Stats from day 22
Beginning Point: Mt Collins Shelter
Ending Point: Pecks Corner
Daily Mileage: 15.8 miles
Total mileage: 214.6 miles
Weather: glorious - no only a few raindrops today, a little sunny but not enough to fry you.
The Smokies is a park you need to experience first hand. Today we had some awesome views of all these mountains... There are just too many to count. The highlight of the day was Charlie's Bunion - a rocky outcropping that offered great views of TN. We even managed a technical scramble up to the top - sans packs - and got some photos. Most of our hike today was on ridgelines so the ups and downs were not too strenuous. The caveat here is that the ground was still very soggy from all the rains yesterday and I took 3 spills - but no damage done. Dan had one too; the good thing about all of these little tumbles is that the muddy ground cushioned our falls. And the muddy trail is much more comfortable than rocks to hike on. Lots of the trail was broken shale today - pretty tough on the toes.
Speaking of toes, my previous aches and pains have all subsided (with occasional regular knee pains associated with rain) with the exception of my feet. I've developed some small blisters on each heal - no big deal. By the afternoon however, my feet swell and there not much room in the toebox. I think I have some pinched nerves happening on both my big toes because they seem to go numb by mid-day. A guy who worked at the NOC told me that he had the same thing happen to him and not to worry because the feeling came back after a few months! We'll see... no big deal though.
We've been lucky to meet up with really great people in the shelters. Last night we shared Mt. Collins shelter with a group from TN - Matt, his dad Steve, April and Brian, and another lady whose name I can't recall - very nice folks. Matt and his dad had us laughing from stories of previous hikes. Hi guys!
Tonight we met a fellow named Christian. He works with an outdoors program for kids at risk and showed us how to start a fire using the bow. It looks like a lot of work for something that only takes a minute or two to do. It was pretty awesome (and I snapped a picture).
We saw lots of Trout Lilies, Spring Beauties, and several trillium species today. In some areas they sprawl over the entire hillside. There's one trillium that I favor the most for its delicate beauty - the painted trillium. Its white with a deep maroon line around its center. I also got a photo of the junco nest in the side of the trail.
I'm turning Stephan and Dan into naturalists slowly but surely. When I recognize bird calls or plants, I show them and they are getting pretty good at it. Especially because most of the time we can't see the birds calling.
Okay, quiet snores have begun in the shelter so I think its time to say goodnight for now.
Steph
Posted by steph at May 18, 2004 04:29 PM