April 7

You down with NOC, yeah you know me

Up early, and a short hike down into the Nantahala Outdoor Center (NOC).  Learned that in Cherokee, Nantahala means 'land of the noonday sun'.  Well first thing first, we went into the restaurant to order breakfast.  Many hiker packs lined the bench outside.  Sausage gravy biscuits, eggs, and coffee.  I went into the outfitter there and talked to an employee named 'Alpine'.  He has thru'd the AT before.  He literally spent 2 hours with me fitting me for shoes, and talking about how to take care of my feet.  I mailed my old shoes home, and now I'm rockin' a brand new pair of Oboz.  I took a look around the festival at the various vendor tents that were set up.  Then lunch.  Hungry Hiker burger - Two 1/2 lb patties with all the fixings, and a salad.  Then apple cobbler a la mode.  Yeah so a full pound of ground beef, devoured in about 2 minutes, haha.  The area around the NOC is gorgeous.  A footbridge takes you right across the river.  Kayaks, canoes, fly fishers all enjoying the water.  Cyclists zooming by on the road.  And of course many hikers.  A true outdoor sports mecca.  In the afternoon I sat in on a presentation by a guy who hiked the "Camino de Santiago" in Spain, which is about a 35 day casual-ish hike through Spain, following a pilgrimage route in honor of St James if I recall correctly.  Maybe next year?  Pizza dinner at the restaurant.  Then I went to set up camp.  A few of us walked down the railroad tracks a few hundred yards, and pitched tents/hammocks between the tracks and the river.  I felt like such a hobo, haha.

16oz of ground beef, Yum!