Mountain Laurel Blossoms
Location: Loft Mountain Campground (888.1 miles)

I managed to leave before 8 am today, though not as early as I would have liked.

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Location: Calf Mountain Shelter (869.0 miles)

Waking up, I immediately noticed a lack of energy from not eating my ramen last night. Another hiker pointed out that, with my dinner of Mac and Cheese and Ramen, I'm basically carbo-loading every evening. Which is not a bad way to prepare for a hike.

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View from Hanging Rock Overlook
Location: Paul C. Wolfe Shelter (856.3 miles)

I got started on a 22 mile day this morning around 7:30, continuing my ascent of Three Ridges Mountain, an arduous climb up 2100 feet over 3.3 miles, featuring rock fields and short rock scrambles. The top, though, had a nice view, and I stopped for a break there, probably for too long given I still had 19 miles to go. This would be a recurring theme throughout the day.

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Fern-Lined Trail
Location: Harpers Creek Shelter (834.3 miles)

I managed to get started hiking before 8 today, which was great since I spent a fair amount of time not actually progressing down the trail today.

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Meadows on Cole Mountain
Location: Seeley-Woodworth Shelter (820.1 miles)

I decided I wanted to get back to the trailhead by 8:30. I'd have preferred sooner, to get an earlier (and thus, cooler) start to a day that starts with a long uphill, but that's a reasonable compromise since I'm starting an hour away from the trailhead. An 8:30 start meant leaving at 7:30.

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