Slackpacking Trip - Day 7 (Part 2)

Repositioned to Rock Gap (parking near Standing Indian Campground) and headed SOBO at 1300. After all of the tough hiking this week, I was stunned to find a section that was actually easy! The trail didn’t follow the ridge line - like almost every other section of the AT - and it curved easily along the edge of several balds at a very leisurely grade. There were actually so many switchbacks that it didn’t seem like I was climbing at all! But I gained 1000 feet by the time I reached Long Branch Shelter, my intended target. The creek there had completely engulfed the trail, which appeared to be a river. I considered continuing uphill but then remembered how I’d made that choice before and then had no definite turnaround point to revisit from the other side. Also, I was feeling so good after seven days of hiking that I didn’t want to do something (i.e., overdo it) to wreck the trip. So I turned around and practically ran down the mountain again. The views in the area were tremendous and I felt quite comfortable in my short sleeved shirt (max temp was 60 today). I got into my “hiking zone” again - a bit euphoric, no serious thoughts, one foot in front of the other - better than being buzzed. Before I finished, I met a day hiker lady and two pairs (one male, one female) of more serious hikers with their dogs (each pair had two). One of the guys was actually someone I’d seen at Unicoi Gap with the huge black dogs (Newfies) this morning. He told me that most of the backpackers in this area were actually hiking a 25 mile loop that included about 10 miles of AT. Sounded like a good weekend plan with friends but I decided that I have too many miles of AT left to get distracted... When I reached the car, I hiked over towards Wallace Gap to make sure I had completed all of the mileage in the area (another “0.5 miles south” note required this). Had some strong feelings of deja vu a few times but couldn’t pinpoint the turn (definitely did extra miles). Because of the retread, I ended up meeting another section hiker. He was a local gentleman who’d started the AT from Springer Mountain and had made it as far as Rock Gap in his spare time. We chatted for a bit and then I headed back to the parking area (arrived at 1615). When I counted up the miles, I figured out I’d hiked another 8.1 miles (for a nearly 14 mile day overall). Headed back to Franklin to get cleaned up - decided to go reward myself at the Brewery!  I walked to the Lazy Hiker and ordered dinner at Mad Batter (Food Truck).  They brought the food inside to me later and I enjoyed another evening of drinks at the Brewery (finished at 2030).  Relaxed in my room.  Still have more time to hike this weekend!  AT Today = 3.80 miles / G.T. AT = 1018.87 miles