Date: 2013-04-10
From: Groundhog Creek Shelter

To: Walnut Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 13.1
Weather: clear sky

Day Thirty Three -Groundhog Creek Shelter to Walnut Mountain ShelterAnother amazing day today! It's sunny, warm and beautiful! We had eaten and were packed up and ready to go by 8am and started our uphill trek. It started out gradual but turned nasty! Fortunately we came to a road and Apple was there with trail magic, it was awesome! I had a thousand calories of junk food and it was great! He actually goes around to three different long trails to give out magic. He said that it is no more expensive than other hobbies. I like the way he thinks! We ate and drank in lawn chairs on theTennessee/ North Carolina state line. Thank you Apple! He has fed over 5000 hikers since 2001 He wrote down our trail names and we begrudgingly left to head up the crazy steep trail. The only thing that made the up better was knowing that we had several miles of down later today. The up went on forever, as we got close to Max Patch I couldn't take it anymore and after stopping at a stream for a water refill I stopped again at the next rhododendron tunnel I came to and laid on the trail in the shade. I passed the 250 mile mark without even noticing three miles ago so this is how I'm celebrating. Love this life! Max patch was totally incredible! I wish we could have stayed there overnight, it had 360 degree views of the mountains and was a totally open grassy bald. The sky was so blue and the clouds were so fluffy, the six miles of up to get there were immediately forgotten and everyone had huge, silly smiles on their faces. How could you not be happy when you are on top if the world! We knew we still had a lot of miles to go so we continued down the trail and came to this really cool Lord of the Rings kind of forest. Oh and did I mention that it was all down! We stopped at the first shelter and Masseuse decided to stay there with Diet Coke but Quaker and I pressed on. We were on a mission. It was already 5pm and we still had 4.8 miles to go. Most of it was down but the last mile was up and it was hard. We kept stopping for breaks every hundred steps and then finally just before the sun set decided to sit and have a snack and watch the sun go down. The smokies beneath the sun turned purple, it was gorgeous! We knew we still had a little more to go so we picked up the pace and made it to the shelter without our headlamps. There was a campfire waiting for us and the shelter was packed. I gave a quick hammock hanging demonstration near the shelter but poor Quaker had to climb back up to the top of the mountain to find a flat spot. He has an amazing view of the stars though. I am siting on top of the mountain typing thia and watching the stars. i think i will have to sleep with my tarp off tonight. It's way past hikers midnight and I am exhausted, time for bed.Confessions of a trail angel:"A female was coming off the trail and I asked her if she wanted a cold drink. She asked me to marry her!" Apperantly cold drinks are equal to diamonds on the trail.Trouble'I believe that everything I have experienced, in the small breath of my existence, has brought me to this place. I belong here. It loves me as much as I love it. This is good.' Bluebird AT 2006