I chose to do this section NOBO so Martha and I hiked the 6.5 miles north out of Sam’s Gap together to start the day. This put us on top of Big Bald when we stopped for a break. Big Bald offers a 360 degree view and we had a really nice day to enjoy it.

Then I headed toward Erwin and Martha headed back south to get the car. Next I climbed up Little Bald. There were men cutting the grass near the trail with John Deer tractors. The newly cut grass made this climb much more pleasant than it would have been. Good timing!

I stopped off at No Business Shelter for a snack and to read the trail register. There is this woman named Dropknife that is also doing a flip flop thru hike. I had been trying to catch her and got within 2 hours of her last weekend when I had to leave the trail for work. I know she is in her late 20’s, from Germany, and is very nice but I have never met her. In the register at the shelter I found out that she is also a PhD chemist. What are the chances? It appears she took some time off in Erwin so maybe I will still catch her this weekend.

With a few miles to go into Erwin, a thunderstorm popped up and escorted me in to town. Martha gave awesome support this weekend. 🙂 When I arrived in Erwin, she was there waiting on me with my favorite Subway sandwich and soda. Yay! Back to Sam’s Gap to head south tomorrow.