Date: 2013-04-16
From: Standing Bear Inn

To: Max Patch Bald, stealth camp
Miles today: 13.3

Last night was a snore-fest. In fact if I didn't know better I would have thought it was a snoring competition. The bunkhouse held 14 people, and four or five occupants almost rattled the nails out of the walls. At one point I put on my head lamp and stood over a guy with my light shining directly towards his eyes hoping that it would disturb him enough to alter his breathing pattern. That is ccertainly one of the drawbacks to bunkhouse/hostel sleeping- snoring in surround sound. I realized that my earplugs had fallen out, so I put them back in and enjoyed the last few hours of sleep. I slept so well that everyone was up and mostly packed when I came to. Pathfinder and I had made a pact the night before to cook up a cheesy omletes; I also threw in a cheese danish for good measure (I popped in the pizza oven to make it warm and toasty and goey. O.M.G.). After this hearty breakfast I felt more energized than I have in weeks. I plowed up the early morning hills like they were nothing, again making me realize the importance of sufficient calories.There was a dusting of white flowers on the ground poking their heads through brown leaves. It reminded me of the white spots on a fawn's back. The air smelled more of pine, and the path was covered with soft brown short needle pine straw. The trail was lined on either side with green tuffs of grass, but the grass expanded no farther than a few inches to either side of the trail. Had grass seeds been trekked in on hiking poles and boot soles? I don't know, but it was curious. I crossed a sad dead chipmunk in the middle of the trail. I nudged it with my pole, but its body was stiff. I hoped that it wasn't the victim of a hapless hiker. I passed by a little spring and decided it would be a great place for lunch. I plopped down a log beside the spring and pulled my boots and socks off. Kaboose & Sassafras stopped by for a water refill and headed back out. Red Specks happened along a few minutes later, and he joined me for lunch. He is from the former-Eastern Germany and had some vocabulary questions. I tried my best to explain in my very poor German the meaning of "collar-bones", "roadbeds", "trail mix", "I-40", and "gut-instinct". We both agreed that "gut-instinct" is incredibly important.After lunch I moved a bit slower. I played leap-frog with Red Specks, NBC, Sheebeast and a few others. At Max Patch Rd I saw an RV and a campfire and a few people milling about. Trail magic! A former thru-hiker was set up cooking hot dogs, handing out sodas, roasting chicken and baked potatoes for later. Hells yeah The hot dog was gone before I tasted it. I thanked him and said good bye to the others. I still wanted to get some miles behind me before the day was done.I started climbing up the grassy expanse that is Max Patch Bald. There were some high clouds, but the 360 degree panorama was unobscured. I wondered why the trail was so closely marked with whitw-blazed 4 X 4 every 15 ft or so. The path was so clearly trodden through the grass. I veered up to what I thought was the highest point on the summit. There was a group of 20 something sitting on a blanket, enjoying the day. As I approached them, they warmly greeted me. They lived in Asheville and were just visiting for the day. They asked about me, and then offered up a banana. Heck yeah! Two trail magics in less than a mile! I thanked them and continued towards the top of the summit. I saw a group of hikers in the distance, and I recognized Buck-Eye Cornelius and B-line. They called me over. A young college couple were doing a class project for their Hospitality class, and they opted to hand out beers, donuts, Ritz crackers, hummus and salsa to thru-hikers. My eyes watered up as I cracked open an ice cold can of Yuengling beer while licking the glazed donut from my dirty finger tips. Buck-Eye said that he and Kaboose were camping on the bald, and did I want to join them? As I opened my second beer, I decided that, yes, I would. The rest of the group headed along. The couple had two beers left. Kaboose took the can and I took the bottle. The only thing I was in want of was water. I've come to realize that what constitutes as "drinkable" water has evolved greatly for me since I started this journey. I filled my water reservoir to the top with ice from the beer cooler. Beer cooler ice constitues as drinkable water in my book these days. Buck-eye did the same. I sure beat the mile hike down the hill to the nearest source.We set up our tents and made dinner while clouds of gnats circled our heads. I could smell myself by now, so I no longer wonder why they are attracted to me. I sat out on the grass of the bald and watched the light shift across the dozens of ridge layers. I felt close to heaven. The crickets and frogs began their evening serenade as the colors changed from blues to golds. This is exactly where I am supposed to be.