Date: 2011-06-29
From: Wildcat Shelter

To: Highway 17
Miles today: 9.9

Thought I would get up early and beat the mosquitos. Wrong. Every thing was wet from the overnight storm and the little buggers were obviously hungry. The Wildcat shelter has a spring. As I filtered water into the bottles the skeeters enjoyed my blood for breakfast. Decided not to cook breakfast. Opted for Rice Krispy treats, jerky, and a Snickers bar instead. Breakfast of champions. Began hiking at 6:45.The hike was through boulder fields and along pink granite edges for most of the day. Up and down the boulder fields. On a clear day one is supposed to be able to view the New York City skyline from the top of Mombasha Ridge. It was pretty clear, but I did not see the Big Apple. We passed Fitgerald Falls and of course climbed the rocks up the 200 foot cliff. Fun hike but brutal on the feet. I saw two turkeys and one deer today.At 9.9 miles I crossed highway 17. It was here that "operation firecracker" was put into motion. First, I must come clean. I suffer from Morton's Neuroma. This condition is described as the thickening of the nerve due to pressure behind the toes. In layman's terms my feet are aching. Advil has become my new best friend. I decided just prior to Vernon that my thru hike was going to be cut short. Although my journey was going as planned, I was suffering from foot pain that was getting worse by the day. So...I decided to surprise Sue by showing up at the 4th of July gathering at our lake house in Blairsville, GA unannounced. Thus "operation firecracker" was hatched.First, I called and swore Karen to secrecy. My sister lives in New Paltz, NY which is about 30 miles from the Rt.17 / AT intersection. Of course she would be thrilled to pick me up and get me to the airport on Thursday morning, who wouldn't? The smell? Don't worry, I am a hockey mom and you can't gross me out with body odor...been there. See you at noon then. Sure enough, I was hitting asphalt on Rt 17 when the timex was striking noon and Karen was just a couple miles away sitting in a parking lot. Off to New Paltz, a shower, laundry, good food and a real bed. Up, breakfast feast, board the plane and into the friendly skies. Step one complete. Next a call to Byron and again a sworn oath of secrecy. My son is planning to attend the 4th of July bash in Blairsville and of course he can pick me up at the Charlotte airport Thursday evening and put me up for the night. He will now have company on the 3+ hour drive to the lake. The flight arrives, By picks me up as promised and off to the bachelor pad for the night. Wings and beer will be perfect, good idea Byron. We depart Charlotte for B-ville at 1:00 and the operation is full speed ahead. Now to say that Sue was 100% in favor of my journey would be a stretch. She was supportive, but not thrilled. So when I appeared out of nowhere she was certainly surprised and even a little elated. To show her "appreciation", she handed me a list of honey-dos accumulated over the past month. It feels good to be home again. And what was the first thing I did when I got to the lakehouse? I shaved the 4-week growth of a beard and started planning my next AT adventure. Don't tell Sue. Happy 4th!