Date: 2020-07-17
From: Bald Knob

To: Harpers Creek Shelter
Miles today: 25.4
Weather: clear sky

Cool night on Bald Knob. I read later the summit was still open about fifteen years ago. The forest has grown up quickly since then without active suppression. Apparently many balds have been let go like this, including in the Smokies. Whether they started naturally or through grazing by Indians or settlers, its a clear loss to visitors to let them revegetate. Though I appreciate the difficulty and expense it would take to manage them. It's what makes places like Roan and Max Patch so special.More of the same hot, humid, mostly sunny weather. The early morning was relatively cool and pleasant but the middle of the day was tough. My strength ebbed, water consumption soared, and minor climbs left me panting and annoyed.Ran into Banger, a fiftyish guy section hiking Damascus to Harper's Ferry who seems like the type who just lives on the trail. Also a college student from Mary Baldwin in Staunton studying Environmental Biology, out for a few days. He hikes the area often and gave me some good local info on the sights.Hit Spy Rock in the middle of the day and laid on the enormous boulder with a 360 degree view, trying to nap. Of course nature had other ideas. I felt the first drop hit my head, then watched ripples forming in the puddles on the rock. Reluctantly, sluggishly, I pulled on the pack and started moving as the rain shower cooled me off.Other than that brief shower, though, there was precious little water to be found. Most of the sources were trickles too shallow to fill my water bag. That's the irony of summer hiking - water runs low when you need it most.At The Priest shelter a middle-aged couple came in for an overnight. The woman complained of very sore feet. Her wise husband chose to reprioritize his camp chores to move "foot massage" to number one. When asked about my small pack I joked how I was eating my four days of food in three. Before I realized how it had come across they were offering me food. When I went to get water I came back to find I had inadvertently Yogi-ed a couple granola bars from them. It's true that I have been eating more than I planned. I've gobbled up my lunch and dinner items like ham, peanut butter, and M&Ms while leaving snacks like granola bars untouched. I'll have to be more realistic about the types of food I carry to make sure I feel satisfied. No need to compound heat and dehydration with not eating enough.After The Priest summit the trail drops 3100 feet in a little over three miles. Steep and rocky for the first mile, it eventually gave way to mostly dirt switchbacks, but still quite steep. The descent was so sharp that 2500 feet down my ears popped.Crossing the Tye River on a beautiful suspension footbridge, I regained 1000 feet of elevation to Harpers Creek Shelter, perched above the creek in a hollow just off trail. Two tenters nearby seemed to be trying to roast a buffalo, there was so much smoke billowing down the valley. I could smell it many minutes before I arrived.It was already dusk, and with the shelter to myself I hung clothes up to dry, ever hopeful. It was a pleasant evening. Even the bugs gave me a break for a change.