Date: 2016-04-15
From: US 60 - Three Springs Hostel Bunk & Breakfast 

To: The Priest Shelter
Miles today: 20.6
Weather: clear sky

Rambo and I could've stayed at Three Springs Hostel Bunk & Breakfast for a long time. Breakfast was delicious and we were so comfortable there. Eventually we knew we had to leave so we didn't resume hiking until 9:00 today. Today's hike began with a climb of almost 2000'. Some portions of the climb were vertically punishing but most of the climb was graded nicely. I took Ibuprofen for the first time and must admit that my knees felt better than they have felt in a long time. Rambo and I hiked together for the better part of the morning. This 23 year old has a big heart. He is such a strong hiker that he easily could've left me in the dust but he periodically stopped to wait for me before moving on. Rambo began working full time when he was 16. He was home schooled and graduated from high school then. The skills he has are many and it's pretty impressive to have done so much for as young as he is. He's also playful. We had a good time getting his kite to stay up in the air. He nearly split my head open with one of his kite's dive-bombing crashes. After a successful flight it was time to resume hiking. It was noon and we only had hiked 6 miles so we knew it was going to be a long day, but that was okay because we were having fun and not killing ourselves trying to hike a fast pace. Rambo chose a beautiful lunch spot with a view. There was a haze in the valley but the sky above us was picture-perfect blue. Jets had flown by leaving long clouds of spent fuel. I knew I'd be emotional and told Rambo to hang in there with me as I shared with him the story of my dad's burial. My siblings will remember this well because as Dr. Wilson finished his closing words we looked above us and somehow, as incredible and unbelievable as this may be, we looked above and there was a perfectly formed cross made of jet's spent fuel. Just as I thought, I couldn't tell that story without choking back a tear. I don't remember the transition to the next story right now, I just remember that I was almost crying one moment and then was laughing the next. This morning was my bonding time with Rambo. We'd hiked together as part of a bubble but never had one-on-one time before today. Rambo spoke of maintaining our bubble by having the two of us hiking together until Blues Brother hopefully is able to resume hiking with us.   I kept telling Rambo to feel free to hike at his faster pace and eventually we hiked separately in the afternoon. I was listening to some oldies - no singing though. The trail was almost all dirt and between my hiking at a slow pace and not having to angle around rocks as the hike continued, my knee felt as good as it did weeks ago. Rambo waited up ahead and asked how I was doing. I was able to honestly answer that I had hiked for an extended time because my knee was feeling so great. We both find our legs tighten up after taking breaks and resuming hiking starts very slow as our bodies work to resume hiking. Rambo was unfortunately not feeling like I was. He said he was as exhausted today as he was at the end of the day yesterday - and that wasn't good. We were away from any bail-out points so there was nothing to do but hike on. We both stopped as we got to the next shelter. Rambo was still not feeling great. The look on his face was painful. He was eating to overcome it, but said he was waiting to hear from Brave, trail angel of the past. Brave was going to provide some info about Lyme disease because Rambo had recently removed a tick. I hiked on because at my pace it was clear that I'd be hiking until the sun's last moments. After a few more miles with Rambo not catching and passing me, I really became worried about him. I called Oma to find out if Marcia or she could pick us up if Rambo continued to not feel well. Oma said she'd get there if we needed her. Fortunately Rambo came along with his usual face full of energy. He had drank some water and eaten some candy. He was back to feeling good. The end of the day finished with some small, but steep, climbs. I told Rambo to hike on to tonight's shelter destination and that I'd be there eventually. The Spy Rock campsite is heavily used. My hand-written notes on AWOL's guide indicated to be careful staying on the AT there. Rambo was coming back my way. The trail we'd briefly followed wasn't the AT. Going back a hundred yards, we then saw the very faded white blaze that indicated the AT was to the left at the Spy Rock campsite. I got to the shelter with 15 minutes of sun left. There were many hikers here. New thru-hikers were two strong hikers with trail names of Rhino and John Goodman. Rhino talked with us as we ate in the dark by headlamp. Such a better day for me. I was tired but it was a "good" tired.