Date: 2008-06-27
From: VA624

To: Lambert's Meadow Shelter
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

Today we hiked to two places I absolutely LOVED--McAfee Knob and Tinker Cliffs. Both had amazing views and lots of places to sit and enjoy the moment. McAfee Knob is the most photographed place on the entire AT. It consists of a slab of sandstone hanging out over the valley. You can stand out at the egde and take a picture so beyond all you see are mountains. (If I get to it I will put up some pictures of this spot!) Tinker Cliffs was also cool, maybe my favorite place so far. It went on for a half of a mile, just rock at the edge of the world! The trail was right at the edge, meandering along a few steps from a giant dropoff. I wanted to sit and stay the whole day, or at least the whole hour, but I happened to be with Doug and as you may have gathered, Doug does NOT lollygag! We had hoped to do the whole 25 miles to reach Daleville where Frank would be able to pick us up so we were not keen on dallying.We got caught in a brief rainstorm just before lunch. It felt wonderful as it was a hot muggy day. I so loved it and had to laugh when I later ran into people who asked, like it was the worst thing in the world, "oh, did you get caught in the rain?" Just after the rain I saw 3 turtles near the trail, two box turtles and one other turtle that I can't yet identify. It was so beautiful! The shell was smaller than a box turtle and more orangish and it looked hand painted--a true work of art. I felt lucky to have seen it. I also saw 6 newts, the bright orange ones that almost always appear after or during the rain. I love these! With their tiny feet and reddish spots. I sometimes pick them up and hold them a minute before replacing them. And I saw three bucks in the velvet today which was exciting and I was so sad I had no camera to get a picture. I rounded a bend and they were standing off the trail a bit, all lined up with their sides to me and perfectly still. I stopped and we stood looking at each other for what seemed like forever. They were like statues and so was I, only about 20 feet apart. Then I walked on, happy to have seen them. What a treat! We did not reach Daleville that day. We hiked together much of the day, saw a bear in late afternoon just before reaching the Lambert's Meadows Shelter. She was in the woods on the right side of the trail and as always seems to be the case, we heard her before we saw her, running through the undergrowth away from the trail.We stopped at the shelter intending to eat and then decide whether or not to continue and do the remaining 10 miles. After dinner we opted to stay the night as both of us were tired. Despite being the only ones there I set my tent up a little away from the shelter in a tiny grassy area surrounded by tall plants and trees beyond that. There were lots of mosquitoes and other tiny biting insects. It was a crazy night! Lots of deer or ?? in the woods right beyond my tent walls. I would have loved to have had my night scope. Quote of the day: We get to a vista, are sitting there looking out at the ridge and I say to Doug, "I wonder if we've been there?" and he says, "I have no idea anymore. It feels like we're going in circles!" Ain't that the truth!