Date: 2004-04-28
From: Doll Flats

To: Laurel Fork
Miles today: 15.5
Weather: clear sky

Strange day indeed.Woke early and rolled out of camp without breakfast in an attempt to catch the boys before they left Apple House Shelter. I actually just caught LudaChris and Van Gogh as they were leaving, explained my drama of yesterday, and suggested we just plan on meeting up at Kincora Hostel in Hampton, TN. All was well - they had gotten the message that I was lost via other hikers (kinda humbling the way word gets around) and assumed they would catch me at Kincora at the latest. Then they moved on and I stopped for breakfast.About 30 minutes later I crossed Rt 19E and made an impulsive decision to hitch into town to pick up a few things at the store. I caught a ride quickly from a young girl who was dropping a hiker off, but then next thing I know I am at Bob's Dairyland ordering a cheeseburger and fries at 10:30am. I figure there are only two possible excuses for losing all willpower and eating a nice greasy meal so early in the morning: 1) you're pregnant or 2) you're a thru-hiker. I don't even have to justify it - it just works. I caught a quick meal and then got a ride back to the trailhead from another patron who was also having an AM burger (with no good excuse though). I was only off the trail for about an hour and the day was growing warm and beautiful.Spring is truly in the air and the forests are exploding with vibrantly green grasses and plants, there are little buds and leaves on the trees and today it was all planted against the backdrop of a crystal clear blue sky. Did the morale a load of good. The path rolled through grassy meadows, balds speckled with dandelions, and along a sparkling river for awhile. This section of the trail had been relocated in 2002 with 7 miles added to the trail. My map didn't have the relocation at all and my data book was 2 miles shy so I spent the afternoon not really knowing where I was. I mean I knew I was on the trail, but I was trying to get to Moreland Gap Shelter and no idea how far I was from it. It was a strange feeling in a Blair Witch Projectesque sort of way. I just kept walking not knowing if the shelter was around the corner or 4 hours away. I decided that it was pointless to sweat it and decided to call it an early night instead.I found a nice campsite at the confluence of two streams and stopped hiking around 5:30. I didn't feel like walking anymore for the day, but stopping early can be a bit of a drag too - there's only so much journaling, reading, and fire poking you can do before you're thoroughly bored. I set up camp and went into 'fire marshall didi' mode.The fire pit was overflowing and the ring was poorly built so I spent some time digging the pit out and rebuilding the stone ring. That was mildly satisfying. Then I spent most of the remainder of the night building a fire from damp wood - which is analogous to cutting a sirloin with a spoon or hammering nails into the wall with a flip-flop. It works, but it really doesn't. I couldn't get anything thicker then my thumb to burn and spent most of my time getting lightheaded from hyperventalating into the fire in an attempt to perk up the flames. With each breath I would then inhale cubic liters of thick black smoke, which burned my eyes and sent me scrambling for clean air. I would then repeat the process.That's really all I did for the night. Made dinner and journaled all the while obsessing about the fire. Finally I let it burn out so I could go and read in my tent. And of course, with my paranoia about burning the forest down, I stayed up and stirred the embers until every last orange glow was extinguished and could only be reignited by some sort of immaculate ignition - so to speak.My friend Reilly has there shoe laces that say "Only you can prevent forest fires". I take that very seriously.