Date: 2015-05-29
From: Rock Spring Hut

To: Pass Mountain Hut 
Miles today: 15.3
Weather: scattered clouds

We woke up exhausted, getting up an hour later than usual because of yesterday's many miles and today's much easier plan. My body is so used to getting up at 5, I didn't have a chance of sleeping late. I stayed snuggled in my sleeping bag until 6, then forced myself to start getting things together.Morning chores include packing up ThermaRest and sleeping bag, changing back into dirty, damp, disgusting hiking clothes, removing everything from the tent, collapsing the tent and spreading it out to dry, eating breakfast, going to the bathroom three times, putting everything in the pack, realizing I forgot to brush my teeth and digging my toiletry bag back out... It takes forever.I do think that Great Gray and Green Gertrude (Aviary helped me decide on my new pack's name) actually has a better pocket arrangement, even though she has fewer pockets. They are bigger and stretchier and my Platypus bottles actually don't fall out ten times a day. I have adjusted faster than I thought I could.Chris took my bear bag down for me, we slowly packed up, and waved goodbye to Billy swinging in his hammock as we departed.And we crawled. Tired and slow and slow to wake up. At morning snack time, we stopped at the Skyland Resort so that Chris could buy coffee, and seized the opportunity to use the bathroom, dispose of our trash, read the newspaper CSA charge our devices, and browse the gift shop (did I mention how great the park is for all these opportunities to hit semi- civilization?).Most importantly, we rested. We gave our feet, our tired legs and bodies a rest. And when we set out again, we felt better. The trail was never steep, but obnoxiously rocky in some spots. Imagine how much you weigh. Then add like 30 pounds, how much a pack weighs with food and water. Now imagine a meat tenderizer weighing that much, pounding repeatedly on the bottoms of your feet. That is what walking on a rocky trail is like. Your feet are already tired after walking miles and miles. Then the rocks come. Your feet cry out in agony, but you must stay on the trail! Leave no trace! Suffer through the horrible pain of a hundred stones twisting your feet in directions they don't belong.Sounds fun, right?We passed another hiker whose name I don't think I ever learned like four times today, coming up behind him and outpacing him, forcing him to the side of the trail when we passed. And EVERY TIME, he looked SO GRUMPY. Usually people smile and say hi as you pass them, or relate some stupid story you don't really care about. But this guy just looked grumpy the whole time. He is camping at the same shelter as us tonight, but didn't come over to the shelter to cook or chat at all. Cocoa and Magnus said that they passed him today, too, and they agreed about his grumpiness. Maybe he is just having a bad day. I hope he is okay.For lunch, we stopped at Byrd's Nest Hut, which was big and stone and impressive. I cooked dehydrated spaghetti with sauce. I almost never cook lunch, but rearranged my meals so I could give my extra to Chris so we can get to my mail drop with minimal resupply beforehand. It was a good day for it, wet and drizzly. Once I stopped moving I started to get a little cold, so the warm meal was welcome. It was still so early when we finished lunch, and we had less than 5 miles left to go. So awesome.We got to camp SO EARLY. Before 3:30. There was time to bathe, to hang a clothesline, to pitch my tent, to cook dinner, and to RELAX. We were thrilled with the opportunities provided by an early end of the day.When we arrived at the shelter, we met Funk's brother and his wife, who hiked a mile in to camp here. They were waiting for Funk, who stayed at Big Meadows last night, to arrive. They are all camping here tonight. They brought chips, pretzels, cheese, and soda to share. Such nice people! I ate some chips. And pretzels. And more chips. I put some delicious, delicious cheese in my dinner.And so we sat and chatted in front of the shelter for a good chunk of the afternoon and evening. Brian, Funk's brother, built a nice fire and I set my trail runners close to it to dry. A pair of section hikers from Connecticut came to the table to talk. I signed and stamped the register book. Coco and Magnus (it is his birthday today!) arrived and also joined us at the shelter table for some chatting away. I ate some more pretzels and chips and a LOT of my M&Ms. So delicious.Chris and I discussed our miles with Funk, who expected us to have continued farther north tonight. Chris explained his plans to meet his parents Wednesday, and how it allowed us to take a couple of shorter days while still being able to arrive on time. We discussed how Chris and I would split up at Harpers Ferry, and the chances that we would end up meeting up on the trail again. "It's just a matter of who's willing to speed up or slow down," Funk pointed out.Billy and a few others arrived later, as I was preparing to migrate to my tent for journal time. I was glad to escape more talking. I do love talking to people, but sometimes suffer from social overload. I need my tent time.As I was sitting in the shelter tonight, trying to do mile math to calculate where Dad might be able to pick me up next weekend so I can see Candace and Taiki, who are coming from Japan for a visit (I AM SO EXCITED TO DO TWIN THINGS)Oland I was scratching my disgusting, dirty leg and noticed a tick. Not good. Chris was nice enough to promptly remove it for me. I have to be more careful, and am now paranoid, which is probably a good thing. I will be respraying all of my gear with permethrin when I go home. I sprayed everything before I left, but at this point, I have different clothes, a new pack, and my socks have been washed MANY times. So a new application is in order.I definitely am behind on sleep. I keep staying up late to journal, or have trouble falling asleep. I definitely need more rest. So tonight calls for an early bedtime.I am thankful, as always, for good company, gifts of food, and the trail. And an early night. And that I get to go home in just over a week. I can't wait for hugs. I miss hugs. I realized, after I hugged Chris goodbye in Waynesboro, how much I miss human physical contact. A person just plain needs more hugs. Soon I will get them! I can't wait to see my family. By the time I get home, I will have been gone for more than two months. I am grateful that home is close enough to get to. I am incredibly grateful I have an amazing home and family to return to, even if just for a couple of days.