04-03-13 Somewhere near Cody Gap

When we left the NOC we said goodbye to a few friends that were with a military benefit program called warrior hike where veterans hike as a therapy and at same time raise money for disabled veterans. Please check out their site: www.warriorhike.com

Did not quite make the 6 mile climb back up to elevation from the NOC but we did manage to find a spot just big enough for 2.5 tents (our tent was on quite a slope) on the ridge near Swim Bald where we were joined by our old friend--of 2 weeks--Jess (now Stretch), Siren and Paddy Man.

Broke camp late and headed toward Cheoah Bald. An awesome view; I could see us putting a cabin up here.

Descended into Stecoah Gap. A section hiker gave us bottled water and took our trash. Also, we hit the 150 mile mark. We crossed over a state highway and proceeded back up in elevation.

At Sweetwater Gap we came to the start of "Jacob's Ladder"--basically an uphill at a 45 degree angle. My heart rate went up, but it wasn't too bad--maybe because we'd been on the Baldwin hill a time or two (shout-out KU cycling team).

We could have stopped at a shelter, but had a few more miles left in our legs and pushed onto Cody Gap. A couple of other tenters are nearby--our buddy Violet, and some other couple that didn't come out of their tent.