Date: 2013-06-03
From: Cornelius Creek Shelter

To: Marble Spring Campsite
Miles today: 12.6

It rained off and on all night. I slept like a baby. It was raining when I woke up, and for a split second I considered taking a zero. But it wasn't raining hard enough to merit that luxury. But I let myself sleep as long as I needed to, which turned out to be an indulgent 7:15. I knew I would have a short hiking day, so a late start wasn't that big of a deal.There was all kinds of forest debris on the top of my tent- twigs, leaves, pine needles, bugs. Everything inside was damp. The stuff that had been damp when I went to bed was all out wet now. It was so cool that I had to put on my down jacket while I packed up. I packed my tent and stuff up, wet as it was, because there was no need pretending that it would be even a fraction of a bit drier in a few minutes. The crew in the shelter was up and moving, some of them had already left. I stopped at Black Rock Overlook. It was mostly cloudy, but the fog moved in wafes, along for some view of the trees across the valley. I had a fellow hiker take a photo. It seems most of the photos I've taken thus far as self-portraits, so only half of my head with background in the back, or all of my head with very little background in the back. I apologize ahead of time to anyone who has to sit through a slideshow of my AT pictures. The morning was still and overcast, but the rain held off. The vegetation was increasingly lush. At one point, I felt like I was underwater. The ground was covered in a uniform thigh-high vegetation for as far as your eyes could see down and up the steep hill to either side. The sky was covered in layers of green canopy that looked like waves overhead. The only break in the green was the large grey oak trunks that looked like pillars keeping the ground from touching the sky. I got to the turn off for Apple Orchard Falls Trail. I dropped my pack at the signpost and grabbed my cellphone and camera. I hiked the 1.1 miles down to see the 200' falls. Without the added weight of the pack, my knee feels fine going downhill. With the pack, I have to make a conscience effort of using certain leg muscles to keep the knee supported. I have to admit, this knee thing has me worried.When I got back up to the AT, my pack was still there. Just a bit further, I heard Strawberry Donut and Whistler calling through the trees. They had found cooler full of trail magic. Yeah! I helped myself to a couple of fun-sized Kit-kats. Usually those containers are exhausted by the time I get to them. I continued up the trail, retracing the steps (albeit backwards) that I had taken with Aunt Elaine and Kate just a week before. The tall grass that tickled your legs was still there, but now it was golden yellow. I stopped in the grassy meadow atop Apple Orchard Mountain and unpacked my wet tent. The sun was out and the wind was blowing. I hung my stuff up on the AT signpost and on an evergreen tree. I opened up my groundsheet and set out my lunch. Swell and Movin' On passed by. It turns out they used to live next to two people I used to work with at Backroads (an active travel company I worked for for 6 years). It's a really small world! I looked at my phone and saw that I had missed several messages from Tom. I'm guessing the large FAA tower next to me must have interfered with the signal. I was bummed. I continued on, stopped at Thunder Ridge Overlook to drop my garbage in a garbage can. It's funny the things that get you excited out here, throwing away your garbage is one of them! Two local gentlemen in a red double cab duely asked me about my knee. Was it okay? I said yes, but honestly I'm not 100% sure. At Petite Gap, I ran across Pumpkin again. She was waiting for Hamster, Grizzelle & Moose. She had her trail magic spread out on the hood her white Lincoln Continental. We visited while I drank lemonade and ate handful after handful of those lovely, salty potato chips. I even took a cinnamon roll before it was said and done. The guys arrived, and I was ready to hike. I loaded my pack and headed up the last hill. It was a doozy. The downhill on the other side is even worse. Rocky, steep. Mentally, I knew it was the end of the day, and that only made it worse. My knee was doing okay up until that point, but something is definitely going on in there. I ordered a new pair of boots, but I won't get to them for almost another 200 miles. I'm not sure if it is the IT band or if I've torn a little piece of the meniscus, or if it's just strained. It always seems to be something- blisters, chaffing, knee problems. It's disheartening and frustrating. Mentally, I'm 100% committed to this hike. But the body has to be physically capable, too. As St. Croix so eloquently put it, Willpower will tear your body apart if you aren't careful. It sounds terrible, but I keep hearing of people who have dropped off the trail, and I all I can think is, do you think they'd let me borrow their knees? Interestingly, I've finally caught to where my family rented the little cabin in the woods. It's just over the hill from where I camp now. Tomorrow I'll retrace the last bit of trail that we did together, and hopefully for lunch I'll be in Glasgow. But tonight, I'm in my tent in the woods. A whipperwil is singing loudly just outside my tent, no more than 4-5' away. A mouse is bouncing around my Crocs. I think it pooped in one of them. The outside of the screen ceiling covered in roaches. I'm so thankful to be in this cozy tent hiding from them all