Day 70

13.5 to Helvy Mills Shelter. +2 for SAR. Trail magic with cookies. We met 2 section hikers from Jacksonville- Chuck and rob who were super nice. We were getting ready for bed and I heard a rumble and will was like “that sounds like a gator.” Then there were real bright lights coming up and a guy came around and asked if any of us were traveling south. He then said SAR was trying to make contact with a sick hiker about a mile north and wanted to know if anyone would be willing to lead some folks up that way since it’s dark. Of course Will says yes, and I said I’ll go too. So we hike an extra mile or so up trail, by that time the EMTs were already there. But Will carried his pack and I led since it’s easier to follow someone, especially in the dark. But also-when I did the backpacking conference in VA in October, we did an 8 mile hike and then had a fake rescue situation that I had to sit out of because I couldn’t hike another mile I was so exhausted and my feet were so bad. We did 14 today. And then doing this was actually easy cause I didn’t have a pack, so I am excited to see how much I have changed and how much stronger I am now.