Date: 2018-05-14
From: Unmarked Campsite Mile 483.6

To: Bald near mile 497.4
Miles today: 13.9
Weather: clear sky

In the morning I was packed and ready ahead of Cole. I left him to finish up and I went on ahead. There was a lot of climbing to do! It took Cole 3.5 hours to catch up to me, an unusually long time considering that it normally only takes him about an hour.A number of water sources were turning up dry, but Guthooks showed a piped spring that looked promising. It was gushing! Although there was no shade to hide from the sun that was beating down on us, the presence of water and the gorgeous view made it the perfect stop for lunch. A dozen or more other parched hikers thought so as well. What a great opportunity for the ¢hiker express¢ to pass information along the trail. The word was that the shelter we had intended to stop at, Thomas Knob Shelter, had a large aggressive bear nearby pulling food bags out of trees at night. Some people were planning to head for a campsite a mile past the shelter while others were going to stop before. I had no idea yet what we were going to do. I filled my little wash basin with cold water from the pipe and soaked my feet while Cole tried unsuccessfully to rig a make shift shade cover using our fly and trekking poles.After a lengthy rest we got moving again. Less than an hour down the trail we encountered trail magic! All of the hikers who had just eaten lunch with us were spread out on the grass refueling some more. This time they were fuelling up, not on trail food but on fresh fruit, sodas and sandwiches. As it turned out, this ¢trail magic¢ was the very best blessing and answer to prayer that I have received on the trail. The woman doing the trail magic was a family doctor. She had a big box of medical supplies with her. She numbed the sore on my face so that she could open it up and remove the ¢ick¢ inside. She put some antibiotic cream on it and gave me a small container with more. She also wrote two prescriptions for me in case the cream was not enough. One prescription was for more antibiotic cream and one was for an oral antibiotic. On top of all of that she gave me a few pills in case we got Noro virus ( An illness common on the trail, usually spread on the water or hiker to hiker contact) I honestly just felt like crying with gratitude. My heart sung!!!We lingered for a long while but eventually started moving again. There was still the question of where we would spend the night. We did not feel like adding to our distance by going past the shelter. A few in the group we had been enjoying the trail magic with were headed for a Bald before the shelter. We headed there too. We were the last to arrive. In the Bald there were wild ponies grazing. They took quite an interest in the bunch of smelly hikers who had set up camp in their meadow. In fact, they rather liked our stench...or at least the salt on our skin that the sweat produced. They kept trying to lick us. Cole had fun chasing them away from the tents before they eventually decided to wander off.We had a stunning view of the sky as the sun set, displaying a rich array of oranges and yellows. As we sat there dazzled by the beauty, Cole commented ¢ A lot of the time it seems like we are in a post card, doesn¢t it.¢Yes sweetie, it sure does.¢