Today was a water day. Much of the morning I walked along Lauren Fork, a gurgling river about 20 feet across. The trail went right past Laurel Falls, a huge gorgeous waterfall. Most of the afternoon involved walking around Lake Haven, a large reservoir created by a power dam on the Watauga River. The reservoir is the turquoise color of an alpine lake. I even went for a dip in my undies in the lake. It was cold but very refreshing.
Flash shot past me around 2pm. We chatted briefly. He was doing another 25er. Around 4 I met a woman named Trash Panda drom Indiana going south on a section hike. She got her name because she is always picking up trash on the trail. I mentioned that I do tge same, and also pull up garlic mustard whenever I see it, since it’s invasive. Then we chatted about invasive species, how nice Canada is, and how crazy the US is, before heading outlr separate ways.
In late afternoon I ran into Tortoise again standing in front of Bucky’s camper van. Mantis, tge young woman who drives the van, offered me a Gatorade. Tortoise and I discussed where to camp. It didn’t seem like we had compatible plans. I headed on. I walked from 7:30 to 7. I ended up at an extremely basic sheltercwith no real tentsites. Luckily, I was the first person there, so I set myselfbip in the shelter. I made dinner, started eating, and Tortoise pulled up. He decided to camp here (he found an okay tentsite right in front of the shelter). We chatted for a while, and were serenaded by a whipoorwill for half an hour. To bed at 9pm.
Mile 417.5 to mile 437 = 20.5 miles
