Date: 2015-04-05
From: Vandeventer Shelter

To: Abingdon Gap Shelter
Miles today: 22.7
Weather: clear sky

Last night I managed to stay warm and comfortable, but still woke up almost every hour. I finally got up just before my alarm, and started the daily blister routine. I prefer when I'm the first one awake, because after that the morning always feels so hurried. It goes like this:First I get mostly dressed in my sleeping bag (exposing bare skin to the morning air is miserable), and then I do my blisters before putting on my socks. Then, I pack up my sleeping liner and sleeping bag, and put my sleeping clothes back into the stuff sack. Everything else gets packed away too- first aid kit, headlamp, hat. Then if I'm in a shelter, I will start boiling water for breakfast or dash off to the privy. If I'm in a tent, I will deconstruct and pack up everything before breakfast. Then eat breakfast, add snacks to snack pocket, pack up food bag and arrange backpack. Attach sleeping pad. Brush teeth, pack toothbrush. Cringe whilst putting on boots and gaiters. Attach camp shoes to bag. Find hiking poles. Say goodbye to everyone in the shelter. Hike. This process from start to finish takes about an hour or so. Sometimes longer when it's freezing. Today I did all of the above, having 2 packets of instant oats and a snack for breakfast. I set off about 8am. The weather today was a little chilly and windy to start, but soon became hot and sunny. I've been enjoying the bout of good weather, but the skin peeling and scabbing on my ears does not. The trail today was relatively smooth going, as I had expected it to be. There were some short steep climbs and drops that my feet did not enjoy. But I did see some wildlife for the first time since the Smokies! I saw 3 white tailed does, who were grazing on the trail. They were frightened by me at first, but didn't run off until Second Guess came up behind. After that, the day continued as normal until lunchtime. There was a special cage in a clearing in the woods, and it contained drinks in a cooler, packs of jelly beans, and granola bars. The box was placed there by a church group and is designed so that animals can't steal all the food. The box also had a bag for rubbish, some medical supplies, and even boot laces. The whole thing had been supplied by a church group (I think it was a girls youth group), and I remember someone telling me about the anti-bear cage weeks ago. It was a really nice little surprise to come across on Easter Sunday, since of course we didn't have any Easter eggs.From there the trail crossed the road and went into some fields, where I expect normally there are animals grazing since it had a special gate. It was a short section that is notable for being wheelchair accessible. Then it was 10 more miles in the relentless sun, but at least I had a bottle of coke from the trail magic, so it felt a lot like I was on a day hike rather than a 22 mile leg. At one point the trail crossed a gap that seemed very popular with motorcycles. I stopped and watched for a bit as bikes of all kinds roared past. I was a bit jealous of the good weather that these bikers must have for most of the year, and of all the incredible twisty roads around here. The miles continued on, and there were a few times where the trail really was like a nice walk in the woods (aside from the heavy pack and foot pain). I had noted that the spring by the shelter was far away, so I wanted to get water beforehand. However, the spring before the shelter was pretty much just a muddy bog. I tried to get some water in the small section that wasn't stagnant but mostly succeeded in getting dirt in the bottle. I also stood in the bog, and got attacked by bugs. The bugs seemed intent on following me for the next mile. Eventually I reached the shelter at 5pm. Not too shabby for 22.7 miles, with a 15-20 minute lunch. The shelter was already busy, with Brightside, Furball, Axom & Shrug, Second Guess, Sputnik and another guy (whose name I should really know by now). There were also loads of fat fruit flies that were making a halo around everyone's heads. It was so bad that I had to wear my hood up to stop them attacking my sensitive sunburnt ears. They also attempted to dive bomb my face repeatedly. I also had to set up my tent instead of staying in the shelter because they were just too annoying. And, I ended up having to walk the 0.4 mile round trip to the water source. At least there were less bugs there. Tomorrow we only have to do 10 miles to get to Damascus, and I don't think it will be a moment too soon. My left little toe is doing something strange and worrying. It seems to have some kind of blister underneath my toenail? I'm not entirely sure what it is doing, but it doesn't burst when I jab at it, and it is very red and painful. I'm going to give it an Epsom bath when I get into town, and seek the advice of experienced hikers. Hopefully it will be healed enough for me to try on new shoes without problems. Sometimes it feels like I'm just going to have foot problems forever. If it's not one blister, it's another.I'm also excited to get into town since I've not been able to use the Internet properly since Erwin, a week ago, so I will finally be able to update my journal and email everyone. I'm planning to get a Verizon data plan too, so I should be able to update more regularly from here on out.