Date: 2003-03-25
To: Day 10
Miles today: 0.0

day 10--today i hiked 12.8 miles from carter gap shelter (the new one) to wallace gap. me and spunky were the last to leave the shelter around 0754. the morning was chilly, as most starry nites bring. it took awhile before the sun shined on the side of the hill we were hiking on, so i wore a warm hat to keep warm. so far, i havent worn anything but shorts, tshirt, warm hat and a half-on frogg togg rain jacket. im just not that cold to where i need anything else. today was very nice out and even hit over 85 at some point. blue and clear were the skies. the best hiking weather. we found our first real 'trail magic' as we started from mooney gap to begin ascending albert mtn. trail magic is basically food or something considered luxurious and hard to get when youre away from civilation. like a 6-pack of beer, or some canned fruit, or candy bars...today we found a grocery sack at 2 different locations with canned fruit, candy bars, apples, carrots and some peanut butter crackers. little stickers on them saying 'compliments of butch cassidy'. thank you butch. very thoughtful. tonite, spunky, atwannabe and i are staying at N.S.'s house near franklin, nc. we met him at blueberry patch hostel on friday (was it friday? you forget what day it is out here) and he took a liking to us and we all have become fast friends. he's carted us around quite a few times already. he met us at the carter gap shelter last nite and stayed overnite. today he met us at mooney gap. then at wallace gap. i havent figuredout what he does for a living yet, and dont want to know. but he really knows the trail in this area and is full of wisdom about thetrail community. in fact, tonite as we were sitting in his living room, he called up W.F. and passed the phone around and we asked him questions about the trail and his handbook. what a trip! tomorrow i think will be a zero day for us 3. spunky's boots are a bit small so she needs new ones. atwannabe is fighting strep throat and needs some better sleep, and me, well, im in no big hurry and could use a day off to rest my feet and back. my feet dont have any blisters, but as i scrunch them now, i can tell they need a rest. i need some arch support inserts and i should be just fine. along with maybe making up another box of stuff to send home that im carrying and dont need. tonite i also bought a calling card and called my dad and joanne, my step-mom. it was really great to hear them. i miss them. but im not homesick. ive been gone almost 2 weeks and am having a fine time. i have all spring and summer to get to katadin. doesnt everyone wish they could do something big like this in their lives? i think they do. and im getting to do it. sure, it isnt easy, but ive already crossed one state border and little accomplishments like that are what make it real to me. little goals at a time, strung together to make one big one. this is how im looking at it. plus the people ive met are from everywhere, some from england i know. and ireland. mostly the US. but we're hikers. and thats what gets us to feel comraderie before we even open our mouths.i still have the beer in my pack. and still wonder what to do with it. it will tell me when its ready.goodnite. 1105pm.