Strategic Laziness

So, this morning I was all planning on crushing some mileage. Twenty-one miles, too easy. Didn't happen. I was on track, but then when I ran into Funsize at Cosby  Knob (231 miles), she told me tomorrow night was going to be miserable. If I stayed here I'd be in a good position to stay at a hostel tomorrow. Then Pretzel and Carnie Hands arrived. They were just doing a loop, but Pretzel had thru-hiked in 2012. He told me he finished in five months, with taking a week off for Trail Days and then a week off in D.C., on top of zeros, and that a lot of his buddies who started pushing really hard in the Smokies and just after them had to take some time off for injuries. So, since I'm weak willed and inherently lazy, I called my day at a little over 13 miles today. 

Tomorrow night will therefore be at Standing Bear, a Trail famous establishment, and one that I'd been interested in seeing. I hadn't planned on staying, but if the weather is going to be as bad as it has been (except today), then I'm all about being warm. I absolutely detest the cold. So looking forward to not seeing my breath all day. 

Gorgeous views today, and tomorrow I plan on stopping by Mt. Camerer, which I have been told by multiple people that it offers the best views in TN. Also tomorrow, I will put the Smokies behind. Another section done. I will be able to camp wherever I want again. Freedom!  

The three thru-hikers here tonight are all veterans, which is a unique experience. Funsize, Survivorman, and myself. Oh wait, there's one other here, but he literally buried himself in his sleeping bag on the far end of the shelter from us and hasn't said a word in hours. He doesn't have a trail name yet, which I suppose is reasonable if he doesn't talk to people. Two of the section hikers here said they recognized my name from the register, apparently the girl said "It's probably a 17  year old girl."  

On the plus side, at least one person really likes my register entries. If I haven't mentioned it yet, I wrote "Legen..." in the Springer Mountain shelter register. In each subsequent shelter, I write "...wait for it..." And I intend to finish on Katahdin with "...dary." The Aussie, Beandip, who I haven't met yet, is excited about it and looks for my entries, according to Funsize. She has obviously impeccable taste. Yet again this won't be posted until I get some signal. I'm building quite a queue.  

Lunch at Tri-corner shelter. Photo by Survivorman.