Zero Sick Day

May 21, 2013
0 miles

Our makeshift campsite on Round Bald.

The next morning we had to make ourselves wait until a decent hour to call Mr. Terry to come pick us up.  We painstakingly packed up the tent and gear and walked back the 1 mile or so to Carver’s Gap.  When we got cell phone service we called and thankfully, Mr. Terry was coming to Carver’s Gap anyway so he could pick us up.  It was a sunny morning and we snapped a few pictures from Round Bald as we went, just in case we didn’t have this beautiful weather next time we came.  As we waited miserably for Terry to get there at 9:30 we talked to a couple of guys who had camped right beside the bathrooms/parking area at Carver’s Gap.  Too bad we didn’t see those campsites the night before.  I would have been forced to use one of them even if we don’t like camping close to the road.

Trekking back to Carver's Gap to get a ride.

Could it be that we had contracted the dreaded Norovirus?  It had been talked about a lot this year on the trail and lots of people have suffered with it between Hot Springs and Erwin.  It is so famous, that someone evidently held a private ceremony for it under a tree. 

The view from Round Bald.

We dragged ourselves up the stairs at the hostel and fell into the wonderful king size bed in our semi-private room.  We slept most of the day.  Other hikers came and went in the common room and we heard them, but didn’t see too many folks for the rest of the day. 

We were able to keep down soup and crackers a little later in the day, but had no appetite for anything else.  We called Mr. Terry and told him that we would not be needing a shuttle the next morning.  We were too weak to hike.

A look at Carver's Gap from Round Bald.