Date: 2015-05-19
From: camp site 675.8

To: camp site 697.1
Miles today: 21.3
Weather: broken clouds

It was a tough night sleeping. It was so humid and it was raining off and on all night so we had to have the tent closed up. We were pretty sticky and miserable.   We woke this morning to the sound of more rain. We waited a bit and the rain stopped so we had our pop tarts for breakfast and put on our wet clothes, socks and boots. Not a pleasant way to start the day but part of the AT experience.   It was really foggy and damp as we started our hike this morning. We only hiked a bit over a mile when we came around Keffer Oak which is the largest oak tree in the south along the AT.   Its circumference is more than 18 feet!   We then started a very steep 1100 foot climb on just over 1.7 miles. We were glad when we got to the top of that climb. We then started a 5 mile hike along the ridge line which started out quite nicely.   The trail was fairly flat and there were very few rocks. That changed after about 2 miles and the next few miles were very rocky and at times it was down right dangerous the way we had to climb up and over the rocks. It was scary to think with rocks being so wet, one wrong footing and you could go over the edge. Our boots have little tread remaining. So, that made it more difficult. (We should have new boots waiting in Daleville. We cannot wait to get them as our feet have been hurting and we continue to battle blisters. We hope the new boots will help with these problems.)   After hiking the ridge line, we had a very long decent. Just before starting the descent, we passed the sign for the Eastern Continental Divide. The sun finally broke through all tne clouds on the descent. That gave us hope we might actually have dry camping items tonight. At the bottom of the descent, we were greeted by Warm and Toasty. She was a 2012 thru-hiker and is hiking again. However, this time she has two vehicles. She parks one about 30 miles north of the second vehicle. Then she hikes south bound to the second car. Then she drives this vehicle 30 miles north of the other car and hikes south bound to that vehicle. We were sort of jealous that she has to carry limited supplies and has access to a vehicle. She is super nice and gave us cookies and milk. The milk tasted SO good. We had our cookies before our lunch. Funny, things we told our son not to do - do not take food from strangers, do not take rides from strangers and do not eat dessert before your meal - we break them all!   We did eat lunch after our cookies and milk. And of course we set up our tent. We also hung the bear bag cord as a clothesline and hung out our other wet stuff. By the time we had finished lunch and talking, our socks were dry along with everything else. We were packing up when Papa Al, Glamper and Hangover (because he is so tall his feet hangover the bunks in the shelter) came by. It was good to see them. We chatted with them which made our lunch break the longest yet. They told us Glamper and Hangover both fell on the slippery ridgeline rocks. Both were not hurt, thankfully. But, soon enough we were all climbing again. We had a massive 1700 foot climb. We climbed with all three of them.   It threatened to rain and we felt a few drops of rain during our 90 minute climb to the top. We reached the top and saw the Audie Murphy monument. He was killed in a plane crash near the spot of the monument . He was the most decorated soldier of WW II. It was a 4 mile descent dropping over 1600 feet. At the bottom, there was a stream and of course, we put our hurting feet in the stream.   As we were preparing to continue hiking, Papa Al, Glamper and Hangover came down the mountain. They are going to a hostel tonight. It makes us sad to see friends leave the trail to have showers and beds when we continue on. We said goodbye and hope to see them in Daleville.   We hiked uphill climbing another 900 feet in 3 miles. This put us on the ridgeline. The ridgeline was rocky as has been the case for the last few days. We continued hiking till we found a camp site. Then, we changed into our night clothes and hung our sweaty hiking clothes in the breeze to dry. What appeared to start out as a day like yesterday, thankfully turned into a much nicer day. We certainly need a good day today as yesterday could have been a "we are done" day.