I was up early, ate packed and getting ready to leave by the time the other guys were getting up. I got on the trail at 6:30. I love hiking in the cool early Morning and we were planning a long day.
About 6 miles along the trail I came across an elderly Chinese woman from NYC. She looked a little confused and said she was lost. We looked at a map and she was trying to go to the same place as me. We turned her around and got her going in the right direction. She was on a pretty long section hike and her trail name was 'Hi Again'. She stopped and called her son who was tracking her by GPS to tell him every thing was now okay. About 2 miles down the road at Telico Gap I stopped, sat down on a rock and took off my shoes. Along came Hi Again, she sat down and we chatted some more. The guys caught up and I introduced them. The four of us started the 1 1/2 mile climb up Wesser Bald where we sat under the watch tower, relaxed and ate lunch. Along came Hi Again. I was starting to understand how she got her trail name. She climbed the tower, took some pictures then went down the trail.
In the heat of the afternoon we started down the last 7 miles to our days destination Nantahala Outdoor Center (NOC). Some of this trail was treacherous. There had been a forest fire the previous year and it was very exposed. It was a steep Rocky downhill where parts of the trail were washed out. In the middle of one of those sections I came across Hi Again, we said hi again. She looked a little flush so I asked her about her water. She warned me to be careful. She was a slow hiker but very steady and determined.
About 4:30 I arrived at the NOC where the guys were waiting for me. We rented a very Spartan room with two bunk beds, an air conditioner and a light. There were showers and a kitchen in the next building. I took a shower and went down to the store for beer and ice. Near the store I had one last Hi Again. She was waiting for her son who promised to take her to dinner.
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