Mile 1,569.8
Elevation 1,132.0 feet
Miles Hiked 11.8
I woke up extra early this morning, because I wanted to get into Dalton early. I had reserved a room at the Shamrock Village Inn, so I skipped breakfast, and I was on my way at 6:15 AM. Fortunately, the trail was easy with only a few steep climbs of a short distance. The Kay Woods Shelter (8.8 miles) was reached after 4 3/4 hours, which was a fast pace for me. Dalton was another 3 miles away.
I arrived at the Dalton trailhead just before noon. There were a bunch of kids there holding a class on the Appalachian Trail. The adult moderator asked me to stop and address the group, which I did. I talked about the trail and what I had been doing.
After continuing on, it wasn’t long before I came up to Tom Levardi’s house. Tom is a well known trail angel. He invited me on his porch for a soda, and we ended up talking about Italy where both sets of our ancestors are from. The children I saw at the trailhead joined us as part of their instruction, which included talking with Tom. I left after taking a picture and arrived at the motel at 12:15.
After a shower, I caught an 85 cent bus ride to Walmart where I purchased provisions for the next week or so.
Dinner was at a nearby restaurant with other hikers, and afterwards I went to my room and called it a day.
The next day, June 16, was a zero day. Besides doing wash, I pretty much did nothing for the entire day.
