March 21, 2008 (6 mi.)

A couple of firsts today. The first real tangible sign of spring came in the form of some little lavender butterflies I saw today. Might actually be moths, they were so small. In any event, they were a nice sight given that everything else looks like it's still winter, which I suppose it still is.

The other first was my first trail magic. At Unicoi Gap, there was a mother and daughter who gave me an apple, and some Gatorade. Daughter - looks about 17 - wants to do a thru-hike next year.

The climb out of Unicoi was brutal. One thousand vertical feet in 1 1/2 mile pretty much wiped me out and killed my chances of doing real miles today. Camped out just short of Indian Grave Gap.