Just after the border was a big climb up to Courthouse Bald. A good "Welcome to North Carolina, don't come back," kind of climb. The day was a long one, and the rest day didn't do as much for my feet muscles as I had hoped. I met two National Guardsmen who were out for an extended trek (but not thru hiking). One was having backpack trouble, which I tried to help with a quick adjustment, and the others boots began to fall apart on him. Bad luck for sure on some crucial gear, so it was off the trail for a trip to the outfitter for them. At about mile 11 I started to feel the pain again, but a few others and I pushed past Muskrat Creek Shelter at 11.8 miles in to continue on to Standing Indian Shelter another 5 miles. The running joke was it was all downhill. It wasn't.
There was a strong creek next to the shelter, so I quickly cooked my dinner and went down to soak my feet in the icy water. Between that and some Vitamin I (ibuprofen) my feet actually began to feel better. The pain was manageable, but I worried about the swelling. Still no blisters or anything other than muscle soreness though, so I feel lucky. We got the first chance to hang a bear bag without cables at this shelter, which was an adventure in itself. After about 25 minutes and some good laughs we had our food bags hung well enough that a it was perfectly safe from any bears without the use of their arms. It made us feel better anyway. This was my first night sleeping in a shelter (up until this point I had always used my tent at the sites) and it was an enjoyable experience. The two most common complaints of shelter sleeping were absent, mice and snoring, so I guess I lucked out.
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