This morning I passed the fifty mile mark! I meant to go into Hiwasee tomorrow for resupply but I was worried that I didn't have enough food for the difficult 15 miles ahead. I opted for Helen instead and now I'll have to carry an extra day of supplies or find one more before this weekend.

Yesterday I reached a level of hunger which made me realize that my previous notions about that word were but a mere shadow of the real thing. I suspect that I will have that same realization six more times before we're through.

I stayed at Low Gap Shelter last night and had dinner with a father and son I've been running into for the last four days. The mice weren't bad and quieted about an hour after dark. A nest of baby juncos squeaked at me from the roof. There was a steam nearby and once again owls. I snapped a good picture of one but that is on an SD card I need to mail home.

My feet stopped hurting after day two and now I have chaffing on my pelvis from the hip straps on my pack. I smell. I miss Katie. My legs are covered by a million red bites. But I'm having the time of my life.

I am doing two things every day: walking and writing. If I don't make a post here I'm putting pen to paper in my tent or a shelter.

If I stopped to give each breathtaking view the full attention it deserves I'd never get anywhere.