Date: 2004-05-08
From: Peck's Corner Shelter

To: Making Camp Early
Miles today: 12.9

It was still dark out at 5:30 a.m. when the Marines hit the trail. They quietly passed alongside my teepee tarp. As each soldier walked by, the interior of my tarp glowed slightly from the residual lights of their flashlights which were aimed at the ground in front of their boots. Taking their cue, I soon unzipped my sleeping bag and started to beak camp. My last task before departing was to quietly enter the shelter and leave a message in the register (a notebook). Many hikers on the trail write messages in the registers to inform other hikers behind them of their whereabouts. Inside the shelter, most of the hikers were sound asleep.Three hours later, I passed through a stretch of trail that was inundated with clouds of bugs; I think they were hatches of baby mosquitoes. The bugs were backlit by the light of the rising sun. I opened up my umbrella and pointed the top of it in a forward direction, then plowed through the bugs. All around me, the insects were rolling off the sides of the umbrella in large numbers. It reminded me of a space ship re-entering the atmosphere with sparks of heat blurring off the sides of the craft.I stopped to refill my water bottle at a water source beside the next shelter. There, I met a ridge runner¢a seasonal park employee¢who had been cleaning the outhouses. He had done an excellent job at the outhouse back at the shelter where I had spent the night. I introduced myself to him, thanked him for his good work, but joked that I would not be shaking his hand.As I departed from this shelter, two men arrived on pack horses. Behind each horse was a line connecting to another horse. One of these animals was carrying two chain saws. These men were trail maintenance volunteers.During the day, I played leapfrog with the squad of Marines. I would pass them during their rest stops. They would pass me while I was taking photos. During the afternoon, I heard a noise in some bushes ahead of me. Seconds later, a deer leapt across the trail.I arrived during the late afternoon at the Cosby Knob Shelter, where I strung up my teepee tarp at a flat spot located down slope. At a nearby stream, I gave myself a sponge bath, rinsed some clothes, and put them out to dry on a line which I have strung up between two trees. I was feeling good about having risen early, hiked some decent miles, and arrived at this shelter with time enough remaining in the day to rinse and dry some clothes.For a while, the only hikers at the shelter were Zip Off and Kato, who I had met in Georgia. They were the older men who were utilizing two vehicles to support their hike. They are among the nicest people I have met.As I chatted with them in the shelter, the sky became dark. The sounds of thunder grew louder and lightening strikes were approaching. I walked down to my clothesline, removed my laundry, and carried it up to the shelter. There, a strung up another laundry line beneath n eave. It started to hail. I was worried about my teepee tarp, which has not yet been exposed to severe weather.   The hail gave way to a drizzle which soon petered out. The tarp was fine.Some section hikers drifted in. These are people who hike the trail in a piecemeal fashion, each year covering a chunk of the distance between Georgia and Maine. Some thru hikers showed up including Brother, Spur, Mama Bear and Spider.The last two, Mama Bear (in her twenties) and Spider (in her early thirties), are two women who were friends before their hikes began. They have been hiking together all the way since Day 1 on Springer Mountain in Georgia. They are a vivacious pair, sometimes breaking out into spontaneous singing. I was told that Mama Bear has decided to leave the trail in a couple of days in order to accept an employment opportunity. I asked Spider about how she felt about this. She told me that she always knew this development could arise. She said that her hike would continue and she looked forward to meeting new hikers. But I could tell from her tone of voice that she was saddened by the imminent departure of her hiking buddy. While I was cooking my supper, Brother walked up with a handful of ramps¢those onion plants¢which he had just foraged. He offered to share them with anyone who wanted some. I accepted one of them and cut it up as a flavor additive to my potatoes. I gave to Brother a granola bar. Later, I noticed him sharing the bar with Mama Bear and Spider.After supper, Spur removed another bizarre object from his backpack. It was a set of numchucks (not sure of the spelling), a weapon originating in Asian cultures. He said something to the effect that he occasionally swings them around while hiking to make the soreness go away on his shoulders.What an odd load to carry in a backpack--a machetes and numchucks. Someone joked that if the park rangers detained Spur, they would say to him, "Sir, would you please step aside from your backpack."I had regretted stringing up my teepee tarp due to the inclement weather. But now I am glad be getting ready to sleep inside of it. The thunderstorm has passed and the stars are visible through the branches of the trees.