Date: 2003-07-24
From: Loft Mountain Campground

To: High Top Hut
Miles today: 14.0
Weather: few clouds

Whoo-hoo! What a day!!! After it rained all night, we got up to blue skies and a chilly breeze. Is it fall already?! Last night it went down to the mid-50's and I was cold! But the day looked to be beautiful, so we hit the trail with plans to do a 14 mileday. The trail was overgrown, but beautiful. As we fought our way through waist high undergrowth, we kept an eye out for bears. I was just sure we were going to see one today! The first three miles went by in a flash...literally! We hiked it in a little over an hour, which is really, really good for us!   We were so excited that we just sailed through the morning. As lunchtime neared, we came to a stunning overlook. It was a small area that was home to several stunted pine trees and a lot of shale. When you looked out, you could see for miles! Rolling green mountains without a house or road to break the beauty.   Bumpkin and I agreed that a view like this deserved a lunch break! :) As we ate our lunch, we continued our ongoing discussion about whether or not organic trash can be thrown into the woods, (she says it can, I say it can't). As she eats her pear, I go on and on ad naseum about 'leave no trace' principles.   She breifly considers throwing the pear at ME, and then tucks it away sweetly. :) As the day goes on, we make a wonderful discovery. Rasberries!!! Fresh, ripe, red as rubies, and sweeter then you can imagine! They slowed us down somewhat but, boy, were they worth it!! After eating our fill, we head to the next shelter for a break. Here, we spread out our wet ground cloths to dry, take off our shoes and relax for a while. This is so great!!   Many thru hikers take this kind of time out in the day, and many of them even take a nap! But I am always struggling so much to get the miles done that we never allow for this. It feels great, and afterwards, my feet feel totally ready to do the next 8 miles! Bumpkin pulls ahead of me on the trail and I enjoy the solitude for a while. The trail enters a grove of young tulip trees that have grown completely over the trail. I am hiking along in a tunnel made completely by nature, and it is so beautiful!   A blight of some sort has covered the green leaves with patches of gold, and fallen leaves litter the trail. Sunlight creates a crazy-quilt pattern on the ground and I can't help but play a cumbersome game of hopscotch on the patches of light. This is a magical part of the trail and it turns me into a kid again, if only for a little while. The miles grow longer and the hills grow steeper. Most other hikers would start feeling frustrated and tired, but these hikers do not have Bumpkin as a partner! This is what it is like to hike along behind Bumpkin. Hike awhile..... notice a smiley face drawn in the ground....smile to myself.   Hike some more....see the words "Go MB!" written in the trail....laugh out loud!! Hike up a huge mountain to a little rock overlook...find the piece of candy that Bumpkin left behind to raise my spirits. That is what kind of partner I have! She has her own 14 miles to hike, but she still finds time to do these litle special things to let me know that she is right ahead of me. She is the very best hiking partner a girl could have!! I finally arrive at the shelter. There are a group of older boy scouts, mostly Eagle scouts, here, as well as the ridge runner for this section. We are also joined later on by a father and his daughter. I am fascinated by this young girl!   She is only 13, but moves around the shelter like a seasoned backpacker. I would have loved to have her confidence at that age! :)   The ridge runner approaches us as we are eating and breaks open a bag. Inside is a huge watermelon that he has hiked all the way up here with!! What great trail magic! He shared it with everyone, and even offered to carry the rinds back down the trail for us.   Isn't that awesome?! Then, some of the scouts came over and gave us some iced tea mix that they had, along with offers of left over breakfast! I will never stop being amazed at how wonderful and giving people are out here! We accepted them gracefully, and I tried to bribe one of the young Eagle scouts to hang my food bag in exchange for a candy bar. He offered nicely, but Bumpkin was dying to try her hand at the bear poles one more time, so off she went.She raised both of our bags in no time, and then headed for her tent, bidding me goodnight. As I lay here, my feet are throbbing and I can almost hear them saying, "Four-teen miles...four-teen miles..". :)