Date: 2009-05-31
From: Hightop Hut, VA 

To: Bearfence Mtn Hut, VA
Miles today: 12.4
Weather: scattered clouds

Cell noneOG notesC6 and I had a discussion about my comparing my 2006 hike with this one. I've been making comments about the miles I hiked back then and what we are doing now. One of the reasons I've been doing this is because I based our resupply plan on 2006. We receive food for a certain number of days in each box based on my previous progress. We now have to evaluate each section and buy locally if we feel we'll need more food. I guess I really flew through this section of trail and I've been commenting on us not making the same progress. A number of factors are affecting this, such as the weather and our bodies. We've been trying to eat well to keep our strength up. We really burn a lot of calories while hiking. I've heard we use 6,000 calories per day. We can't carry that much food so our bodies crave nutrition. We try to eat well balanced meals, ones that have carbohydrates, vegetables, meat, and milk. We also eat a lot of Pemican Bars, Snickers, hard candy, and ice cream when we can get it. We've mentioned a number of town stops for meals with the big breakfasts and large meals. Even with all this eating we still find ourselves running out of energy when hiking. This is a team hike and each of us are contributing to it. I don't want anyone to get the impression that I made better progress as a solo hiker and now we are not because of C6. In fact the reverse is true, I'm the slow one. I'm slower on hills and run out of energy more often. I'm still at least 15 lbs heavier than I was at this point in 2006 which is slowing me down. We'll finish this hike in a respectable time and we'll continue to enjoy ourselves.   C6 notesWe went over 900 miles today! We had quite a light show last night! At 3:00am I started to hear thunder in the distance. The storm was a fast one...on top of us in full force by 3:20am. It was intense and lasted about 45 minutes or so. Lots of thunder and lightening (one very close, all the others far enough away to feel safe enough), and a lot of rain. We stayed dry in our tent, thank goodness. The things that did get wet we were able to dry out when we reached the hut this evening.We were with a large group two nights ago. We hiked over 20 miles yesterday and they stopped at the last shelter so they were behind us last night. They are here tonight...most of them are arriving right now (7:20pm). I was getting cold, so I had headed to the tent just before I heard them coming down the path to the hut. When I start to get cold I have to get in the tent or put on layers. Since our tent site is a ways away from the hut I chose to get in the tent. I like this group of kids, but I was too chilly to stay and visit. I like the evenings when it's warm and not buggy so we can enjoy the company of the other hikers.There was a ridge runner at the hut last night. He's a person who hikes back and forth in a specific section of the AT to help folks who may need help, report on things that need tending to, and do anthing else as needed. It was nice talking with him. He made us feel good when he said that thru-hikers are no problem to him. We are very experienced by the time we reach his section, we're quite self-reliant, and he sees us for a day and then we're gone. We've had a number of people tell us how much they like thru-hikers. They say that most of the thru-hikers they encounter are very good people and considerate and respectful. We find that to be true as well. The majority we meet are wonderful folks!We stopped at a picnic area today to eat our lunch and use the flush toilets(!). While there we met a nice family and chatted a while. Thank you for the chocolate rice cakes, they are delicious! We so enjoyed meeting you today.We also stopped at a camp store a mile back from this hut and enjoyed ice cream and snacks. The ice cream was just frozen bars and pre-packaged cones from a freezer, but any ice cream is delicious on the trail! A few hikers chose to camp at that campsite. The sites are level and you can shower and wash clothes for a fee. We chose to come here because we're hoping to get a room in a park lodge tomorrow night and clean up and wash clothes then. Our book says you need reservations, but the camp store looked in the computer and said the lodge is only half full, so we hope to be able to walk in. If we can't get a room, we'll move on or maybe get a campsite that's near the lodge and clean up at that campsite. It's important to be flexible on the trail...we may just move on to the next hut. We'll decide as we go.Old Goat & Check Six