April 14, 2022

We spent the last two days in Helen, GA because Riley hurt her Achilles. It was nice to rest up and get some food at an amazing diner in town called the Huddle House. The service was amazing. We got our laundry done and got some showers. Smokey Bear was at Unicoi Gap doing trail magic and shuttled us both to and from town. He gave us lots of helpful tips about what was coming next on trail.

We also met another hiker named Eyore who was having some shoulder pain. I shared my roller ball with him and he taught us how to do a heel lock with our shoelaces.

Today was a pretty tough climb back on trail. We only did about 4 miles up to the Cheese Factory camp site, but it was very steep elevation. During one break, a butterfly landed on my water bottle and hung out there for quite awhile, so that was cute! Riley fell on a rock down by a water source and hurt her shoulder. Now that I have my sleeping pad after her mom sent them to us at the post office, I'm going to try sleeping with it in my hammock tonight. Hopefully it holds up!