Trail Magic and making friends!!

Woke up on the morning of day 35 (5/24) feeling like someone put a light up sign over my head that read 'bug buffet'. I was covered in red itchy bumps! (Determined later that they were the biggest hives I've ever had as a reaction to the laundry detergent/fabric softener that our sheet had been washed in).
At 2.8 miles of our 15 mile day, we were pleasantly surprised with an entire cooler full of cold sodas!! Yay for early trail magic!

We saw 13 other SOBO hikers on the way down (we forgot it was Memorial Day weekend). Some of them day hikers (or day walkers as we like to joke). All of us thru hikers crack jokes about the day hikers. After dealing with your own unwashed funk for a few days in the mountains, you can pick out the day hikers by the smell alone. They smell amazing!!! Like soap and cologne and fabric softener. Rob and I try to clean up daily either in the creek/stream or with a baby wipe bath. But it's just not the same as a good 'ol shower!! 

So after a frustrating day of lots of uphill hiking (the senseless ups and downs rule really applies!! Some days you go down only to go back up). We were accompanied by the 'popcorn crickets' again today. These are baby crickets that jump in and out of the dry leaves on either side of the trail by the hundreds as you walk by. It seriously sounds like popcorn!!!
We stayed at a random campsite that night alone. Except for the symphony of owls that woke us up around midnight. It's funny, i can't tell you how many times I'd been asked if I was going to bring a gun. Seriously, except for the chance meeting of a bear, or the weather going completely haywire, I've never felt so completely safe in my life. Just about everyone you meet is incredibly nice!
The next morning as we were packing up a random large dog walked down the trail (the trail was above where we were camping). We waited but didn't see anyone hiking behind it. We then figured out it was a coyote! Bye Wile E. Have a good hike!
(5/25)We hiked on and came across amazing trail magic! An entire cooler filled to the brim with sodas, sandwiches, brownies, cookies, milk and even dog biscuits!!

Made our whole day and it was only 9am!! We got to the shelter (called No Business Knob Shelter, apparently because it had no business being there. No water source, no privy, no cables to hang our food bags. And the inside looked like a high school bathroom with all the graffiti). However, we did meet 4 super cool section hikers; Lou, Ryan, Brian, and Mike. Mike had an iPod and a speaker so we had music!! What a luxury!! We were all headed to Erwin, Tennessee the next day to stay at Uncle Johnny's Hostel. We also found that Mike's trail name was 'Winebag' because he carried a 3 liter bag of wine for then to drink the first couple of days. We also tried to give Brain the name Candypants because of his love for candy! All around a nice evening.

Sadly I don't remember where I took these exactly. I know it was between the trail magic and No Business Knob Shelter. But pretty view of a cascade.