Date: 2015-09-08
From: south Arm Road

To: height of the land
Miles today: 13.3
Weather: overcast clouds

Another day of slack packing! At this point, we are starting to feel guilty about all of the wonderful slack packing and meals provided by our wonderful trail angel,Cherri and her husband Andy. These birds will need a BIG shove out of the nest!D.No's foot was bothering him still today, and I remember only too well how walking with pain can impact the hike. Alll of us hikers experience some level of pain, but when it rises to the level of what D.No Is experiencing, it can just suck the joy right out of the experience.The terrain on our profile map looked relatively easy. ..Wrong.We started with a sustained climb up old Blue Mountain. 2100 foot elevation gain over 2.8 miles, very rugged and steep at the top. Handholds and a couple of ladders helped on the super steep parts, but we were sweating and tired when we got to the summit. We ate our Subs, tomatoes, and a few oranges while we enjoyed the view. Hauling Oats came by and we shared some orange slices with her. It was a clear and warm day- very pretty!When I hiked away, that was the last time I saw D.No and c.shell for the rest of the day. The hike was extremely challenging in a relentless sort of way. And I think that when you wrap your brain around the idea of the hike being easy then it ends up being challenging, it just feels so much harder. When will I learn!!!!The trial went up and down- down and up- rooty and rocky, no smooth terrain at all. When I got to the summit of Bemis, I waited for a while for my hiking partners. Hauling Oats came by, but D.No and CShell didn't. I was a little worried because we are usually within 10 minutes or so of each other. I left the bag of orange slices on a rock in the middle of the trail for them and hiked on. When I passed the shelter, I lost the trail for a few minutes. Found it- hiked out. The second peak of Bemis was beautiful when I got there and the trail was just abundant with juicy plump blueberries. Rock cairns were particularly artistic with a backdrop of dark and dramatic mountains. I texted Cherri from the top of that mountain to let her know we would be a minimum of an hour late. I waited a while but my pals didnt show. I needed to move on because I did not pack a headlamp and I didn't want to get caught in the dark. Note to self: don't slack pack without a headlamp. Geez! The views were gorgeous on that summit and for a moment I forgot about how hard the hike was. Everybody who passed me also groaned about this day- so im in good company!I finally hiked out - very concerned. one of two things was happening: a) d.No was hobbling down the mountain in excruciating pain and C.Shell was giving him gentle encouragement and never left his side. Or, Bthe more likely scenario) : d.No Was slightly limping but discovered the blueberries and was stopping to eat them while C.Shell was using her hiking pole like a cattle prod to move him along. We all know he has is a berry head. When I reached a gravel road, the trail became smooth and easy for about half a mile. Then it ascended steeply to the road, giving us a it got for the last half mile. I climbed up, using my hands a little, and finally emerged quite exhausted at the road. Cherri was waiting and we enjoyed the spectacular view of the lake until very shorty when the sun set and the night became black.We walked to the truck and waited and I hoped that my friends were not as careless as I had been and had their headlamps with them. At 8:30, headlamps dull but working, they finally came out of the woods. D.no was limping quite severely and tattlle-taled that C.Shell would not let him stop to eat the lusxious blueberries because they were so behind schedule. It sounded like a trying day and I got a feeling NG in my gut that goodbyes were looming. We stopped at M Donald's on the way back and were cheered by Cherri's positive personality. One more night in a house- then back in the woods.