Date: 2003-06-22
From: Hwy. 311

To: Hwy at Trout Creek
Miles today: 7.3

start hwy 311Destination hwy Trout CreekIt was really weird to wake up in someone's garage. I fixed me some oatmeal and hot tea. Charlie (mudbuts brother)and I left to slack pack Dragon's Tooth. Mudbutt decided against doing it because of her foot. She chose instead to slack the section I did yesterday. It was another gorgeous day to hike. Days like today almost make up for all the rainy days from last week. Almost, but not quite. Maybe after a couple more beautiful days. For days I have been anticipating Dragon's Tooth. I had heard so much about it, and was apprehensive about doing it. Turns out it was pretty much a lot to do about nothing. There were a couple of climbs up the face of the rocks, but I did really well. Then we climbed up to the very tip of the tooth. There was such a awesome panoramic view from there. I felt like I was sitting on top of the world. I sure am glad I am not afraid of heights! I came across a black snake trying to rob a bird's nest of it's eggs. The poor little momma bird was fluttering around the nest, but she was no match for the big snake. Charlie and I tryed to scar off the snake but it was focused on eating the eggs. I felt really bad for the bird. I know this is the natural order of things, but it still bothered me. Something had come in and stolen the babies before they even had a chance at life. This is how Satan does. He steals in and robs us of the blessings that the Lord wants to give us. We sometimes face an enemy that is no match for us. Yet we flutter around and wring our hands in worry and despair. What we realy need to do is claim the promise and strength of the Lord and let him fight our battles for us. Let him hold and comfort us as we face the storms and trials of life. As I came down off of the mountain, there were wild blueberry bushes. The berries were just getting ripe. They tasted so good. Fresh off of the bush. I am sure the wild animals will enjoy them. It was to funny, as Charlie and I came off of the trail and onto the road, here comes Mudbutt from the opposite direction! Talk about great timing!! We all took our shoes and socks off and spent the next hour soaking our feet in the cold water of Trout Creek. Delwood came to pick us up to take us back to the hostel. By the time we got to the hostel we had talked him into taking all of us into Roanoke to eat at Ruby Tuesdays. We piled back into his small truck. Three of us in the front and four in the bed of the truck. What a time we had going into the big city. Supper was a AYCE salad bar for most of us. But the hiker appetite award went to Winnebago. He ate more than anyone I have ever seen in my life. Then when we thought he was finished, he ordered dessert!!! When we got back into the truck, Delwood had gotten a phone call from a hiker who had hurt her back. We drove up to the trail head but could not find her. We stopped and got some ice cream on the way home. Even Winnebago got dessert, again. When we got back to the hostel, we had a full house. It was most enjoyable sitting around talking and visiting. We even stayed up past curfew, which is 10:00pm. Isn't that funny? A bunch of grown people with a curfew, lights out time?? But no one complained!Total miles 7.3