Date: 2006-05-30
From: Hogback Ridge Shelter

To: No Business Shelter
Miles today: 20.6
Weather: scattered clouds

Total miles today 21.1Total Trail miles today 20.6Start at Hogback shelterFinish at No Business shelter at AT mile 332.4Staying in tent3200 feet of ups4200 feet of downs   Another kick-ass day. I was not trying to do a 20+ day, but it happened. I just started out easy, and a little late, and let the wheels roll. Come 1225 I had done 10 miles and eaten lunch. So I just continued on and at 1500 I was just 4.7 more from this shelter and decided I could get here. The last 2 miles were a real drag though¢¦EXCEPT for my first bear sighting of the trip. We saw each other at about the same time. He was getting a drink where a creek crossed the trail. We were about 40 yards apart. He ran like the dickens so I had no chance to get a picture.   I walked across this great Bald today from which there were fantastic views in all directions. And then down into this cool forest of really odd trees. I don't know what kind of tree they were. The big ones had trunks a good 30 inches thick, but they only went up about 20 feet and then shot branches everywhere. It was almost Tolkien like. You would not have been surprised to see an elf pop out.   And talking about big trees. I am camped under some maples that have trunks as big as 3 feet thick and just shoot to the sky. Some are certainly 100 feet tall and almost none of them have any branches below about 50 feet (which makes it a pain to hang my food bag). What I wouldn't give to have the forests full of trees like that again.   Met my first really strange trail person today. I was walking along and spotted this hiker standing in the middle of the trail looking around like they were lost. As this persons¢ back was to me I called out as I was getting no reaction to my approaching footsteps. The person turns around and it turns out it is a little tiny woman about 45 with huge coke bottle size glasses. She does not look at all surprised by my sudden appearance right behind her and proceeds to ask me if she can ask a question. "Hmmm..." I am thinking inside, but say "Sure". She says "Do you know which direction is which way? I think I am walking the wrong direction". I tell her which way is north and ask her which way she is going. She says north. "Hmm" I think again inside. "How far are you going", I ask. And she responds "As far as I want to." Now you may be thinking that this is nothing special, but what if I tell you that she was carrying a pack every bit as big as my huge expedition pack which is used for winter mountaineering and that it is easily twice as big as the pack I have on. On top of that it is clearly very heavy as she is bent way over to keep from falling over backward. The pack is so badly adjusted and packed that the only place it touches her is at the hip belt and shoulder straps. I could have easily put my hand between the pack and her back at any point. She starts walking down the trail in front of me at about 1/4 mph. "This won't do I think" and ask her if I can pass. As I pass her she starts talking to me and it dawns on me that, here I am in a t-shirt and shorts, carrying about 25 lbs and sweating like a pig. She however is carrying what looks to be at least 50 lbs and is dressed in long pants and a long sleeved shirt AND a wool hat! AND she is not sweating! At about this time I get the creepy crawlies and say I've got to get going and MOTOR out of there. I actually looked back after a couple of hundred yards to make sure she wasn't somehow keeping up with me. Almost like the Twilight Zone.    A short day into Erwin tomorrow to do my housekeeping chores; laundry, shower, groceries, phone calls, etc. Civilization is always intruding.Wyoming Which way is North?