A Badger!

August 23, 2025

Mile 293.2-317.4 (24.2 miles)

The sun appeared from behind the clouds early this morning and warmed us and our campsite right up which was good because I wasn't planning on leaving the quilt until it did. Everything is wet because of condensation and rain. I am sick of rain. The first part of the day was the hardest. We had a steep but short uphill and the trail continued to be covered with large, loose rocks. I rolled my ankle several times per mile but actively tried to not be in a shitty mood. After 6 miles we started seeing signs for the trail magic ahead! A hiker coming NOBO yesterday had told us we'd come across it but I pushed it out of my head, not letting myself get my hopes up until I actually saw it with my own two eyes.

There were two RVs set up in a big grassy field and I could smell the pancakes before I saw them. We dug through our packs taking advantage of the sunshine, exploding everything out in a huge circle to dry, weighed down by rocks to keep the wind from blowing it away. Pooh and Jan cooked us as many pancakes as we could eat. I think I used an entire pound of butter. They were so sweet, took our trash and had huge jugs of water for us to fill up on. We thanked them several times and chatted with them about the trail.

When it was time to push on I felt kind of sick from overeating but thankfully the trail was downhill and easy on a dirt road. At the next water source it rained and we sat in a field with our umbrellas as we waited it out. We passed mile 300!

Continued on easy roads all day and stopped dead in our tracks when we saw movement along one of the dirt roads. A badger?! A badger! Might be the most badass wildlife sighting of my life. He was right along the road and had let us walk up pretty close before we'd even seen him. We froze in our tracks and made a wide circle around him. He wasn't bothered in the least and eventually scampered down the hill and sat under a tree. He was so beautiful with the cutest little face. I wanted to kiss his nose but restrained myself.

Passed by cows and cow water. By this time I was getting tired so I popped another caffeine pill and made some notes in my phone to pass the time on some ideas I have for my Gatlinburg Girls trip. We grabbed water at the last source where Cave Bear and friend had set up their tents and were eating ramen. We joked around with them and considered camping nearby but we really love our privacy and walking around camp naked so we pushed another mile until the threat of rain and night falling made us stop and quickly set up under a tree for protection. The wind howled across the plain as we cuddled up close for the night and I hoped our stakes and the tent would hold.