Date: 2017-06-08
From: Thomas Knob Shelter

To: Hurricane Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 15.4

Day 37Thursday, June 8, 2017 Thomas Knob Shelter (497.3) to Hurricane Mountain Shelter (512.7)Miles: 15.4 miles in 9 hours with three breaks including time with ponies2017 AT trip miles: 512.7Total AT miles to date: 1802.1Weather: Cool, 40s and 50s; sunny in the morning and overcast and colder in the afternoon, sprinkles, but no real rainDinner: Balsamic Mashed PotatoesHikers: Spoon (SoBo), Pops out for a week, Rebel, Parkour in for dinner, two others Wildlife: Ponies, deerToday was all about the ponies. And a couple of insufferable characters. And a bear story. But first, let's talk shelter life. Lightweight sleeping pads, like my Thermorest NeoAir, make crinkly noises when you roll over. All five of us had them last night. When one person rolled over, with the inevitable crunchiness, we all seemed to take advantage of the noise and would turn at the same time. And there was lots of turning last night¢it was really cold. And ponies! The area around and through Grayson Highlands State Park has small herds of wild ponies. The adults approach you looking for food and when it is hotter, they lick the salt off your legs. The older colts came right up to me too. Like Roan Highlands, Grayson is also a series of open balds¢so the scenery is a nice change from the usual trail terrain.I also found fresh carrots on the trail today. Four were in a stream, but one was on the trail itself. I picked that one off, brushed off the dirt, wet it down a little¢and ate it. I bet i'd never do that in ¢real life.¢ I couldn't figure out why they were there and then I remembered the ponies. Someone must have brought them in to feed them. Oh well. I appreciated the unexpected snack.Another small group at the shelter tonight. I had stopped at Wise Shelter for a break late this morning where a night hiker was still hanging around. Three other section hikers who had tented at last night¢s shelter stopped there at the same time. We had met the night hiker the night before as he was heading out after dinner, advising these same hikers that you really don't need to hang your food. Now he¢s telling us how a bear had visited the Wise Shelter more than a dozen times last night and it nabbed a low hanging food bag. Good advice buddy.And now this same advice-giving, late starter just arrived at tonight's shelter for a dinner break before heading on. But fun fact: he is now being treated to a narrative by one of my shelter mates. Picture a shorter version of Napoleon Dynamite. Napoleon is unpacking a lot¢and I¢m not talking gear. Since I arrived two hours ago. He. Has. Not. Stopped. Talking. He¢s loud. He¢s made phone calls. So far the stream of consciousness has included basketball stats, hiking techniques, people he¢s pissed off, food drops, hostels, mileages, music, an arrest, naked hiking day (not associated with the arrest), taking a raft for ten days instead of hiking Shenandoah, a (not-at-all) ¢funny¢ story about taking oatmeal packets from a hotel in which he did not stay because the owners wouldn't let his friend use the restroom, his salt needs, his stove, his tent, can I smoke?, and the best statement; ¢As I have grown older, I now appreciate the awesomeness of Strawberry Poptarts.¢ Basically he¢s ¢that guy.¢ One a crazy cast of characters just like anywhere else. I am both bemused and massively irritated.