Date: 2008-06-05
From: Punchbowl Shelter

To: Cow Camp Gap Shelter
Miles today: 15.1
Weather: few clouds

I didn't leave at 7:00 as planned. Decided to stay and talk to Phyllis. She has done a lot of interesting travels... climbed Kilimanjaro, Mt. Fuji, Tanzania, New Zealand and more. I would have loved to stayed and talked more. The day was going to be hot and humid. As I was five minutes up the trail, I could not find my sunglasses. Took my pack a part even unrolled my tent. Went back and searched the camp...no glasses.  Thought they must be buried in some corner of my pack. By now it is 8:15 and not getting any cooler. The first eight miles was a nice hike around a reservoir, along streams and across a suspension bridge.  Saw Babu and Bouchard going south. They were slack packing the section I had just hiked.  Still I think for me I'd rather keep heading north with all my gear. There are a lot of people who do slack pack, but you need a good friend or support group to set up the shuttles.  Wildlife sightings for today: Scared a mother grouse with baby chicks. She was so funny and could have won an Oscar for the performance she put on for me. As soon as the babies started to fly, she faked an injury. She made loud screaming noises and flapping her wings leading me up the trail. I followed and soon she disappeared in the underbrush. Spooked a wild turkey, who really spooked me. They are large birds and make a terrible racket when they take flight. Saw a Scarlet Tanager, a beautiful red bird with black wings. Saw another bird yellow with a black head. It looked to be wearing a balance. The Band Aid Kid talked about this bird. I'll have to look it up. When I was by a stream soaking my bandanna, I turned and almost stepped on a copperhead who was watching me. It held motionless and I was able to get a good picture. I¢ve been lucky to see two poisonous vipers at extremely close range without getting struck. They do blend in!Crossing a foot bridge, I came upon a perfect swimming hole. It was so hot. It took less than a minute to get down to the skivies and jump in.  Luckily no one came along.  Remember what it's like to jump in a swimming pool on a hot summer day?  Well this was better.The first shelter of the day was Brown Mountain Shelter. This section of the river was the home of some unique citizens. They were freed slaves who had a community here. Hugh Taft, who grew up in the community, told the Forest Service about some of his life. His parents were sharecroppers. When the crop was ripe, one quarter of it went to the land owner. If you didn't own your own plow team, then one half of the crop was paid. To mill the grain, you would pay one eighth of the crop. These people were hard working. Mr. Taft described how his mother made ash cakes. She would make a corn cake then cover it with ashes and charcoal, cook it on a stone, then brush off the ashes with a special broom made of corn husks. According to Mr. Taft it made for a much sweeter cake. The community broke up in the 1930's. Still there was evidence of stone walls. The afternoon was even hotter than yesterday. It took me four hours to climb Mt. Bluff. There was only myself and another person at the Cow Gap Shelter. It was half mile down off the AT. No one wants to go that far for a shelter. Fly right,Ravon