Date: 2009-04-24
From: Max Patch Summitt

To: Stealth camp south on Bluff Mountain
Miles today: 8.4

I woke up at 1:00 AM and couldn't go back to sleep for a long time. I got out of my tent and just looked at the many bright stars. The air was cool but not cold and a light breeze was blowing. A great night for star gazing. They seemed so close. In the distance valleys were some bright lights and I was high above them all. What an empowering feeling. I did wake up in time for the amazing sunrise. The hikers emerged from their tents one by one to watch this beautiful sight. There was one cowboy camper in his sleeping bag under the stars last night.He had a show to watch.I got an early start because I wasn't sure where and how far I wanted to go. I really hated leaving Max Patch though. But the trail went through nice rhododendron tunnels and gates. I arrived at Roaring Fork Shelter and filtered some water. In the shelter register someone wrote that a bear was here. That was written a couple of days ago. Nonetheless,knowing a bear has been in the area keeps your ears perked and your eyes sharp for anything moving in the brush on the hillsides.I crossed lots of streams and most had log foot bridges. I was careful on these but as you know I don't like them,but they weren't as bad as some. These had two logs side by side so I can handle that a little better.It's still a little eerie though when you put a foot on one and it goes down and you do the other foot on the other log and it goes down. It's like you are bouncing from side to side until you get across. Whew!!      And these were too high up to use the trekking poles to steady me. At Lemon Gap I took a short break because Robo was sitting there taking a break also. He was trying to get a hitch into Hot Springs because his back is hurting him. I hope he gets better soon. He's planning to get in the hot springs spa while he is there. Maybe that will help. On up Walnut Mountain to Walnut Mountain Shelter. In the dirt as I approached the shelter was written BEAR ATTACK HERE 4/24. Now I would hope no one would write that as a big joke. But I took another break here. My feet were hurting a lot today for some reason. I laid down in the shelter on my sleeping pad and almost dozed off when a branch fell onto the tin roof and scared the life out of me. HaHa. I guess I had that bear attack on my mind and was uneasy about being so relaxed. Anyway I resumed to move on. . I was out of water by the time I was half way up Bluff Mountain. The afternoon had become very warm and I had needed to drink a lot of water. I tripped on a cut off root of a bush in the middle of the trail and fell on my left knee. I am okay but it kind of twisted my left foot in the tangle.I just sat there awhile since I was already down. Then I came upon a stream so I filtered three liters of water and decided if I found a place to camp I would just pull over and camp. And I did. I fixed noodles with all the additives for supper and hung my food bag in a tree. There just happened to be a rope tied off already waiting for me. I hear thunder to the east of the mountain as I set in my tent doing this journal. I took two Aleve for my foot. I hope it is better in the morning.