Date: 2015-04-21
From: Pickle Branch Shelter

To: Campbell Shelter
Miles today: 17.0
Weather: broken clouds

Another long day ahead. At least it was very cool and sunny, perfect hiking weather.The first couple of hours were uneventful until we hit the climb for Dragon's Tooth. Same sinusoidal terrain, going up, going down, a pattern which continues to infinity. Finally, we arrived at the top. Dragon's Tooth is a colossal, narrow monolith with a pointed indent carved deep in its center, exactly as if a giant dragon had bitten into the rock. Pretty cool geological feature.The climb down though... easily THE HARDEST portion of the AT yet. The Trail descended through vertical, narrow slabs of rock which only had a foot-wide ledge protruding from the rocky wall where you could place your feet. I moved sideways along the rocks. My fingers, white from the strain, curled tightly around any available rock legde and my untrained arms quivered as they tried to support my weight. A couple of rebars were placed to assist hikers but it was an overall dangerous climb. I think had we been day-hikers (or "casuals" as Shrugs and I call them), it would not have been as bad. Rock climbing can be fun and a nice change from the mundane hiking in the woods we do daily though this was too much, too risky. It took ONE HOUR to climb down the 0.7 mile-long segment. NONE of the guide books mention the level of difficulty of Dragon's Tooth. NEVER go there in the rain.2/10, would not go back.The rest of the day was long and we were so tired. The weather was nice though, reminscent of a late August day, one of those last sunny days where the wind rustles the trees and the air is cool that makes you think that summer is coming to an end. It's funny because the seasons here have been in a reversed cycle than what I am used to. When we started, it was cold, rainy with a few below-freezing days, like in November. Now, I feel like fall is about to begin; the blooming flowers however betray this illusion and confirm that it is Spring. I saw trillium flowers, small white flowers which bloom on sarvis trees and pink fire, a red flower with five pointed petals (or, at least, that's what I think I saw, according to the guide book's description!)McAfee's Knob, one of the most iconic and certainly most photographed landmarks of the AT, was up next and, after the unexpected Hell that was Dragon's tooth, I was quite apprehensive. We crossed a road and parking lot before arriving to the base of McAfee's Knob when we saw a cooler filled with sodas and slices of a homemade peanut-chocolate pie. So rich, so delicious! Great Trail magic, it gave us just the boost we needed!We crossed the road and saw that there was a small wooden plank set over a wet area. I ignored this plank and ended up falling in a thigh-deep ditch full of stale, boggy water. Half of my body was drenched; I smelled like a sewer in addition to the "normal" hiker BO. "Eau de shit". There were a few casuals along the Trail and they would all step aside, trying to create the most distance between us. A mother even clutched her young child protectively near her: I must have smelled so bad. I remember when we where in school learning about European Medieval history. The teacher explained that cities like Paris could be smelled from the countryside - unwashed bodies, rotting garbage and roads soaked with the discarded contents of chamber pots. I always wondered how bad it really was... well, now I finally know. No need for a T.A.R.D.I.S or any time machine, come visit the AT if you want to capture Medieval aromas! We only needed 3.9 miles to get to the top of McAfee. We were motivated and the terrain was fabulously easy, well graded and smooth. We climbed it in a little over an hour!We arrived at the top as the sun was setting. We took the obligatory picture and watched as dusk fell over the still mountains and the farmlands below. It was beautiful and quite tranquil. We were the only ones there, the only ones to see this sunset. To break us from our trance, the wind blew away one of our Z-seats. It was pretty funny.We hiked down the remaining 0.7 needed to reach the shelter. We saw a white-tailed deer and, as we looked closer, we saw that it was pooping. "Go on a hiking trip" they said, "you will see beautiful things", they told me. We suuuure did!Not Yet was the only other hiker at the shelter. It was good to catch up and talk about the day's events with him. Always fun to hang out with him!On a side note, Shrugs and I have been composing haikus to pass the time. The first few were written during those rainy days. They came from a place of anger and are consequently laced with profanities. We did a couple others that are more Trailjournals-friendly on the topic of Dragon's Tooth and McAfee's Knob.Dragon's Tooth so sharpFalling hikers, falling rocksVertical descentMcAfee at duskLone hikers and vertigoZ-seat flown away- Axon