Date: 2007-04-30
From: Icewater Spring Shelter 

To: Cosby Knob Shelter
Miles today: 20.3
Weather: clear sky

Nice morning, it was cool but the sun was out. I know this is hard to believe, but I was not the last one out of the shelter today! J was still there. Actually, truth be told we left at the same time, around 8:30.I generally don't hike with anyone, but J and I were at about the same pace so we hiked together for the first few hours. Which turned out to be a good thing, because there were a lot of ups. You tend to keep each other motivated. If you¢re in the front you don't want to be the wimp that stops. When you¢re in back, your not about to let that person out of your sight! J and I were together when we reached Charlies Bunion (a large round rock outcropping, with thousand foot drop-offs on 3 sides), so we took turns climbing out on it for photos.Around lunchtime we caught up to Tim (now has the trail name Rex), sitting out on a rock with outstanding views. So we joined him on his perch for lunch. I had my first peanut butter tortilla wrap. J had a jar of peanut butter he had been lugging around for 3 days unopened. Now, had that been me, that thing would have been gone the 1st day. I always decide what I am eating by how much something weighs. Anyhow, he offered us some and I decided to try it. I have to say it wasn't bad.Then he pulled out a block of cheese. I was in heaven! I didn't realize how much I missed eating cheese. I usually take it when I backpack, to eat with my lunches. But in saving weight, I gave it up for lighter food. I might have to pick some up. What a treat it was.I moved on and later came upon Toodles and Bum Bum sitting having a break. I stopped and chit chatted. Rex and J joined us as well as a ridge runner. We talked for a few minutes at Eagles Rock and looked for the water source that was suppose to be there. After asking the ridge runner, we learned that there was no water until the shelter 4 miles away (mostly uphill). He was nice enough to share some of his water to get us through. (he was heading south, down hill, and would hit water in a mile or two.)There were a lot of great views today, but that also meant there was a lot of uphill climbs. One of the things I thought was cool was the way some of the ridges "bridged" two mountains. You were walking on a narrow strip that had huge drop offs on both sides. You actually had awesome views on both sides of you.After reaching Tri-corner Shelter, where everyone was stopping for the night, I ate dinner and then suddenly decided to pack up and move on. So at 5:15 with 13 miles already hiked for the day, I set out to hike another 7.7 miles to Cosby Knob. Rex gave me a Balance Bar (Gold Crunch, my favorite) to take with me for that extra boost on my last climb. I was really grateful for it around 8pm with one last mountain to go.That time of day is when I really am at my best. It is cool, there are no other hikers around, I move much faster and I get to see so much more. There are a lot of animals moving around that time of night. I had an owl land on a branch about 20 feet in front of me. It was white with brown on it, it just stared at me. I snapped a quick picture before it flew off.On the hike this evening the trail passed an old plane wreck. I went down the embankment (actually, I slipped down!) to get a closer look and take a picture. As I was checking it out, thinking it was neat, it occurred to me that people more then likely died here. I felt guilty for being excited to see it.The best part of the hike tonight, was watching the sunset 3 times! I was at the bottom of Cosby Knob starting my climb, when I looked behind me and saw the orange and red colors behind me. I decided to sit on a rock to watch the sunset. After it went down behind the mountains, I got up and continued uphill. A few minutes later I looked back and saw it again. As I climbed higher the sun came into view again. I can honestly say, I have never watched the sunset more then once on the same night.I arrived at Cosby Knob Shelter just after 9pm (hiker midnight) and the 4 other people were already in bed. A woman looked up when I came in and said I'm glad it's you and not the bear. There was a sign at the turn off for the shelter that said bears are very active in this area. I hung my food bag and crashed for the night. This was my first 20+ mile day and 12 hours of hiking is to much!!