On the trail there are also days called neros, or near zeros. Hikers walk in or out of a town for just a few miles, maybe spend the night and move on down the trail. Yesterday was a perfect nero for me. I got all my town chores done; ate too much food, did laundry, slept in a hostel, and resupplied. I could already feel myself getting antsy as I sat around the hostel. So just like that, my first zero day actually became a 16.7 mile day and I crossed into North Carolina.

Getting Georgia done in one week was great for my motivation and progress toward finishing the trail in time. I got dropped off at 8:00 am at Dick's Creek and after stretching, made my way down the trail. Georgia still had a couple of mountains for me to pass over before i bid f a rewell, but I passed the border right before lunch at a tree with a sign and a pipe growing into it.

At lunch I met Slim Jim and My Lord as we refilled and ate to refuel our bodies. One thing I knew going into this was food is fuel. As I eat on the trail, the typical three meals a day won't cut it. In between I am mich on protein bars, uncrustables, fruit snacks, and gatorade mixes to give my body the calories that it needs to make it up moutains. Maybe I'll do just a jornal on the food I eat in a day on one of my zero days.

After we finish lunch, my lord, slim jim, and I leap frog each other as we make out way up Nirth Carolinas first mountain. Thankfully, once we climb almost 1000ft of elevation, we have mostly down hill ridge walking. I made my way to Standing Indian after dropping off my lord at Muskrat Creek. I run back into Slim Jim as I am seeting up my tent site at Standing Indian.

The night on Standing Indian is cold, so I sleep with my water filter in my sleep liner to keep it from freezing. What a way to end what was supposed to be my first zero day.

Summary of Progress:

• Miles Completed: 16.6

• Total Miles Completed: 94.9

• Location: North Carolina

• Weather: Sunny during the day. Cold at night