Date: 2008-05-13
From: Jenny Knob Shelter

To: Dismal Creek Falls
Miles today: 8.4

Indeed we are up early, 7am. We were on the Trail at our record earliest, 8am! We hiked to the campsite where Stubbs and Mr. Bones spent the night and waited while they finished packing. We then hit the Trail together.We had to climb up none other than Brushy Mountain! Mr. Bones was leading our convoy and his morning pace is far faster than ours. He assured us it was the sunshine that was rejuvenating him. The skies are bright blue without a single cloud and the sun is shining bright. Finally! It makes a world of difference to have the sun out. We are all like brand new, happy hikers; excited to be on the Trail.The terrain is really mellow and we move right along. For the first time I have to take Advil for the pain in my right foot. It helps, but I don¢t know what the heck is going on. We come to Kimberling Creek and cross it on a large suspension bridge. It¢s pretty wild cause it moves while you walk across, kind of a bobbing and swaying feeling.We hit a road crossing and hike the 0.4 miles to Trent¢s Grocery where we get pizza, soda, cheeseburgers and a fish sandwich for lunch. It is so hard to resist food cooked by other people, especially when they use more ingredients then just water!We also resupply on snacks, cause we¢re all out. After letting our food digest we get back to hiking. We take a detour trail, 0.3 miles, down to Dismal Creek Falls. It doesn¢t take long for us to decide we are going to stop here for the day. It¢s a great place with lots of campsites, lots of rocks to sit on right by the water where you can soak your feet, a great waterfall and a pool below. I lather on the sunblock and we hang out in the sunshine. I soak my feet but only in 5 second intervals because the water is so cold! Brad goes in up to his knees. Snackies wades in, and then goes all in. And Busdriver jumps off the falls into the pool below! He is a madman! Brad and I have a long talk with Stubbs and Mr. Bones about nearly everything under the sun: life, death, religion, drugs etc. It is really nice to have such an intense conversation with them. It is very candid and real and makes my brain think about a lot of different thing.We set up our tents then collect a lot of firewood. We build the fire on the rocks next to the water and it is the hottest fire ever. It¢s great. Brad and Busdriver walk back to Trent's Grocery (via the road this time) and pick up hotdogs, buns, condiments, soda, bananas and marshmallows. Everyone has hotdogs cooked on a stick over the fire for dinner and I eat the leftover pizza. Sunbeam, Sunkist and Kynamite show up too and join in the festivities.Brad has the greatest invention: he cooks chocolate chip pancakes over the fire in a pan, then puts a roasted marshmallow between the two pancakes. It is, by far, the greatest Trail treat so far! And it is WAY better than regular s¢mores. He makes one for everyone and we hang out around the fire laughing. We hiked just over 8 miles today. Ate lunch ¢out¢. Stopped hiking at 2pm and lounged all day. It has been perfect. A great example of taking advantage of all the natural beauties the Trail has to offer. Not just hiking, but learning new things, making new friends, and enjoying an amazing day in an amazing place.