July 21st- Day of Rest -Top of Mountian Overlook-- Elkwallow Picnic Area- 5 Miles

We rose early to take in the beautiful overlook. Elizabeth couldn't sleep and found herself up early reading and resting on the rocks as the sun rose. Grace slept in for once, because she thought a bear would attack her the night before and therefore didn't sleep well. We ate breakfast and hiked five miles to the wayside. We stopped at the cabin, but thought we could find a better place further along so we continued on the journey.

As we walked on the wayside everyone stared at us as if we were some unusual creatures. All the picnic tables were occupied so we had to wait in the grass for a while. We washed our pans and clothes in the sink, all the while receiving funny looks. People finally began to warm up to us and asked us what we were doing and where we were coming from. We made many phone calls and planned out our next 1/2 so we could make sure we stopped at almost all the waysides -- and the music at Big Meadows. It got us excited and we energized for the days to come...

-We met Goat who was very fond of Grace. He has almost completed the trail (He did a flip flop over 2 years) and he took a beer and left.
-No Snakes

We waited till the place was closed and everyone left, including the English teacher and engineer on their motorcycles. Once everyone left we were just finishing up dinner with no destination and and nowhere to sleep. Grace walked along the AT and Anne and Elizabeth explored the picnic area.

With no hope on the AT, we sat on the ground to ponder our mission:

Mission #1 Hang bear-bags in the perfect tree (note: in the middle of the trail)
Mission #2 Prepare for bed, stash bags behind log and wait till all the cars are gone.
Mission #3 When dusk falls, sneak up quietly to find a spot to sleep
Mission #4 Make it without being seen (this failed as we stayed behind a tree and were mistaken for bears. Later the couple confessed )
Mission #5 Set up and sleep and don't get eaten by a bear or have the park ranger find us in a non-camping area.

We woke up at 5:30, grabbed our stuff and ate breakfast by the bear-bags. Mission accomplished!
(Car's drove around late at night without their lights on, and a unidentifiable creature was heard by our sleeping area at night)

Flora and Fauna: raccoon