{"id":124,"date":"2023-03-31T16:44:28","date_gmt":"2023-03-31T23:44:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/maxheap.net\/at2023\/?p=124"},"modified":"2023-03-31T17:50:40","modified_gmt":"2023-04-01T00:50:40","slug":"the-noc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/maxheap.net\/at2023\/the-noc\/","title":{"rendered":"The NOC"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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The main building on the NOC campus<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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An Appalachian Trail map I lifted from the interwebs<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Nantahala Outdoor Center<\/a> is a whitewater recreation, learning and competition destination situated on the Nantahala River in the mountains of North Carolina, just south of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park<\/a> (GSMNP). I arrived here this morning after a short 5 mile morning hike- the AT goes right through the sprawling campus. By the time I got the key to check in to my bunk, I’d already done my laundry, purchased and printed my backcounty permit for GSMNP, hitchhiked to a nearby general store for resupply, charged my phone, uploaded videos (5-10) to my YouTube channel<\/a> (feel free to check those out) and relaxed a bit with an ice cold beverage in the brief sunshine we had earlier today. As I sit writing in my cell block room now near sunset, I hear the rain coming down outside. Looks like I chose a good night to sleep indoors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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My stalag looking room<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The AT crosses the Nantahala here at this bridge<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The first of 13 border crossings….NC\/TN is next<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Another day, another amazing water source <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Controlled burn flames adjacent to the trail…I stamped it out after taking video and pictures<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

At mile 136.9 I’m happy to note that so far this is the smoothest\/best start I’ve had on a thru-hike. My feet, legs and back all feel good. I’ve met several great hikers already (Mike, Dave) but as we’re all establishing our own pace, etc it’ll be some time before I see if I’ll fall in with a hiking crew or not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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North Carolina spring forests and mountains<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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\ud83d\ude00<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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That’s an old fire lookout tower behind those trees<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

With no library nearby, I’m posting via phone and therefore will keep things brief, but one fun new development is that some of the places I’m seeing are triggering forgotten memories from the SOBO hike I completed back in 2015. A couple of days ago just before dusk I reached the shelter I intended to camp nearby, instantly recalling upon seeing it two of the people I encountered there back in 2015. They were weekend hikers in their late 20s. It was her birthday as I recall and he worked as a lobbyist in D.C. He hated the work and complained in depth about the spirit-crushing nature of the job and how lobbyists have to sell their souls, etc. But my most vivid recollection was that the two of them downed an entire liter of whiskey sitting in the shelter that night. In the morning despite the noise and hubbub from all the surrounding hikers, they slept obliviously.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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You can see where the Blue-Ridge gets it’s name<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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What’s not to smile about today?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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More ridges<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I ended up buying a lightweight liner to augment the old down sleeping bag I brought, which was a simpler and cheaper solution then having Wendy send my heavy-duty quilt and then swapping back again later. It’s been very cold and the old war horse sleeping bag has lost most of its umph.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I hope you enjoy this round of pictures. My next resupply will likely be in Gatlinburg, Tennessee so I’ll try to update again then, depending on how things go. Love, Max<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Nantahala Outdoor Center is a whitewater recreation, learning and competition destination situated on the Nantahala River in the mountains of North Carolina, just south of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GSMNP). I arrived here this morning after a short 5 mile morning hike- the AT goes right through the sprawling campus. By the
+ Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-124","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-north-carolina"],"yoast_head":"\nThe NOC - 2023 AT Nobo<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/maxheap.net\/at2023\/the-noc\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The NOC - 2023 AT Nobo\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Nantahala Outdoor Center is a whitewater recreation, learning and competition destination situated on the Nantahala River in the mountains of North Carolina, just south of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GSMNP). 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