Apparently some people experienced encounters with the rodent kind last night; Mercury said he felt one scurry across his chest but one quick slap sent it flying. Unfortunatley it went in the direction of his bride in the lower bunk, to her horror. Fortunately for her, she did not wake up during this encounter and only found out after the fact. Another woman found some nibble marks on her backpack. I'm staying here another night, so I'll be sure to hang my food and my pack tonight.
Today I was sad to see my friends leave for their next destinations. I stayed on to have my knee checked out by a sports med doctor. I would hate to be stuck severals days away from help should it become necessary so I thought it would better to rest and get some advice from the doc. I'm in the waiting room as we speak.
One thing I haven't really stressed is how nice the people are here. Yes, I set out alone but every night I meet up the folks I saw at lunch time or maybe the day before. If you forgot something, someone usually has extras to spare. And everyone has a different story to tell. Some folks are young, right out of college, others are in the 25+ range, and then there are the folks who just entered retirement. I'd say the trail statistics are correct regarding the gender breakdown; I've met only 3 other women and about 20 or so men.
Yesterday I slept in a little late. It rained all night long and all of Monday until about dinnertime, so I wasn't in any rush to get down the mountain. I decided to take a bypass route into Neels Gap - it didn't go over Blood Mountain and sidestepped all the steep stuff. I thought it would be better to baby my knee than to cause further injury. I don't want to sound cliche, but I think that side trail (Freeman Trail) was the most beautiful place I've seen thus far. I wanted to take pictures but I know my camera doesn't function in the rain. The rain cascaded over the rocks in some places, in dryer spots flowers grew from between the boulders. Later when I arrived at the Walasi-Yi Center in Neel's Gap I saw that the Blood Mountain Wilderness is some of the most visited areas of the trail. The folks here are lucky to have such beautiful scenery so close to home.
At any rate, I stayed the night at the center in the bunkhouse with all the other hikers left stranded by the rain. I got a shower and a load of wash done, and then some volunteer shuttle drivers came to take the lot of us to dinner in Blairsville at a buffet (all you can eat is shortened to AYCE in hiker lingo). Then we made obligatory stops at the CVS and the grocery store to refuel,and by the time we returned to the hostel it was 9pm. Some folks were ready for bed but others like me weren't ready yet; I think I stayed up till 11:30 or so, last one to bed. I think the shelter holds 14 people, and we were probably 12. And with that many people you know that a nighttime symphony is likely to take place. It wasn't enough to keep me from sleeping, however.
I woke up a little earlier than usual; I wanted to get an early start and hike to Gooch Mountain shelter to let my friends know that I wasn't dragged away by bears since I didn't make it there like I said I would. Amanda was still there. The day before I traded trekking poles with her because she was using poles that were too short and seemed to be stuck in position. She had several tumbles and her knees were starting to look like hamburger so I switched poles with her and suggested we find someone to adjust that evening. So, when I didn't make it to camp I was a little worried I wouldn't see her (or my poles) again. Anyway, Big Mike was also at Gooch Mountain shelter and he was able to fix her poles so we were all set. I didn't get to spend too much time talking with him, but Big Mike seems like a very interesting guy. He said that he was on 6 month leave of absence convelescing from work injuries... he was home on the couch last monday, saw an REI comercial and decided to hike the trail. And here he was, only 5 days later.
Today I walked from Justis creek to Woods Hole shelter, about 13 miles and 11 hours from start to finish (with lots of breaks). My feet and my knee were crying after the first 2 miles. My goal was to get to the next shelter and stay there to rest; I thought I would only have to walk 4 miles, but that only got me to Woody gap - the shelter was 6.5 miles beyond that. I wanted to cry, but there was a boyscout troop and a bunch of familys nearby so I pulled it together, took a short rest, and continued on. The last 4 miles of that hike were on sheer will power alone. I knew I was close to Woods Hole shelter when I passed Jarrard Gap and kept expecting it to be beyond every next turn and became more and more depressed when the shelter didn't materialize. Finally I found the blue blazes (that indicate side trails) and was elated, however, the shelter was quite a distance from the trail. I filled all my water bottles and headed into camp. Ginger, Mercury, Real World, and Dirty Dan the The Turtle Man were there already cooking dinner. I took off my boots and walked around camp in my socks - felt very nice to have those 3 pounds off my feet - and then set about getting some dinner prepared. The winds began to pick up and the sky grew dark even though we had another hour or so of daylight left. I made couscous with vegetables, cheese and tuna (and some kind of soup mix for seasonings) and it was quite tasty. Funny, I would never think to eat this sort of meal at home but when you are hungry and need calories, it sure does the trick. After I cleaned up my dinner stuff I thought I would journal for awhile outside, however, mother nature would have none of that. Thunder and lightning decided to join up with the wind and cooler weather, and soon big fat raindrops were pummelling the shelter roof. It was a good time for lights out.
We didn't see any bear, much to Gizmo's chagrin. I didn't sleep much - I was waiting for bears to raid camp and paranoid about mice running around my head, or worse, run into my bag (I made sure to keep my sleeping bag cinched down tight).
The morning's hike was gorgeous, about 4 miles descent into a hemlock/rhodedendron forest. The scent of those plants mixed with wet earth is heavenly. I paid for the beauty after those 4 miles, however... the trail suddenly turned viscious with steep climbs and descents. My shins and achilles began to burn, and my feet began to feel like stumps but I made it to Hawk Mountain Shelter for lunch. I had some serious thoughts of staying there for the night, but it so early in the day. I stayed there for about 2 hours and then decided to push on to the next shelter (but I should have listened to my body!). That section had the steepest climbs and descents that I'd encountered and my feet took a severe beating. My left knee started to ache on down steps (recall that I had knee surgery on my right knee about 10 years ago) so I leaned on my trekking poles a little more and limped into a campsite by Justis creek. It was a beatiful site with a handful of spots in a hemlock grove right on the creek. I gathered some wood for a small fire, set up my tarp shelter (for the first time, sucessfully, I might add), and fired up my cook stove for dinner. I enjoyed a dinner of potato slop followed with a quick hot cocoa. It was kind of nice camping alone... I tried out all the gear I didn't want to pull out in front of the hiker-pros. At the end of the night I hung my food in the trees (thats 12 feet high, 6 feet from a tree trunk, kids) and hopped in my bag. I was a little paranoid about bear activity - and mice crawling around on me - but all was quiet in camp with the exception of water thrush calling. It was really nice, but I was so tired, I turned in around 10 and didn't write in my journal.
The first day went pretty well... I think I'm well on my way to becoming a thru-hiker. I got my first blister in the first mile and a half, but I took care of that. BTW, moleskin doesn't stay in place, however ace wraps and 3M bandaids seem to do the trick.
Oh, I forgot the statistics... I travelled 8.8 miles on the approach trail and stayed at Springer Mountain Shelter; Mom dropped me off around 12:15 pm, and the first mile was steep. After a few miles the trail leveled out some. I'm glad I waited this late in the season to hike because the wildflowers are really blooming. I've forgotten a lot of the names, but I did see a few of my favorites including nodding trillium, nodding belwort, all the violets, mountain laurel, and countless others I can't remember.
I've met some really great folks already, mostly at the shelter. Amanda from NC is really fun - makes me think of my sister Mandy. She doesn't have a trail name yet. Then there's Gummy - because he doesn't have any teeth. Gizmo is a ridgerunner (aka caretaker) and he's looking for bear tonight. Apparently a bear has been frequenting the springer mountain shelter. Gizmo also asked that we hang our packs in addition to our food because the bear has learned what people stuff looks like. He has a zoom lens camera and a flashlight that doubles as a nightstick should the need arrise. I voluntered to hold the flashlight when the bear comes so he can focus his camera. I hope he comes to camp but doesn't stay long!
Okay, time for lights out. The first day was a good one.
Steph
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Hello friends!
I started hiking on Friday April 23rd in the early afternoon. It was a beautiful day, my sister should be posting a couple photos soon - so check back!