Date: 2018-09-05
From: Chairback Gap lean-to

To: Stealth Site Near River
Miles today: 11.5
Weather: clear sky

I slept well in my tent last night. Hugs put her tent up inside the shelter. Then there was Nola. Nola is a section hiker who doesn¢t yet understand hiker etiquette. For example 8pm is hiker midnight and we¢re all trying to go to sleep. Do not blurt out random thoughts whenever. If a mouse jumps on you just knock it off...or start sleeping in your tent. The worst one is, if you¢re up before sunrise don¢t wake those who aren¢t. Hugs took all she could this morning before packing up very early and moving on. We planned to meet at the shelter tonight. I giggled a little when Nola left right behind her.  So I was the last one out of camp. No rush, we had a short day planned. It was 1.7 miles to the next water source. That will be stop #1 since there was barely enough water to cook with last night. Hugs had left camp without any water at all. I had about 12 ounces to get me 1.7 miles.  I was happy to be hiking alone today. This giant pine forest is so serene. It¢s a very quiet forest. My eyes were open for moose, but my visitors were mostly chipmunks and squirrels.  The water source was nice. It was a small falls with clear water flowing. Much better than the mud and moss pit we had last night.  A group of NOBO¢s arrived. I knew right away it was Handstand and Luke! Wow! I haven¢t seen them since right past the Smokey¢s. They were in the same shelter that night we were all singing and listening to the Ukulele.  It was the best and worst day all wrapped up into one. We¢ll remember each other forever.  I hiked on alone. It wasn¢t long before I had to check Guthook. I had meandered off trail. This happened a few times. That part of the 100 mile wilderness needs new blazes. I¢m not sure how many miles I made my way through without seeing a clear blaze.  There was a lot of rock climbing today. The terrain goes up and down often with steep grades. I was sweating plenty and really going through the water. Down in a bog I came across a green snake sunning on a rock. I needed the rock! Even with all of my encouragement he took his time moving along.  There¢s a bush in the forest with leaves just starting to change colors. It reminds me of a firebush from home except the leaves here turn a plum color. It¢s really pretty amongst these tall tall pines.  Sometimes I walk through this forest and picture lumberjacks out here doing their job. Lots of flannel on big burly men with boots and beards. The old logging roads can still be seen. That whole life and time is so appealing to me.  The UPS eventually became grueling. Finding footing and hand holds was difficult. Once I finished an up and thought I could just ¢hike¢ a bit, I¢d have to look down continuously stepping over roots and rocks. The roots here are like no other place I¢ve ever seen! That¢s where a brown snake took me by surprise! Those brown ones are so well camouflaged! I never see them. I came to a blue blaze for a shelter 0.4 miles off trail. I dislike adding on that kind of mileage ever, but especially so when I¢m full packing. A section hiker was sitting at the intersection reading,  so I dropped pack there and took my water bags only for a water re-supply. Water has been scarce the past two days. This was pond water, not my usual flowing spring or creek water, but I took 3 liters. Hard to believe I had already drank 3 liters. This terrain was hard work! About an hour later I climbed my way to the top of a mountain with a great view! 4 NOBO¢s were sitting there. One asked if I was Blue Raccoon? Hugs had mentioned my name to Blue Butterfly. We enjoyed sharing ¢Blue¢ for a moment. Hugs was not too far ahead of me they said. I found that strange since she left camp a whole 90 minutes before I did. I do hike faster, but not that much faster, and today was especially slow.  I reached the next summit and took a moment for another amazing view. There was a young college girl up there. She¢s been sectioning four years and will complete the A.T. this year. We started talking about time. She said in the end she will have spent 8.5 months hiking the A.T. to completion. I¢m going to be almost 7 months. During that conversation I realized I was only averaging about 1 mile per hour today. That¢s extremely slow compared to my usual 2-2.5mph. The terrain was not giving me a break today.  The sun starts getting low around 4:30pm now. By 7:00 it¢s dark. Without a headlamp I hurried on to the shelter. After 10.5 hours I hiked only 10.9 miles, but I was finally there. Hugs on the other hand was not there. Papa Jay said she chose to pitch her tent by the river because she needed water. He pointed me back to the A.T. and towards the river. Oh no... it¢s dark now.  I was grateful for an almost full moon, and marched on. The river was about 0.3 miles. I arrived to find no tent sites. It was all rock, root and mud. Still no Hugs. I hiked on another 1/10th nothing. At this point I¢m worried I¢ll not find her, not find anywhere to throw my tent, and I¢ll have to hike all the way back to the shelter. I was mad! I called out her name...nothing. I just kept going. After what felt like forever I heard a shout from above, ¢BLUE RACCOON!!¢ It was Hugs. Thank God! But I was still so mad! She had not found a tentsite either. I took the lead and moved quickly to the first place I thought two tents would fit. Maybe another 1/4 mile. I have no idea what time it was by then. Threw my tent up, made some ramen and fell asleep to the sound of a waterfall.  Until Next Time Blue Raccoon (2018)Where¢s your faith?