Date: 2014-04-08
From: Painter Branch Campsite

To: Mile 261.6
Miles today: 18.7

I knew it would be a long day so I was the first up and gone. I left at 7:30 and started up the mountain. It wasn't too cold, maybe 40 degrees, but it was very damp and windy. The clouds enveloped me until 10:30. I wore several layers of clothes because of the cold and damp, even though the trail was all up hill until 12:30. After five hours of climbing, I finally reached the peak of Max Patch mountain.The trail was dry. On the top of Max Patch I could see for miles because it had once been farmed and there were no trees to block the views.I hiked all day alone. I Believe passed me going south, she was slack packing that day and we talked for a short time. Her husband was driving her from point to point the next few days so she could slack pack and rest a little. She did 20 miles the day before in the Smokies with a full pack and was tired. She left Amacalola Falls on March 10th, so she is moving slow. Just before arriving at Walnut Ridge Shelter I ran into Opie, Super Scout, and Murphy slack packing southbound. It was nice to see them because I wasn't sure I would see them again after we separated at Clingmans Dome. They invited me to ride to Hot Springs and slack pack tomorrow but I declined realizing the trail would be mostly down hill from now on.I arrived at Walnut Ridge Shelter about 4:30 and Gaucho arrived about the same time. He decided to press on another 10 miles for a 28-29 mile day. I wasn't up to that kind of mileage and didn't accompany him. I didn't like the looks of Walnut Ridge Shelter; it was cold, broken down, drafty, and mouse infested. I got a gallon of water and headed down the trail. About another mile I came across a stand of pine trees in a gap and camped there. This is the first night I camped completely alone.As I hiked I thought about Russ, the old homeless yogi and how my life was starting to emulate his in some ways. I seemed homeless now, just moving everyday to a new temporary location. While I briefly knew many other thru-hikers, they are just passing people now in my life who I just keep running into. Permanence is illusionary. The only thing permanent is the daily hiking. I treat everyday like going to work. I get up, break camp, hike, set up camp, go to bed, and then repeat the next day. Towns are a treat.The past few days the campfire talk has centered on getting to Hot Springs and taking a zero day and getting supplies and making a phone call. Hot Springs is now nirvana in most people's minds. I can't wait to get there.It was a great campsite. The pine trees smelled nice, the pine needles were soft to sleep on, it had lots of dry wood for a fire, and was protected from the weather. I built a nice fire, but in the process a piece of wood I was breaking hit me on the nose. My nose bled a lot and I needed to use too much of my very precious toilet paper to stop the bleeding. I turned my phone on, reversed the view on my camera and looked at my face. After treating my nose and wiping the blood off, I went back to making a fire. I used the toilet paper, and hand sanitizer, which is mostly alcohol to start the fire. After a while I had a nice fire, and dried my socks and shoes. The fire also took the chill off. One thing about hiking in these mountains, it is always wet and damp. The forest floor is always wet, the wood is wet, and air damp and cold. Even at 45 degrees, it is cold because of the constant dampness. I went to bed about 9:00 and discovered my headlamp was dead. My cell phone was down to 20% but I was forced to use it for light all night. It was a quiet night and very dark. At 4:00 AM I got up to answer nature's call and couldn't see my tent just 5 feet away. When I woke up, I had to check to see if my view was blocked by the sleeping bag, then I double-checked to see if my eyes were actually open. It was so dark I couldn't tell if my eyes were opened or closed without light.RW: Ridge Walker