Date: 2021-06-14
From: Tentsite at MM 705.4

To: Lamberts Meadow Shelter 
Miles today: 15.5
Weather: overcast clouds

June 14 - Tentsite at MM 705.4 to Lamberts Meadow Shelter - 15.5 miles (612.8 trip miles) - 37677 steps Awesome day today. Great trail, incredible views and a lot of happy hikers. Last night it did rain a lot and some intense lightning. I don¢t think it was right over us but each flash is very bright in a tent. It then dripped from the trees all night. By morning the tent was only mildly wet but my ground cloth was soaked. Luckily, that goes on the outside of the pack. We were up before 6, packed up and walking by 645. Some quick Pop Tarts for breakfast. The trail quickly popped out of the woods into some farm pastures. Crossed a road then continued through pastures up into the woods. I like the pastures because of the great views but after a rain or on a dewey morning, it is really wet. Today was soaking. It¢s amazing how much water a blade of grass with seeds can hold. The climb into the woods was steep but short and soon we were on the ridge. This lasted for 3 miles. Near the end of the ridge there were some cliffs to traverse with great views. I also passed the 600 mile mark. We then reached the parking area for the hike up to McAfee Knob. The trail up started steep then became more gradual and was excellent tread the whole way. On the way we passed a couple and the guy stops us and realizes he recognizes Goob from his YouTube channel. We stopped and chatted with them for a while. The gave us some food so that was nice trail magic. The guy had a lot of good hiking questions and hopes to thru hike next year. Goob and I stopped at Catawba Mountain Shelter for lunch and to get water. I headed up first from the shelter. Lunch and lots of water gave me a huge boost and I was able to power my way to the top. The trail in this area was perfect for me; good tread, when there were rocks they were spaced perfectly for me, and it wasn¢t too hot. Some tourist sites get a lot of hype and never quite live up to the hype. McAfee Knob lived up to the hype. Incredible views from the overhanging rocks, few people and perfect weather. I got lots of pictures, drank plenty of water and relaxed while enjoying the view. Almost everyone gets their picture with their feet dangling over the edge. The view included Tinker Mountain which holds our next destination of Tinker Cliffs. After about 40 minutes at the knob, Goob and I headed out. After a down that wasn¢t as steep as the guide showed, we ended up on the ridge line to Tinker. Most of the ridge was easy walking. We soon reached the start of the climb. It was steep and the afternoon got hot. We powered uphill and reached the cliffs. It starts out with some large square boulders then some ¢pre-cliffs¢. Finally we reached the Tinker Cliffs. They too lived up to the hype. Incredible views of the valley as well as back towards McAfee Knob. We hung out here for a while. We talked to a young hiker wearing flip-flops. Not for me but if it works for him, HYOH. We left there for the short 1.6 miles down to the shelter. I ate 2 rice packet sides to basically empty my food bag. People are starting to come into the shelter area. One guy is hiking in an authentic WWII army uniform in honor of his grandfather who served in Germany in the war and recently passed away. He tries to do as much as possible with gear and cooking from that era. Very inspirational to see him do well out here while most of us have lightweight high tech gear and complain about little things. Tomorrow¢s plan is to go under 10 miles into Daleville. Mostly downhill into town. My back was pretty good today. However, my left knee was bothering me some and may be slightly swollen. Also, those 2nd and 3rd toes on each foot feel lousy but I can¢t figure out what¢s wrong with them. If things don¢t feel better tomorrow I may push the tap out button. Past hikers say you should quit on a good day and today was excellent. We¢ll see how tomorrow goes. Until tomorrow.