Date: 2016-03-25
From: Groundhog Creek Shelter

To: Catpen Gap Campground
Miles today: 14.5
Weather: light rain

Day 33 - Groundhog Creek Shelter to Catpen Gap Campground 14.5 miles 3/25/16Today started off as pretty unremarkable. Corncob and Rhodo left the shelter at 5:30am to push a 23 mile day. That way, they will get to Hot Springs tomorrow morning with plenty of time to hang out. We left around 8:30am. Terrible, oppressive fog right out the gate. This kind of fog really weighs on my mood. You can not see where you are going 10 yds ahead and my glasses continuously fog up which is just the worst. On our 1st mile we ran into a 50 year old solo thru hiker named Brightside. He resides in California but from Maine. We chatted a bit then moved on. Legs were not moving as well. Or, maybe they were but I just felt like they weighed 50lbs. each. Not in great spirits and the temp dropped while Cheetah and I were about 6 miles away from Walnut Grove Shelter at this point so we picked up the pace. The wind picked up and I was about to resign myself to a hard day when we ran into two ATC volunteers who were painting the white blazes. So cool! They are the reason we actively go in the correct direction each day. They use a small paintbrush and tite bond white paint which comes out of what looks like a glue bottle. He had a stencil but didn't need to use it. They were both in their 60s or 70s. AT (wouldn't give us his real name) told us that he built Roaring Fork Shelter with his friend and trail mentor Howard MacDonald over 20 years ago...amazing stuff. While talking to the 2 volunteers, Brightside and Old Fox appeared and joined the conversation. We parted ways after thanking them for their hard work and went uphill to Max Patch Bald.My mood was completely lifted. It felt like a completely new day after talking to the volunteers. It truly is amazing how quickly everything changes out here (weather, terrain, mood, etc). Max Patch was surreal. The dense fog made the green bald seem as though it were something out of a movie. It was nice being with Brightside and Old Fox, they are so young at heart. Old Fox shared with us that he enjoys mountain climbing and that he has climbed a 17,000 foot mountain in China twice. Brightside married his wife in Alaska in his friend's living room. I love hearing little facts about people that make you smile. It's very easy to find the good in people out here. After Max Patch the skies cleared and we descended for a good while. We began running into more members of the Carolina Mountain Club who were maintaining the trail for all us hikers. We met a man named Lou who was hoeing the trail. He is 93 years old. Wow! We ate lunch w Brightside and Old Fox at Roaring Fork Shelter. We exchanged contact info which was nice. I told them that we should all carry AT info cards to exchange with each other. After lunch we parted ways as they sped onwards and we kept the same pace.Nice, level, gradual downhill. We came to a steepish root system and I stepped on the wrong place bc my foot immediately slipped and I couldn't stop myself. My pack's heaviness created a momentum that rolled me over and caused me to land hard on my rear end. I laid there for a second to make sure nothing was broken and then realized we could laugh bc I was fine and still alive. Cheetah and I started moving again and about one tenth of a mile in I used my trekking pole to point to a gnarly old tree. When I did, I suddenly noticed that about 5 inches of my pole were missing, whoops.We turned around and went back to the place that I fell. We found the end wedged firmly among the roots. Cheetah had a hard time prying it loose. Better my pole than my arm. I adjusted my poles to make them the same length and they work fine for the moment. I am going to get new ones for free from REI when I get the chance to call. Continued on at about 3mph which is good for us at this point. Went about a mile and was about to take another step when I looked down and noticed I was about to squash a snake. It was about 1 1/2 feet long and dusty brown/green. Snake didn't move. He was either too busy sunbathing on the trail to be bothered or giving me the deer in the headlights maneuver. Cheetah and I laughed and moved on.We reached Lemon Gap, woohoo go Mom's maiden name! There were little Easter eggs perched on top of the sign as trail magic for this weekend's Easter Sunday. Both Cheetah and I partook. Uphill until a bald and then immediately after was Walnut Grove Shelter. Old Fox was there! We were wanting to push on another mile and a half. It was 4pm at this point. A hiker named Ahab came up and Old Fox and he knew one another. Ahab convinced Old Fox to hike another 5 miles. We headed out and parted ways with Ahab who was staying at the shelter.Started our climb up Bluff Mountain. We reached our campsite after a half mile of uphill. Not too windy. Feet sore and body tire but feeling good. It was a beautiful night and Cheetah and I cooked and then she started the most amazing fire we've yet to see on the trail. It was nice being with just her at that camp site. We listened to music until the coals died down and stargazed until 10pm. Bedtime. It's been a good day.