Day 69 - South River to Big Meadows

Well, we didn’t have to get on the trail in full after all. We planned to sleep late and go to breakfast, so we didn’t think we’d be able to do many miles. Decided to shoot for Big Meadows (finally), which is where we've been spending our nights. 

Then Mr. Murphy offered to keep one of the rooms for us. Score! I was happy (mixed with a moderate dose of guilt). Oh, forgot to mention that we finally caught up with Phil last night. He’s been ahead of us since we got off the trail to go to Rusty’s. Anyway, it was good to see him. He came to dinner and stayed in the room with us.

Blur, Longshanks, Stray Cat, Duchie, Phil, Phil, and Smittee

Slept til after 8:30 the next morning and went to breakfast around 10 (buckwheat pancakes with blueberries). Then we had to move our stuff to the new room. Got a ride back to the trail at noon and said our goodbyes. 

Only 14 miles back to Big Meadows. Hot and humid, but the pack was light and the ground was flat. They were 14 of the easiest miles on the trail. We did them in 4 ½ hours. 

Smittee saw a mama bear and three of her cubs. I was a few minutes too late. Got to the campground around 4:30 and was very happy to have a room awaiting us. Showered and went to the lodge. Dave and Smittee were already in the tap room, throwing back a few, so I joined them. We stayed there for quite a while. 

Hung out in the room, then turned out the lights. There was a lot of giggling going on – kind of like a big slumber party. Slept really well with my foamy pink pillow. Up after 8. Lots of fog and drizzle make for a low motivation factor.