Date: 2018-07-06
From: Punchbowl Overlook

To: Brown Mountain Creek Shelter
Miles today: 9.1
Weather: few clouds

I woke up at Stanimals Hostel after a great night of sleep.  Immediately I started gathering my things and preparing my big pack for a few days in the woods.  Our room was upstairs. I was up and down the stairs many times this morning.  On one of my trips back up I found a Happy Birthday gift bag on my bed. It was a gift from Hugs even though my birthday is still 6 days away.  She had planned to give it to me later, but since we are in our big packs again with a full load of food she didn¢t want to carry it! I laughed when she told me, but in the hiker world that¢s absolutely a legit reason for an early birthday gift.  She was very thoughtful with her gift choices and it gave me a great start to my day.  Our shuttle driver took us back to Punchbowl Overlook and we started walking north.  It was Up.  The air was heavy this morning but there were frequent breezes that helped a lot. About 30 minutes into my hike clouds started rolling in.  They kept the sun at bay and it was nice.   I was enjoying my nice hike for a good hour and half when I came across a great big 800 mile marker made out of sticks.  I can¢t believe it.  I¢ve walked 800 miles! I took a minute to celebrate before hiking on.  Hugs and Big Kahuna caught up to me before my little celebration so we started out together again. Hugs took the lead. Not too far up the path I heard some rustling of leaves on the right.  I looked up just in time to watch a doe run for cover in some trees. Yes, another doe.  Are there any bucks out here at all?  Hugs took the lead. We were ridge hiking which is still my favorite and to the left of me was a creek.  I could hear the sound of rushing water all morning.  That sound just makes me happy!  Another mile or so up the trail we came to a foot bridge.  Our creek had twisted and turned its way right under that bridge.  We decided to go ahead and take our lunch break there.  We all dropped pack and kicked back for a bit.  We had a nice break, but the clouds overhead were getting darker. Before long I was feeling the sprinkle of rain.  We packed up and started walking north again. A very small ways into the woods I was surprised by a black snake on my left.  He was angry.  I¢m pretty sure that I had accidentally hit him with my trekking pole.  That¢s the second time this has happened.  I feel terrible because Black Snakes are our friends.  I took the lead after the snake incident. The trail was still nice. Rain showers came and went, but the tree canopy kept me from getting wet.  Except for being wet with sweat.  Nothing was going to stop that! I came to a place where there was a small pine forest to my left.  I love the scent of pine. Today I took a picture of some pine cones.  I seem to associate them with winter, but here they are looking beautiful in July.  Through the pines I caught a glimpse of a river.  It was so pretty to view.  I took a photo of that too.   Hugs and Big Kahuna were pretty close by when I saw another Black Snake. This one was coming down out of a tree. The cool thing about it is that the tree had a white blaze!  I HAD to take a picture of that too!  This is the epitome of the A.T. ...a black snake and a white blaze.  After our photo session with that beauty I took the lead again.  I came to a sign saying the trail was temporarily relocated due to a bridge problem.  An arrow pointed out the detour path.  This is a good example of how the A.T. Is ¢approximately¢ 2190 miles long.  The fire near Hot Springs forced a 7 mile shuttle.  So I walked 7 miles less. Today¢s detour took me the long way around so walked a little more.  The trail is ever changing.  Once I completed the detour I hiked beside a creek all the way to Brown Mountain Creek Shelter.  This is where I stopped to wait for Hugs and Big Kahuna. The sun was shining when I arrived.  I felt like we could move on if we wanted to, but within minutes thunder was heard in the distance.  Minutes later it poured rain.   We had enough time to get water, and quickly wash up in the creek before the rain came down, but we are here for the night.  Until Next TimeBlue Raccoon (2018)Where¢s your faith?