Date: 2018-05-18
From: US 19E, Roan Mtn

To: USFS Road 293
Miles today: 14.8

Well today was for the most part a contrast to yesterday - the weather, the topography, the terrain, the views, the company even the direction...The weather. Today was storming in town and that generally means that it will be doing the same in the mountains, but it wasn¢t. Light rain to start the day, mostly overcast but it worked hard to become a nice day with bits of sunshine scattered throughout.The Direction. I went north to south and covered 14.5 miles. What this did was give me an opportunity to see many more hikers than I normally would since pretty much everybody at this point on the trail is going north and I just don¢t pass people. I passed so many people that I already know and may not have seen for awhile, it was good to catch up. However, I probably spent at least an hour or more talking with them while I could have been hiking.The company. I was solo and planned on being by myself all day. I started out with the Mayor for the first mile or so before he turned about and started working on his own hiking goals.The views. There were very few views of mountaintops and what there were, were unremarkable. In fact if I had been hiking in the other direction, I may not even have noticed them.Topography and terrain. There of course was climbing, there always is but nothing like yesterday. Most ascents and descents were quick and moderate and for the most part under the cover of foliage. The views were not of or from mountains but of numerous rivers and creeks that flowed in every direction. For the first 9 miles of the day, rarely was I out of ear shot of a water source. And while yesterdays trails included a lot of rocks and boulders, todays had very few. Instead the paths for the most part were smooth and soft under foot; spongy without being saturated. The trail was covered with a blanket of pine needles, rhododendron and hardwood leaves making the walk very quiet. Only the sounds of the breeze from high above, the leftover rain drops falling from the branches on to my rain jacket and the sounds of the running streams, were evident. Occasionally the sun would break through the canopy in sharp beams and dot the floor with reflective light that shimmered as I moved through them. One of the hikers I ran into today was Poppins. A young lady from the UK who hikes in a skirt and carries an umbrella, told me of a couple of highlights I could expect in the coming miles today. And in her charming British accent advised me to ¢take liberty and spend some time in the delightful meadow that banks the river. The wildflowers, birds and butterflies will make your experience all the more lovely. And I ¢mussent¢ miss Jones Waterfall, it¢s breathtaking and well worth the detour from the trail. I¢ll surely want to delay any urgency to continue my hike.¢ She was correct on both counts, it was delightful and lovely. To date, this has been my favorite section of the hike.Topography and terrain continued. The last 3 miles of today¢s hike was the worst ever! It was through a series of overgrown two track roads and narrow paths of dirt winding aimlessly across fields of tall wet weeds, that were no doubt infested with ticks and other biting insects, just hanging over the trail tickling my legs as I walked by. I couldn¢t complete this section quickly enough. I felt like a boy, done with my paper route, walking home through a hot weedy field with a sack full of undelivered papers. All I wanted to to do is drop the weight, eat my dinner and tell my dad that I didn¢t want to deliver papers anymore....In the back of my mind I heard his voice say something that affectionately included the word ¢buttercup.¢By the way, I crossed over the 400 mile point of my AT hike today...Go Buttercup!