Day 8 Siler and Wayah

Writing from another shelter, after hiking another 18.5 miles with excellent weather. Listening to barred owls in the distance. 


I slept fine last night. Not good, not bad. But to be honest, for as cold as it was I’ll count that as a win. 


The only other person in the shelter was a lady who was planning on getting off trail due to an Achilles tendon issue. We hung her food bag for her since she wasn’t planning on hanging it herself. I understand being injured but I still think bear safety is incredibly important. You know what’s worse than an Achilles strain? Being mauled by a bear. Now as I’ve previously said, bears are not a serious danger in the northeast but that doesn’t mean you should increase your chances of a negative bear encounter. Especially not at a shelter where you aren’t the only person staying. 


We had a slower start to the day, only really getting on trail at like 8:30. The morning was very cold, and was below freezing until almost noon. However, we really appreciated the clear skies and dryness.



The two major obstacles for the day were Siler Bald and Wayah Bald. Both mountains are over 5,000 feet and have excellent views. It’s pretty cool how the top of mountains have such different terrain in the south. They are more like grassy pastures than the rocky outcroppings we are used to from New Hampshire. The ascent up Siler was quite gradual and we weren’t in a rush. The summit of the mountain was an extra half mile round trip, but we decided to take the extra work for lunch on top of Siler. Given the clear weather it was well worth it.




After Siler we descended 1,000 feet before climbing all the way back up to over 5,300 feet to summit Wayah Bald. Wayah has stone towers on top, to enhance the views. 




By the time we made it to Wayah we were pretty tired so we decided if the nearest shelter were empty we would stay there. To our surprise the shelter was empty. It is still shocking how few people we are encountering. The shelters in 2020 were crowded. This year we have hardly seen other hikers. Quite the mystery.


The only thing I’m concerned about currently is my ankles. My calves have been very tight and almost feel like they are cramping at the end of the day. Since it’s both my calves and it improves with stretching and rest I think it is just a muscle issue. I’ll make sure to keep an eye on it and stay diligent about stretching. The last thing I want is an injured tendon or ligament. 


Tomorrow we are going to lose a ton of elevation over the course of 16 miles, before arriving at the NOC. We plan to resupply and spend the night at a shared room there. Looking forward to the rest and town food.


We are making excellent progress. Overall today we went 18.5 miles. Before we know it we will be through the Smokies and back to Virginia.


Goodnight

Walker 


If you want to follow Tyler or Spencer, here are their logs as well:


Tyler: https://tylerat2024.blogspot.com/?m=1


Spencer: https://www.instagram.com/baxter.bound?utm_source=qr&igsh=MWx4MzRqa3M4dGk3Mw==




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