicken tacos. We did get a good laugh before dinner. Castor was opening a can of chicken when it went all over him. Literally, hit him in the face and went all down his shirt.

I took some time and spoke with the caretaker after dinner. Her and her husband had just moved there and begun the roll of care taker of the shelter. She thru hiked previously and wanted to give back. This was their way of doing so.

For the night, the shelter was full. It was myself, Fusion, DS, Castor, Spat', Grace & Glory, Walking Man, Inferno (a lady I met while walking up to Bear's Den before leaving trail for the bro's wedding), Lefty, and some section hikers.