Date: 2013-05-11
From: Helveys Mill Shelter

To: Campsite
Miles today: 18.4

I find it fascinating to find out how people got their trail name. Head Bones was the 7th person in to our 6 person shelter last night. He arrived in the middle of the thunderstorm, was soaked to the bone and gushing with appreciation when we were willing to make room for him. He is 62 years old and has an engaging personality. When he first started hiking he met some young women who were section hiking. One of them said she wouldn't want to thru hike because her hair would look so bad. He said he thought she had pretty hair and it would look good even if it was dirty. She thanked him and said she thought his head bones would look good no matter what . . . he is bald. And there you have a trail nameSassafras is the 13 year old girl hiking with her dad. He says she just goes and goes and never complains. Sassafras Mtn is a big mountain in Georgia that most hikers remember because its such a killer. She kept asking when are we going to go over Sassafras Mtn? They ran into a local who was very knowledgable about the area and when she asked about the big mountain the local said they had climbed it about an hour ago. And there you have another trail name. Sassafras' dad's name is Kaboose. He got his name because he is always following her wherever she goes. He spells it with a K because she was writing in one of the shelter journals and she thought it was spelled with a K. When he saw her entry he liked it with a K. And there you have another trail name. Head Bones decided to zero at the shelter today to dry out and to avoid hiking in the rain again. I hungaround and talked to him and Apa (who is also 62). We were having a nice little ol'geezers convention comparing aches and pains. There is a well know "can't miss" hostel coming up and Apa wanted to know if I'd like to share a room with him Monday night. The hostel is only 30 miles away and with 3 days to get there that is lower mileage than what I wanted to do. On the other hand Apa is a very gentle soul and I know I'd enjoy sharing a room with him. With Anita's help I have managed to plan to arrive at the hostel Sunday night, have a massage at 9:00 a.m. Monday and then I can either get back on the trail or share the room with Apa. The trail was muddy from the storm last night. It was a muggy day and sprinkled off and on all morning. The gnats were swarming around my head and on climbs when I was breathing hard I would occasionally inhale one. For some reason they seem to get stuck in your throat and aren't easy to wash down. I was surprised to run into my old friends Two Sticks, Backtrack, Tex, and others who were SOBO. They were slack packing and had been dropped off north of me. I covered nearly 10 miles and reached Jenny Knob Shelter just before 1:00. The shelter was empty and it began to rain harder about 10 minutes after I arrived. I took off my shoes and socks and started to eat a leisurely lunch. Soon Apa arrived. Someone had left two bags of rice sides in the shelter and with the pouring rain I decided a hot lunch might be nice so I cooked one for each if us. Apa has an angry quarter size blister on his heel. I lanced and drained it for him and he felt immediate relief. However, I advised him not to hike anymore today so the blister can dry and he agreed to stay in the shelter. Little did I know what a wise decision that would be. The shelter faced east and I could see the sky clearing. I decided to put in some more miles and as I was packing up Hawk, Dan-O, and OB (old and busted) showed up. A milestone I hit today was having walked more than 600 miles. When I got to the top of the first ridge I could see the dark storm clouds gathering to the west. First it began to sprinkle, then the wind picked up, and before long it began to pour. I was in the midst of a thunderstorm when Dan-O and OB caught up with me. They said they were planning to go to a convenience store at the next road crossing to get something to eat and get out of the rain for awhile. They invited me to join them. They are much faster hikers than I am but being alone in the woods in a thunderstorm is a real motivator - especially when there is a dry place and food involved. So I hitched myself to the back of their train and managed to keep up. The trail was so muddy that at times I felt like I was skiing. Both Dan-O and OB had a fall. I had near misses but no falls. When we came to the road the convenience store was half a mile away. We tried to hitch a ride but for some reason no one would pick up 3 soggy, muddy hikers. We ended up walking the half mile. Each of us ate 4 hot dogs and shared a tube of Pringles. We waited for the rain to stop before we left. We went outside and were putting on our packs when I saw a pickup truck coming up the road. I stuck out my thumb not knowing if he would even see me all the way over at the store. To my surprise he slammed on his brakes. My hiking buddies were surprised and thrilled when I said "come on guys, our ride is here". We hiked a little over two more miles and it was almost dark before we found a good campsite. Clarke Kent and Wonder Woman were already set up but there was plenty of ro for us. The trail was like a river and once again my shoes and everything I had on is soaked. It began to sprinkle again as we set up camp. I cannot tell you how thankful I am to be in my dry little tent. In the thunderstorm I decided I'm definitely going to zero at the hostel and share a room with Apa. I just need to dry out - I believe this is the 5th straight day of rain. Rain, rain go away . . .