Date: 2003-07-23
From: Blackrock Hut

To: Loft Mountain Campground
Miles today: 7.4
Weather: few clouds

We woke up late today thanks to the Tylenol PM we had both taken! I felt like my body had been beaten by a baseball bat thanks to the rockiest campsite I have ever seen! However, despite the aches and pains, we had to get moving! Today we were going to the campground, and do you know what that means?   Food!! They have a little restaurant there and Bumpkin and I were both really excited about it! I ate my last bagel for breakfast and stuck my last granola bar in my pocket. Since all I had left in my food bag for lunch was a package of tuna, we decided to forego our usual lunch break and keep hiking to the store.   My foodbag was light and my spirits were soaring, (the Advil had kicked in by this time!), so we took off down the trail. The first three miles literally flew by. The trail was nice and smooth, and after the first mile it was fairly level. There were not many people out on the trail, so I plugged in my little earphone and radio and bee-bopped my way up the path.   In case you are wondering, classic rock is good for uphills, NPRis good for uneventful stretches, but the best, and I do mean best, music for hiking is the Oldies!!! Fifties rock and roll! You really can't beat it for putting a little pep in your step! :) The neatest thing we saw today was the top of BlackRock Mountain. Once upon a time, it was supposedly a huge cliff, but thousands of years ago it broke into a bajillion pieces. When you climb to the top, you come around a curve and you see this giant rock slide that covers the side of the mountain.   All of the trees are green, and all of the sudden there is this gray carpet of coffeetable-sized bolders swooping down the mountain in a graceful curve. Looking up, there is a granite pinaclereaching towards the clouds. Add to it a view that stretches out forever...one of those views that looks like God shook out the landscape like a blanket and let it settle in graceful hills and valleys...and you have an amazing vista. This is why I hike! The next four miles went by fairly easily. My feet were starting to hurt, and the trail was taking a decidedly uphill turn. However, the sun was shining and the path was curving through lots of neat forest. And, as always, there were the blueberries! :)   I only ate a few, though! I had something more substantial in mind! Like a cheeseburger! :) The last mile went by s-o s-l-o-w-l-y!! It was uphill, I was totaly bonked, and I thought I would never get there! Note to self: It does not pay to hike for five hours on one bagel and a granola bar!!! I finally got to the campground and Bumpkin and I got a tent site. We set up in record time and headed for the restaurant. It was over a mile away, down a very steep little path, and we passed the time by torturing each other with food fantasies.   She would say, "Fried eggs with sugar cured ham....", to which I would add salaciously, "a big juicy orange...".We went on and on til we couldn't stand it anymore. Luckily, we got to the restaurant just as images of the Donner Party began to fill our minds! :) I just knew that the time had come..I was a thru hiker and I was going to eat like one! "I'll take a cheeseburger, fries, a chili dog, a diet coke, and a chocolate shake!...oh, and throw in a bag of chips, would you?" I said to the woman behind the counter.   We are in a national park and the prices are like Disney prices, but I didn't care! I carried my tray laden with food to the table and proceeded to eat with gusto. As I got about half way through, I noticed with horror that I was full!! "What kind of thru hiker am I if I can't eat all of this?!" I asked Bumpkin.   She just laughed, shook her head and went up to order herself a shake. Oh well....I guess my eyes were bigger than my stomache! When it came time to head back up the trail, Joette, one of the women working in the restaurant offered us a ride. We were so excited cause it was a long uphill walk and we were busy digesting! :) She dropped us off at the camp store and we thanked her profusely.   I will never get over being touched by the simplest of kindnesses that we see out here. If you ever think that there is a shortage of truly nice people out here, all you need to do is read my journal. I meet them everyday.   As we were totaling up our food purchases for the next two days, Bumpkin asked another woman for a ride up to the campground. When she asked us to follow her outside, we looked up to see the biggest motor home I have ever seen!! Her two adorable dogs greeted us at the door and we took a seat on the couch facing the huge TV.   Man, this is what I call traveling in style! Deposited at our campsite, we proceeded to use the remainder of the evening to answer emails and such. I was able to do my pocketmail, but for some reason, couldn't make any credit card calls. Oh well, maybe next time. As the sun went down, tendrils of mist crept into our campsite and we looked up to see that the clouds were moving in.....literally. By the time I curled up in my bag, we were well-entrenched in cirrus and colombus. It is raining lightly and I am getting sleepy.   Tomorrow is a big day... 14 miles!