Date: 2005-04-12
From: Overmountain Shelter

To: Campsite 0.5 Mile North Of Laurel Fork
Miles today: 22.1

Miles hiked today 22.121.6 AT miles + 0.5 miles of side trailI woke up this morning at 7:15 a.m. and was on the trail by 8:00 a.m. Thankfully, there was no rain last night. My hike today started out with a small descent, then a 1,209 foot climb up Little Hump Mountain, a bald with very little obstructing its view. There was some loose dirt that I slipped on right before the summit: cha-ching, fall #8. The only obstruction of Little Hump Mountain was neighboring 5,587 foot Big Hump Mountain, another bald, which was next on my agenda.The wind on Big Hump Mountain was incredibly strong and I had to dig my trekking poles into the ground at an angle to keep from being pushed aside while walking. I made the summit at 9:45 a.m., amused to see a rock cairn with a pair of boxer shorts, on an impromptu flagpole, flapping in the wind. As I crossed the summit, I could feel tiny rain drops, so I hurried downhill. I may have hurried a bit too fast, for after about 300 feet, I felt a sharp pain in my right knee and had to slow down and step carefully.While descending from Big Hump Mountain, I decided that it might be a good idea to hold onto my pack cover, despite the fact that it had stayed on in the strong wind for at least 20 minutes. Just when I thought it was safe, I let go only to watch my pack cover fly away. Luckily, it landed in a briar patch about 30 feet away and I quickly retrieved it before the wind blew it over the edge of the mountain.I reached treeline and after a short while, sat down to rest my knee and to take some ibuprofen. The next few miles were slow going, as I could only step down with my right foot, lest I wanted to feel pain in my knee. By the time I reached Apple House Shelter at 12:05 p.m., my knee was feeling better. I took an 80 minute lunch break before continuing on. When I opened my cookset, I was surprised to find a stowaway. I'd left my cookset open last night to air out and a spider crawled in and took an 8.5 mile ride from the barn. I tapped him out of my cookset and cooked a large lunch of tuna and noodles. During my lunch break, Birdie, a hiker of the muppet group, told me that the warbling bird last night was probably a pygmy owl or a barn owl.0.5 mile beyond Apple House Shelter is US highway 19E, which is notorious for automobile vandalism and harassment of hikers in years past. Apparently this section of trail used to be private land, which was forcefully taken from the owners. I didn't have any bad experiences today, however, and was actually warmly greeted by some people doing maintainence on the trail. I was disappointed to see the incredible amount of trash on the hillside, which had obviously been dumped from the road above it. I could see tires, paper, and other miscelaneous items from the road all the way down into the stream below.It began raining at this time and didn't let up until 7:30 p.m. It was necessary to wear my rain jacket, which was like a sauna on the uphills. At the end of the day, I'm glad that I didn't lose my pack cover, as everything would have been soaked.The 940 foot climb up from US highway 19E was difficult, because my knee started acting up. So I took it slow and continued along, passing a poorly maintained cemetery and a church on my way to the Jones Falls side trail. I also saw what I believe was an owl flying through the trees and definitely saw a black and white finch, recognizable by its call. Only a 0.1 mile one way side trip, Jones Falls was beautiful. It was small, but the largest falls I've seen since Long Creek Falls on my second day of hiking. I arrived at 4:25, which meant I was moving slow, only having covered 4.6 miles in 3 hours.I made up for lost time, however, and arrived at Mountaineer Falls about 55 minutes before I expected to be there. The path had been fairly level, which meant I was able to cruise along without worrying about my knee, which was only bothering me when stepping up or down. I wouldn't have known I was at Mountaineer Falls if there hadn't been a signpost, as the falls was little more than a trickle of water on an incline, similar to many streams I've seen along my hike.I had planned to stop at a campsite 1.9 miles after Mountaineer Falls, but my early arrival motivated me to shoot for a campsite 4.6 miles away, just past Laurel Fork.After lunch, I hadn't seen too many hikers and only passed Red Rover in her tent at 7:05 p.m. on the way to my campsite. I suppose that some of the hikers may have pushed on for another 4.8 miles beyond my campsite to reach the shelter, but that is more than I wanted to do today I'm the only one here tonight, which marks the first time I've camped alone. Thankfully the rain stopped more than 30 minutes before I arrived. The sky has actually cleared up and I can see stars and a crescent moon. Maybe tomorrow will be sunny. I arrived at this campsite at 8:05 p.m., pitched my tent, ate a snack, and journaled.Tomorrow is a shorter day, as I'm stopping at Kincora's Hiker Hostel for a shower, laundry, and a maildrop.Bedtime at 10:00 p.m.