Date: 2008-06-09
From: Thomas Knob

To: Trimpi Shelter
Miles today: 25.1
Weather: scattered clouds

Last night I camped out on a meadow which had a great view of the surrounding mountains. I counted five layers of mountain ridges, one behind the other, fading off into the horizon. I went to bed around 6:30p.m. and woke up around 11:00 to find the sky full of stars and a new moon. Then around 2:00 a.m. I got up again and it was even better. The moon was gone and there were twice as many stars visible in the sky. The coolest part was that it was so clear (I was about 5400 feet up) that the Milky Way Galaxy was clearly visible as a streak across the sky. I have only seen a night sky this clear on just a couple of occasions in my life. Since I went to bed early, I naturally got up very early around 5:15 a.m. It was a good thing too. A herd of wild ponies came up from the valley about the same time I stepped out of my tent. I think it is safe to say they were not happy that I had camped in their favorite grazing area. One male horse came right over to me and made sure I would not go near the herd as they entered the area. There were about 20 horses in the herd with several babies. Then, as I was eating my breakfast, one pony came right over and thought about munching on my tent. They are known to chew on your gear for the salt. I got rid of him by yelling out like they do in the cowboy movies...."Ya". That got the whole herd running away. Pretty cool. I thought that was the end of it until I later went into my food bag and suddenly another pony was only two feet behind me. I didn't even hear him approach. He knew the sound of zip lock bags and associated it with food. He must have been fed before because he was looking for a handout. Well, he wouldn't leave! I had just taken down the tent, so they wouldn't bite a hole in it, and I waved the tent bag around and banged the ground with it. But he only moved closer. So I smacked him in the nose with the tent bag and he still wasn't impressed. Finally I resorted to throwing a couple of rocks his way but even that didn't work until one rock bounced up off the ground and hit him on the shin. That must have smarted. Off he went and I quickly packed up and got out of there. The early exit from camp and the fine weather resulted in quite a hike. I felt really strong today and had 10 miles done by 11:00 a.m. By 1:00 p.m. I had hiked 16 miles, so I pushed on today for another 9 to the next shelter for a total of 25 miles. I know this sounds crazy but it wasn't too bad because there were no big climbs. The combination of the terrain getting easier and my improved fitness is making big mileage days like today possible. Tomorrow we will hit the Partnership Shelter by the Mt. Rogers Visitor Center and order pizza for lunch. After eating so much trail food I can't described how good that sounds. Then we will go a couple more (if our packed stomachs will allow us) so I can get into Atkins on Wednesday for resupply. Also hope my new boots that I ordered on-line in Damascus have arrived as well. The sole of my left boot is completely separated from the upper. I can stick my hand into the opening. Good thing it has not rained. I would definitely have had wet feet by now.