Date: 2017-06-09
From: Jennings Creek Bridge/Middle Creek Campground 

To: Thunder Hill Shelter Tent Site 
Miles today: 14.0

6/9Jennings Creek/VA 614 (Middle Creek Campground) to Thunder Hill Shelter Tent site 14.0 milesTotal miles:  770.3My plans for a big mileage day began to go south early this morning (pun intended).  I suppose I could have eaten my instant oatmeal and cereal bar and gotten a shuttle back to the trail earlier, but the cafe at the campground opened at 8:00 and was offering two eggs, a sausage patty, biscuits and gravy, and hash brown potatoes for $4.50.  Katahdin isn't going anywhere, and the breakfast was delicious. As it was, km Gravity, Redeye, and I got a ride after breakfast and were on the trail at 9:10.  The trail continued to be good, and I made good time up and over Fork Mountain.  I met Namaste and Neptune as they were packing up at a stealth campsite.  Namaste means: "The light in me acknowledges the light in you." What a beautiful trail name.  Neptune is Namaste's boyfriend, who recently joined her after graduating with a bachelor's degree in English from Harvard.  A self-proclaimed Shakespeare geek, Neptune and I discussed which were our favorite and least favorite of the plays.  He told me about his favorite source for audio renditions of the plays, and I recommended Ian Doescher's Shakespearean rewrites of the original Star Wars series, beginning with, "Verily, A New Hope."  This wonderfully whimsical take on the Star Wars saga, is written as if by the Bard himself. The cover of the first play shows Darth Vader in a ruffed collar. R2D2 plays the role of the Shakespearean fool, and beeps and clicks to the other players, but offers astute and satirical asides to the audience.  Yoda presented a problem, since the wise Jedi Master speaks in Elizabethan English already, he does, so Doescher has him speak only in Haiku. I am obviously a huge fan of these works, and strongly recommend them to anyone, but especially Shakespeare fans.  As you might guess, my visit with these two young people delayed my hiking progress a bit.  The trail passed through a very brushy and grassy area, and I was very pleased that the trail maintainers had cut back the brush for about two feet on both sides of the trail. Wide Sky, a fellow thru hiker, happened by as I was photographing this trail work, so I included him in the photo.  I began to think as I hiked along.  In the grand scheme of things, is there any difference in cutting down plants for hikers' convenience and cutting down plants (in this instance, trees) for motorists' convenience on the Blue Ridge Parkway.  Probably not.  I also encountered a new plant today.  It sports pretty purple flowers that grow on tendrils that appear to grow around and choke the leaves of the plant.  I looked carefully, and the flowers and leaves are definitely from the same plant. At several times today, the rhododendron petals had fallen so thickly on the trail that it looked like a flower girl from a wedding had passed by right before I got there.  It was quite a pretty sight. On the wildlife side of things, I saw a pair of black snakes, several squirrels, and a large snail today.  I was treated to a few views from overlooks today.  I met Skywalker (and, yes, his first name is Luke) at Black Rock Overlook. He was perched on the rock, just taking in the view.  I joined him for a bit before continuing down the trail.  Any chance of making the 20 miles I had originally planned ended when I reached the side trail for Apple Orchard Falls and decided to go look at the Falls, which are over a mile from the AT.  I left a note for Gravity, who was somewhere behind me, but he showed up just as I was heading down the blue-blazed trail, and we hiked down together. He later jokingly complained that I added over a mile of uphill hiking to his day, to which I replied that I also added over a mile of downhill hiking as well.  The extra trip was definitely worth it. While there weren't the 604 steps like at Amacolala Falls, there had to be at least 100 built into the trail to the foot of the falls, which features a 200 foot waterfall.  The deck work at the foot of the falls is impressive as well, and it was worth every minute of the two hours we spent off the AT to experience the sight.  It was then up to the top of Apple Orchard Mountain, where an FAA tower, which looks like a giant golf ball, is located.  I remet Namaste and Neptune again as they were setting up camp for the night.  Neptune told me of a view that looked back over the last 100 miles that we had traveled, so I cut through some trees and climbed some large boulders to look.  Another great view. After bidding farewell to Namaste and Neptune with a heartfelt, "Once more into the breech!" I continued down the trail to the Guillotine, a large boulder wedged between two rock walls.  The trail passes directly under the boulder, which provides a perfect photo opp.  I waited by the rock for Gravity, so we could take each other's photos.  By this time it was getting late, and I showed up at the Thunder Hill Shelter at 7:45.  I decided this was far enough for today.  I was a little worried about the water supply, but there is a small spring that continually fills a small stone box.  It is unlike any other water source I've come across, but the water was clear and easy to filter.  Gravity showed up a bit later, and we set up our tents near the spring.  It was dark by the time I got in my tent, and I only "accomplished" fourteen miles on the AT today, but it was a very full, very wonderful day on the trail.  The plan is to get up early tomorrow to complete the 14.6 miles to Glasgow in time to get into town for resupply.