Date: 2006-03-28
From: Groundhog Creek Shelter

To: Streamside Campsite
Miles today: 12.4

I think the long distance yesterday wore me out more than I realized. I didn¢t even wake up this morning until after 9 and I felt really tired and dizzy. I spent a long time eating breakfast because I was really hungry and I tried drinking a lot of water at Minnesota¢s suggestion. Because of this, I didn¢t leave the shelter until 11:00, well after my new acquaintance Tofurkey, had walked into the shelter all the way from Max Patch. Tofurkey said she read my trail journal and questioned me about the side effects from my gravy volcano, while I explained that I had heard she was the one responsible for woefully misnaming Mountain Goat ¢Spud.¢ We both laughed.I was tired and slow all day, but at least the dizziness eventually went away. My true tormentor of the day was a giant bald called Max Patch. It had been threatening to rain all day and as I climbed up Max Patch the clouds rolled in and the wind picked up so I donned my rain pants and took the opportunity to try to take a picture of the beautiful bald while I could. Unfortunately I sat in mud and my camera was out of juice. I had another battery but with the pending storm, I was in a hurry so I never was able to capture the Kodak moment.As I got closer to the summit it got more and more windy until I was literally bent at a 90 degree angle so that I wouldn¢t get blown off. Unfortunately this didn¢t do anything for my pack cover which chose this moment to separate itself from my pack and go flying towards the side of the hill. I went running after it, pack and all, and w2as only able to get it because it got hung up on some prickers. I stuffed it into my pocket and tried heading back into the wind. I made it, but I have never been in wind like that before. I was glad that my pack wasn¢t 10 lbs lighter or I might have been blown off.I¢m a little upset that I didn¢t get any pictures of the area around Max Patch. It was absolutely beautiful, my favorite place I¢ve seen so far on the trail. The hill itself was what I¢ve been picturing a bald to look like ¢ big and grass covered. From the top you could see all of the surrounding landscape without obstruction. Then I headed down through groves of trees, grassy fields and rhododendron thickets. I saw a middle aged couple stop under an oak tree for a picnic and then climb into the tree to get a better view of the bald. They were laughing and playing like children and it was a truly lovely sight. I can¢t imagine how gorgeous this area would be in bloom. I would highly recommend anyone close enough to go and see it.I ended up finding a little campsite about .5 miles from my destination shelter, and since it was getting dark and Tofurkey had used the words ¢rat feces¢ when describing the shelter, I decided to stop and pitch my tent. It had been a long time since I had camped, not since that dreadful rainy day, and it felt a little awkward setting it up. As I was eating my spaghetti dinner, I saw a light shining on my tent, and a passerby thru-hiker, ¢Chestnut,¢ yelled out salutations. I was too involved in my meal to crawl out of my tent, but I assured him he could find me at an eating establishment in Hot Springs tomorrow.