Date: 2015-06-15
From: Rausch Gap Shelter

To: Campsite south of Round Head
Miles today: 20.6

I noticed the other day that I haven't been dreaming much lately. I can't remember one dream that I have had on the trail. I wonder if this has something to do with being so tired. There are some days that I don't sleep well, but I still don't seem to dream. The last few nights I have been sleeping really well, especially with the rain lulling me to sleep. But no dreams. I don't know enough about the mechanics of sleep and dreaming to have any idea why this might be the case. Maybe I have dozens of dreams every week but I just can't remember them.Also, it seems like there has been a population explosion of daddy long legs. Suddenly we have transitioned from seeing a million millipedes to seeing a gazillion daddy long legs. I chased like three dozen of them out of my tent yesterday.It was still a little rainy when my watch alarm went off this morning, right after Chris's. We slept late, getting up after 6. And we packed up slowly. Wet gear is inconvenient. Not only is it heavier, but you have to find a place for it in your pack where it won't make everything else wet, too. Usually I stuff my tent near the bottom, but today I had to reorganize and kept it near the top, outside of the garbage bag lining my pack.I didn't want to leave Rausch Gap. It was so pretty. The rising sun streamed in between the trees this morning, casting jets of light through the mist into the campsite. It was just so pretty. The vegetation reminded me of home. I have been so homesick lately.So I was content to lay in my soggy tent for a few extra minutes. I didn't complain when Chris took longer than usual to pack up. I took deep breaths of fresh air and enjoyed it, trying to imprint in my memory the beauty of the moment.And then the hike resumed. We passed SOG in the shelter. We climbed a small hill, and descended again, then climbed a BIG hill. I still hate hills. Lately, there haven't been many hills. My legs don't seem to know how to ascend anymore.There were also a fair amount of rocky stretches. My feet have been sufficiently tenderized today.We started kind of slow, and very late. I really didn't mind, though. I was enjoying the morning, the quiet, and the scenery.When we stopped for water, I checked to see if I had service so that I could check the weather. I got a text from Columbo asking where I was. Chris also checked his phone, and said, "Funk is going into Hamburg tonight." Apparently he planned to nero out. "Awww, I wanna see Funk." I said. Funk is one of my favorite people on the trail. I was happy that it sounded like we were at least gaining on him.SOG caught up to us when we were leaving. He needed to collect water, too. We greeted him then bid him the classic farewell, "See you up the trail."At noon we stopped to try to estimate where we were. There was supposed to be an old abandoned power line strip with a lookout somewhere north of us, the closest landmark we would hit and be able to know our actual location. It couldn't be that far. We decided to wait to eat lunch since we had started late and eaten our morning snack later than usual. We continued on. A mile passed. Five more minutes passed. And five more. Still, no lookout.Eventually we came upon a campsite right next to the trail. Chris stopped, pulling his ear buds out and turning to me. "Want to just eat here?"I was hungry. I'm always hungry. I was ready for lunch.At lunch, I proposed a trade: some of my trail mix and M&Ms for two of Chris's tortillas. He accepted. It was an excellent trade. I now can have peanut butter and jelly tortilla sandwiches for lunch two days in a row. So awesome.We ate, packed away our food bags, fastened the straps on our packs, and hoisted them back onto our backs. We buckled our hipbelts and sternum straps, slipped our wrists through the loops on our trekking poles, and set off north again (the same thing we do twenty times a day).And not THREE HUNDRED YARDS up the trail, we passed a side trail and an enthusiastic sign that read "LOOKOUT!".OF COURSE. OF COURSE WE STOPPED RIGHT BEFORE IT. OF COURSE WE ATE LUNCH NEXT TO A DIRTY FIRE PIT INSTEAD OF NEXT TO A BEAUTIFUL VIEW. WE COULDN'T WAIT ONE MORE MINUTE.Chris roared with laughter. How many times have we lamented eating lunch at a shelter when there are so many more beautiful spots on the trail to enjoy? And here, we had done it again, missed out in ignorance and impatience."Come on," he said. "It IS funny.""Depressingly funny." I replied, but I was laughing, too. Oh well. Thankfully there are still nearly a thousand miles left of AT to enjoy. One day we'll get to eat lunch with a great view.Of course, that's not to imply that eating lunch ANYWHERE on the trail is bad. I am grateful each and every day to be lucky enough to be out here. I'll take the campsite and fire pit. There are so many alternatives, so many other places I COULD be, that make that fire pit seem like paradise. I can't complain. I am outside, and healthy, and happy, not stuck in an office in front if a computer. I do not take that for granted.So that was a little sad. But the three miles to the next shelter (William Penn Shelter, I think?) went by quickly. We didn't visit the shelter, but collected water at the spring on the other side of the trail.And on we went again! After a couple of miles, I passed a pair of sunglasses on the trail. It took me a few seconds to process what I had seen. They were familiar! Coco's sunglasses! I turned around, retrieved them, and slid them into Gertrude's side pocket. Hopefully we would run into Coco and Magnus again at some point and I could return them.We got to the 501 Shelter (so named because it is almost RIGHT NEXT TO route 501) to find the Aussie Legs going through their resupply goods, drying their tents, and eating applesauce. They also informed us that Coco and Magnus had just left. I groaned in dismay, "I have her sunglasses!"But the Aussie Legs were planning on continuing to the campsite where Coco and Magnus planned to stay tonight, so I passed the glasses on to them, so that they could deliver them to their rightful owner. I feel happy to have participated in this... I feel like I am repaying a favor from when Mooch and Yeti rescued my water bottle. AT karma, I guess!We were tired (as always) after hiking 17.5 miles and were not feeling quite up to walking three more. My tent was still soaked. The shelter was dry, but weird, with caretakers (who we didn't see) and a highway way too close. We debated our options. There were no good options. In the end, we decided to pack in water and keep going the three more miles to the campsite we had been aiming for all day. After a break, water, and a snack, we were feeling remarkably better.I wish I knew how many calories I should be eating. Tinkerbell asked me the other day how many I try to eat. I didn't know what to tell her. I have no idea. I just know that I eat too much. At the same time, I know how big of a difference eating a snack can make. I guess I would rather end up super chubby by the time I reach Katahdin from eating a few (and by few I mean a lot) extra M&Ms than be miserable and grumpy and listless on the trail from not eating enough.The campsite we ended up at isn't bad. There is a very good view nearby. It is very rocky here, but I have a nice flat spot for my tent (we got here early enough that I was able to dry it out). I am glad that we decided not to stay at the shelter. Besides, you can order pizza to be delivered there, but the pizza shop is closed on Mondays. It was a sign that it just was not meant to be.OH. I FINALLY HAVE A FUNNY STORY TO TELL. Then it's bedtime.When I went home last week to see Candace and Taiki, I bought new underwear from TJ Maxx to replace the pair I lost at the Y in Waynesboro. Luckily, they had the same brand/style of athletic underwear that I have been wearing, which I bought there before I started the trail.There were not many color options, though. I ended up with a hot pink pair of panties. Like... bright neon pink.Now, I am not really a fan of pink. I really like cerulean blue. And green. Pink? Not so much. But these panties are comfortable. They are inexpensive. They dry fast (no cotton). So I bought them, washed them, and packed them in my clothes bag. Today was the first day I wore them.And it was a hot day, even in the shade. Hiking made me sweat, and sweat some more, and sweat some more. I was soaked in sweat, as usual.After a pee break, I noticed that my shorts looked a little funny. They are supposed to be blue... but the sweat gushing out of my skin had the effect of washing your clothes in warm water. The pink was starting to bleed! By the afternoon, it looked like I had peed Kool-Aid into my shorts!And the best part? My shorts weren't the only thing to absorb some of that pink panty dye. I exited the Porta Potty at the 501 Shelter to announce to the tired Chris, in an attempt to cheer him up, "MY BUTT IS PINK. NEON FREAKING PINK."And it is. Bright pink. Good times.In other news, my feet seem to have developed a quarter-inch layer of thick, calloused elephant skin, and I haven't been taping my heels for the last week or so. But yesterday I started to develop another heel blister on my right foot. Then, stepping down the stone stairs to the low-set shelter last night, I scraped my heel. It HURT so much. It kept hurting all night. It got plastered in duct tape again this morning.I called my mom tonight and asked her to send my running shoes with my next mail drop. It will be a bit of a miracle if my trail runners make it that far. They are pretty shot. I will keep my fingers crossed, though. Then I will get to enjoy a whole new round of blisters! Fun!I am thankful that Chris has already agreed to split a pizza with me tomorrow night, and that he hung a bear line tonight so I didn't have to. I am also thankful that I got to talk to my mom and pizza fairy tonight, and that I will be able to SHOWER tomorrow. No stream bath for me. Hot water, here I come!