Date: 2009-05-17
From: Knot Maul Branch Shelter

To: Chestnut Knob Shelter
Miles today: 9.1
Weather: overcast clouds

It rained all night and the tent held up to it, thankfully. By morning I was noticing a slight sprinkle on my face evey now and then. Condensation from me and my breathing had begun collecting on the inside of the tent. When a big drop of rain hit the outside it would make a little of the condensation sprinkle down on me from the inside of the tent. I was still dry, though everything was damp from the full night of rain and general moisture in the air. I was not in a hurry to break camp and waited for a few of the people in the shelter to leave so I could have a flat dry surface out of which I could stage and pack my gear. I could see my breath this morning for the first time in many days, or weeks.The next shelter was 9 miles away and most NOBO's were going to go beyond that. Actually, most people at the shelter were SOBO. I was the last one out of the shelter area at 10:30. I was moving slow both because I was sore and stiff, and because of the weather. It had stopped raining about an hour before I left camp. I wasn't in a hurry but didn't want to tent it again tonight.I was pleasantly surprised to see Pink Ladies Slippers today. Got a few pictures. Boy they are just so delicate and pretty. If you haven't seen them, they look like a child's bright pink ballerina's slipper. To make them more interesting, it looks like someone inflated them with an easy puff from whispered lips, probably from the ballerina fairy princess, the one who always wears her crown slightly to one side instead of properly centered on the head. Hopefully the pictures will give you a more accurate sense of how pretty they are.I was looking ahead on the trail when I saw a Turkey. I carefully and slowly got out my camera and was just about to take a step foreward when I noticed more movement closer to the ground. Baby turkeys (Chicks). I moved foreward at a faster pace and the mother moved a bit farther uphill into the brush. I was more interested in the chicks at this point. I could catch a glimpse of them but always just out of range of getting a picture. I could hear them peeping as they tried to stay in contact with each other. Meanwhile Mother turkey was running back and forth about 10 yards ahead of me. Yoo Hoo, YOO HOO, she seemed to be saying. I'm over here. Hay, I'm wounded, see how I can't fly. Back and forth and back some more all the while making a loud squawking racket. I never got a picture of the chicks or the mother. All I had to show for another great experience was bleeding legs from running through the briars. Wild turkeys 7, me, the domestic turkey 0.The trail took me over a long bald and I finally had some good views. At the top of the second bald, a bald is a meadow, or treeless area generally near the top of a mountain, I found the next shelter. It had wonderful views and was completely enclosed including a door. Oddly, and to my surprise, I was the only one there. Everyone else has gone on another 10 miles or more. Its good to be young. The wind was dry but stiff and I quickly hung tent, sleeping bag and clothes out to dry as much as possible. Everything dried quickly in the wind. Ben arrived about two hours later. It was already getting cold and you could see our breath even though it was not yet dusk.Inside the shelter there were bunk beds and windows. It was dry and out of the wind which also made it warmer than other shelters. The wind was absolutely raging, that explained the need to have cables holding the roof on. We were quite exposed on the ridge of that bald but out of the weather. No one else showed up so we had the whole shelter to ourselves and we used most of the area to put some finishing touches on drying our equipment. The wind and rain on the roof made a good melody for which I could fall asleep. I did sleep a little better but still restlessly as I could not roll over. It was heading below freezing and we were in bed well before dusk.See you on the trail.Nice Lenses