Today was full of surprises! After waking up to a sunrise I watched from the warmth of my sleeping bag, I set out for day 2 of my adventure.
From there it was a nice morning walk to a backpacking campground with showers, bathrooms, and a plug for phone charging-what luxury! While taking a hearty 3 hour siesta at the backpacking site, I reconnected with a hiker from the hostel last night. We parted ways knowing that he was faster and assuming we’d never see each other again, but only a few miles later we ran into each other again at some roadside trail magic (did I mention I passed an interstate??).
Long story short, the hiker and I continued on together and have decided to camp tonight at a beautiful overlook and push some miles into town tomorrow.
Thanks to the wonderful ministry I am serving with on my walk, we have a UMC trail angel picking several of us up tomorrow evening! All hikers in this crew are happy to receive the hospitality and word that I’m a trail chaplain is officially out. 
Happy trails!
A Ministry of the Holston Conference of The United Methodist Church