Date: 2015-05-22
From: Tumbling Run Shelters

To: Birch Run Shelter
Miles today: 19.6
Weather: clear sky

5/22, 19.6, Birch Run ShelterAfter my brother dropped me off last night I hiked the mile into Tumbling Run Shelters where I spent the night. There were several tents and some section hikers but everyone was into bags by the time I arrived so I settled in, called home, read a while and eventually went to sleep.Today I was up, packed and on the trail at 6:45 after spending a warm comfortable night listening to the rain and the nearby stream. The forecast today was for temperatures struggling to reach 70 with light breezes and a slight chance of a scattered shower. As I hiked I was constantly paying attention to my foot, and my body in general, wondering what effect five days off trail would have overall. I hiked the 10 miles into Caledonia State Park where I ate lunch while watching a group of school kids on a field trip. They appeared to be moving in packs from one teacher to another pursuing what I am sure were outside nature like objectives. There had been very few hikers, and no thru hikers to this point, but I expect a fair amount of local hikers through the holiday weekend getting out to enjoy the good weather. As I hiked on after lunch I encountered Untitled Onion and her hiking partner. They started at Harpers and were heading as far as time would allow. A short time later I was passed by Mammoth and his hiking partner, thru hikers moving much quicker than I will. The afternoon wore on and my time off trail was beginning to show its effects. The bottom of my feet were getting sore from not being used to the walking, and my legs were actually getting tired. I adjusted my goal for the day, giving up on hiking 26 miles, and focused on walking to Birch Run Shelters. I knew I would arrive early so I took my time enjoying the woods and such. I cleared the last road crossing just .7 from the shelter when the clouds began to pull together. I quickened my pace to get into the shelter before the rain and made it just as the first sprinkles gathered into a gentle rain. There were a couple of local hikers at the shelter so we visited while it rained. They are regular car campers, and he has done some backpacking, so they decided this would be a good weekend to get her out for her first adventure. After her first 3 miles today, they decided to stay here at this shelter. Hiking long distances is definitely something that one works up to gradually. Tortoise and Hare have now hiked in for the night. They are thru hikers and were in one of the tents at last nights shelter. Tortoise is the avid hiker and Hare is making the best of it, but he would rather be hunting. They are from Bozeman Montana so we had a nice visit about hiking the Spanish Peaks, one of my favorite areas to visit near Bozeman. Also joining the gang tonight are a father son team of scouting experience out for the weekend. They are cooking dinner over an open fire so we will have campfire to warm us for the evening. That will be good as the forecast is for low temps to reach 38 degrees tonight which will make me very happy I did not send my summer bag home. It is a little strange, almost like starting over, to be hiking amongst a completely different group of hikers but as usual everyone is very nice and we will enjoy a fine evening together. After resting now a few hours my body seems to be about normal so I should be back on track shortly. Once again I need to thank my friends in Fayeteville and my brother for hosting my recovery. Without them I cannot imagine how I would have healed. Also I thank you for reading and staying with me. Knowing you are waiting for the next report helps me keep hiking on. Thank You. Dinner is done now so we are moving to the campfire, and will turn in shortly around hiker midnight...which looks a lot like 8:00.Silverback