Day 12: March 13

Hiked 7.5 miles from Plumorchard shelter to Muskrat Creek shelter.
We crossed the Georgia/North Carolina border today. :>
Wow, that was an incredibly long and steep climb. Of course, Firewalker had no memory of that part of the trail from when he last hiked it.
Everyday he asks me what the date is and then cheers when I tell him b/c it's another day closer to the end of our trip. He says he's enjoying everything but the hiking. He also says that he doesn't remember the trail (from '94) being so challenging! The only things he seems to remember were the really cool resting spots - the ones where you can sit on a rock without having to squat so low plus it has a nifty little spot behind you where your pack can easily perch. I've decided that I enjoy everything about this hiking trip, except the camping part. I'm not very comfortable sleeping in my tent - even with the 2 sleeping pads my hips still seem to be unhappy. It's very crowded in my coffin-tent. I'm over "tent poles". The collapsible poles have come a long way since the olden days, but they're such a pain when you're trying to set up camp. There are other tenting options out there - out here - where you can use one or both of your trekking poles to prop up your tent. Sigh. I'll be ok though.