Date: 2017-05-17
From: Iron Mountain Shelter

To: stealth site after Low Gap
Miles today: 12.1
Weather: clear sky

I felt like I was moving slowly this morning as I took my time packing up camp. I looked at my watch though when I started hiking for the day and realized it was only 9am. If you recall, the campsites are becoming crowded as everyone is attempting to walk into Damascus for Trail Days and all of the bubbles are coalescing. I was deceived this morning and thought I was behind schedule because most of the campsite left early. Yesterday afternoon was unbearably hot to hike in so I was also feeling pressure to start my day early to avoid the forecasted heat. After three miles I bumped into the goon squad. They were taking it easy and having a lazy morning, they were clearly in no rush to start the day. I had no idea they were ahead of me on the trail but it turns out they had night hiked past me while I was in my tent last night. It's always nice to find friends unexpectedly. I was feeling motivated this morning, much more so than the previous 1 mile per hour day. I was also low on food for the day and wanted to keep moving so I would have enough food to last me through the hiking portion of my day. I figured hanging out for a bit could act in my favor though because I had a hunch there would be trail magic starting midday at the road crossing coming up. Since Trails Days is around the corner, both with time and distance, trail magic is abundant. So I spent some time hanging out at their camp (a few minutes in Coach's hammock, some more minutes balancing on a wobbly log) but also felt pressure to keep hiking because I knew I had a lot of miles ahead of me. Sure enough, there was trail magic waiting for me at the gap. I feasted on some snacks, drank a beer and carried on. I would have had a very hungry day had I not stumbled upon this trail magic. I have a lot of bug bites on my legs. They started to show up yesterday and began relatively small. I'm confused as to where they all came from. They seemed to show up all at once and I haven't noticed any bugs biting me. I'm thinking it could also be an allergic reaction to a plant that I've come in contact with. The forest is very green these days and the plants are often reaching their stalks into the trail. There was long grass brushing against my legs for the next six miles of my day, teasing me and tempting me to itch the bumps. It's easier to tune out the desire to scratch them when I'm hiking though because of the meditative nature of hiking. My patience is low. I am in need of a day off to take care of myself but instead I keep being faced with new challenges. I have not had the time or means to address these issues, instead they have been piling up. I held myself together well today though, ignoring my fatigue, until I stopped at Low Gap. I sat down at a picnic table there for a break and lost all momentum. During my break, 10-20 hikers showed up and joined me. It was overwhelming and I didn't have the energy to deal with this crowd. There was talk among the goon squad of night hiking tonight which would leave 9 more miles ahead of me. I wanted to make it to the shelter 4 miles away. While I was initially interested in pushing to Virginia tonight with my friends, my thoughts shifted during this break as my energy drained. I ate my dinner because I was out of snacks. After dinner, I started hiking my last 4 miles, mainly because I wanted alone time and needed to flee the crowd. I only made it one mile before I decided to stop at a stealth campsite to journal. It was buggy, my legs were itchy, it was getting late and I had no patience. So I set my tent up and decided I was finished hiking for the day. I don't have enough water or food to afford to camp here tonight but I don't care. I don't have it in my to move any further. I also think it's important to have some alone time tonight. I have been traveling with friends now for over a week and I'm walking into Trail Days tomorrow which will be the most social weekend I've had this entire trip. I know that my future self is going to hate me for making this decision but I need to indulge in my present needs. I've been working on writing a song about my AT experience for the talent show at Trail Days. It's been hard to focus though because there are always people around. It was nice to have my own space for the first time in a while. I spent a while playing music tonight because I finally had a comfortable creative space. I'm not looking forward to my hike tomorrow because I have barely any food or water. The next water source is 4 miles away and I have 14 miles until Damascus where I can buy food. I am comfortable enough for now though so that is what I am going to focus on. I can't help but scratch my legs now that I am lacking the meditative distraction of hiking. I thought I had Benadryl with me so I didn't take some from Coach earlier. Now I am alone and have no sort of anti-histamine so I will have to make it to Damascus before I can attempt to address this problem.