Date: 2015-04-30
From: Snowy Mountain

To: Before Tom's Run Shelter
Miles today: 22.0

Last night was comical. First on stage was the local turkeys! They came around my tarp and made call upon call all while scratching in the leaves. Second on stage??? The local coyotes. They had their own little bark/howl thing going on. the turkeys got very quiet quickly after hearing that. I guess the turkeys and coyotes are not pals!Morning came and I was really glad that I picked the spot. I got the very first rays of sunlight of morning right in my line of sight. It was 7 am and I was still wrestling with which town resupply plan would be the easiest? The most efficient? The cheapest??I headed down the trail knowing the forecast was for 90% thunderstorms and rain today. So, in other words, get in as many miles as you can before it does rain. There was another big milestone coming up today. I would cross the actual half way mark today. The AT has a few-- Harpers Ferry is the Symbolic Halfway, the original halfway has its sign on the trail, and the current halfway that is updated by the AT museum with a different sign.That was my goal and I decided that I would take the rest of the afternoon and hide from the storms. For right now, the morning walk was ideal. Cool breezes and temperature, but that initial promise of warmth from the emerging sun. It smelled and felt like those days as a kid when you slept with the windows open in the Spring. As soon as you woke up, the spring smell was there.The trail began having more pines. It was nice to walk through them. They are always refreshing. The pathway started as piles of rugged boulders, but mellowed fairly quickly into a soft and level affair.As I went through a state park, i saw their spigots were on and filled up. What a treat to get potable water like that. It was early for a break, but too good of an opportunity to pass up. I was snacking at the picnic table and had a wonderfully friendly couple come up and ask me about my hike.It turns out, they are from northern Georgia and have a cabin just a few miles from Springer Mountain, celebrated southern terminus of the AT. I really enjoyed our conversation and soon it was time to go.The trail left the state park and went back up on high ground. After one briefly steep, rocky slope. I was once again on level earth. Not only was this level, it was full of decomposing pine needles. That made for such a soft and quiet walk. Much different than the 95% rock that comprises the rest of the trail. I walked quickly and made good time. The sun was intense and at times it felt relentless. Eventually, the clouds worked their way in and blocked out all remaining sun.I began to look back at the sky a lot more in the later part of the hike. The clouds were getting darker. It was like I had done so many times before. Try to outrun the storm as best as you can!In the early afternoon, I passed a notable sign. It was fresh-looking and had good news on it. It was the updated "half-way" sign for the trail. This was the sign that is adjusted for new trail, reroutes, etc.It was fun to see progress! In the paper register, I saw two crazy things. One is that Merri and Pipen had signed in today. Crazier yet, LittleDebbie signed in today too!! I haven't seen him since Damascus, VA!!!As the skies threatened with thunder heads, I decided to call it a day. I want dry clothes tomorrow morning. (They may not last as dry clothes if it is raining tomorrow am, but...). I set up camp and relaxed a bit.I do feel anxious right now, especially knowing that I am missing out on 10 more miles, but sometimes an easy day today will pay off with a bigger day tomorrow.I ate some soup and tried to relax. The rains are coming down in a steady rate. I retreated to my tarp for cover. It is so hard to figure out which is a better plan- carry on or make camp... Well, it's time for me to figure out which is my next town stop. I would like a shower....and a beer....