Day 15

Origin: A. Rufus Morgan Shelter
Destination: Cheoah Bald
Today's miles: 8.9
Total miles: 146.2

Just a fantastic day. We woke up with a little pep in our step knowing a big breakfast was only a mile away at the Nantahala Outdoor Center (NOC), a big rafting center on the Nantahala River. We arrived there shortly after 9am and took a seat at the River's End restaurant with a view of the river. I ordered the Fontana Hashbrowns, which were home fries topped with sautéed onions, peppers, tomatoes and broccoli, topped with bacon, topped with scrambles eggs, topped with cheese. I'm not normally a big breakfast eater but I easily took the whole thing down. Magge ordered an omelette and a biscuit.

After the long breakfast break, we bought a few supplies and hit the trail. Today was short on mileage but big on climbing. The elevation change from the NOC to our destination of Cheoah Bald is approximately 3,300 ft over 7.9 miles. That's nearly the vertical drop of Vail Ski Resort. The climb actually wasn't as bad as the elevation profile made it look, but there were two tough sections. The perfect weather all day made it easier.

We got to the top of Cheoah Bald, a grassy bald sitting at just over 5,000 ft. There was a great camping spot sitting there completely empty and we jumped on it. We didn't even see another hiker the rest of the day so we still have it all to ourselves. Magge built a great fire and we ate dinner looking out at perhaps the best view we've had so far. We're normally in our tent before sunset, but tonight we stayed by the fire until it got dark. Today was the best day we've have so far, and we've got lots of pictures here to prove it.

Pictures, top to bottom: Magge's breakfast at River's End; Magge crossing the Nantahala; Magge at the Jump-Up point right before the toughest ascent of the day; our awesome campsite; Magge's fire; me, taking pictures; our view during dinner