Date: 2008-03-27
From: Duckett House Inn (Hot Springs, NC)

To: Little Laurel Shelter (3620')
Miles today: 19.6
Weather: few clouds

This morning I woke up and ate a bunch of cookies that Aunt Laurie had left me and slowly packed up my things. When I went to pay for my stay it was $15 but since they didn't have a 5 to give me change for my 20 they just charged me 10 and thanked me for the beer I gave them. We also got a ride to the outfitter which saved a little walking through town and Dynamite bought some stuff and I realized the cell phone needed to be charged and required a phone card to activate it. I will have to wait to use it and for now the phone and charger are dead weight in my pack. My pack also weighs a lot right now because of all the food and extra little things I keep adding. It felt heavy all day. It was also really hot out (in the 70s) for the first time which made me feel slow. I was wearing long sleeves until the first shelter and when I changed into just a T-shirt I felt a lot better. I also ran into Greg who had gotten into Hot Springs late last night and I haven't seen him since Fontana Dam which was 120 miles ago. I felt pretty well rested after the shelter stop and I also walked up to a Fire Tower for lunch a little earlier which wasn't really worth it. It was 8.6 to the shelter I wanted to stay at and the first half of the walk was alright but I was feeling real tired the second half. The heat was on and my pack felt heavy and there was a pretty consistent uphill. I ran out of water just before the shelter. I got there a little before 5 and filled up on water. My steripen is acting up again so I didn't treat my water. It was piped and moving pretty well, plus we're at elevation so I'm not too worried. I'm tenting again using Dynamite's pole and I'm definitely getting better at setting it up. Today I saw what I think were big woodpeckers in the distance. I couldn't get a good look but they were big birds with a white spot in the middle of each wing. It happened 3 times and once before when I was entering the Smokies. I saw one woodpecker up close which was cool but not in flight so I couldn't tell if it was the same bird I was seeing earlier. I also saw a lizard or a small snake slither away into the leaves as I approached it. It was warm all day and there were lots of butterflies out. Some medium sized brown ones, some orange, and some small light blue ones that flew along side of me while I was hiking. Dinner was chicken flavored noodles with tuna (I forgot to add the Hot Sauce!) and then for dessert I had four oreo cookies that were a puffy version, like an oatmeal cream pie but with oreos and I gave two away to Greg and Dynamite each. I also had a king sized snickers, a reeses crunch bar (a reeses version of a butterfinger) and a piece of fudge. I'm realizing I like to eat a lot more. I could've eaten more than that, probably a whole nother dinner and not felt full. My bear bad is hung on Dynamite's line and the branch is very thin and I can hear it creaking. I hope it holds up. Its been three weeks on the trail so far and today was the only day I had a real tough time. I enjoy my time wherever I camp a lot still, but today was tough hiking even though the sun was out. I think I was too concerned with trying to get somewhere and was constantly thinking about the shelter and miles which I don't normally do. I'm going to try and get my pack weight down somehow. I can loose stuff from my medkit, get rid of some of the batteries I'm carrying for my steripen (I have 3 sets) and cut down on clothes a bit. I have long john pants that I haven't used except twice at night when it was cold and even then I didn't really need them. Also I have two long sleeve tops and two jackets. I like having them for the cold but I might switch them out for a down jacket. Volume is also a major issue and my pack is filled to the brim almoust constantly. Compression sacks would help. I'm also carrying the manual for the cell phone I bought, but I won't get rid of that until I activate the phone wherever that is. I need it to charge for 5 hours so I'll have to wait until I stop for the night somewhere. I didn't want to stop in Erwin, I just wanted to get my mail and more food but if I get antsy about the phone I might stop. 3 weeks on the trail and I've done 291.3 miles according to my handbook. So I'm roughly on pace for 22.5 weeks if the math is right. That's 157.5 days which is 5 months and that's what I was aiming for. I will be averaging higher miles most likely as time goes on so I could finish sooner than 5 months. It is still too early to make any real or accurate estimates because the beginning weeks have had inconsistent and slow days to start as well as 3 days that totalled for 3.6 miles. I can at least tell though I've been going at a pace that has put me in position to finish in the time I had hoped. Once I get to Virginia and a little further I will be able to tell a little bit better how I'm doing. I'm going to try and avoid zero days and stays in town as much as possible for the sake of time and money. Plus, if I save my zeroes I can spend time in Harpers Ferry with whoever visits then, the bluegrass festival, new hartford, camp, and wherever else is significant. But thats all too far in the future to be thinking about right now. 291.3 down 1884.9 to go.