We woke up to great weather– the cold snap, or blackberry winter as the locals call it, has finally ended.  If anything, it was too hot.  It got into the 80s and the heat really sapped my strength.  The up and downs were moderate but the heat made it difficult.  I drank seven liters of water and was dehydrated the whole time. 

 I’ve gotten really lazy about water purification– I keep growing the list of situations where I “don’t need to”.  Lately the lists includes everywhere where there are no used syringes visible.  I’ll do better.

Oh, and remember that said that yesterday had the two best waterfalls?  Well, Laural Falls today blows them both away.  Right after the falls the trail is actually a two foot ledge on the face of one of the cliffs– a little nerve wracking, but very cool.  We hiked down river a ways, never more than ten feet from the torrent.  After a while we found a sweet camping spot i.e. Near water, flat tent spots, and suitable sitting logs and limbs.  Bam!  Home run.  We settled in before the rain and were only 3 miles from Hampton TN for resupply.  Happy trails.