Date: 2016-05-06
From: Big Bald

To: Sam's Gap
Miles today: 6.5
Weather: overcast clouds

This morning we started out with a plate of... scrambled eggs! Delicious! Supposedly the free range chicken eggs are healthier too. We decided to take another light day to get a little more rest before hitting the trail again in earnest. Knowing we only had 6.5 downhill miles ahead of us, we spent the morning relaxing at Mother Marian's while it warmed up. We perused several books on raising chickens. Maybe someday we will raise a few of our own. The big excitement of the morning was when Miss Kitty (the cat) decided to sleep in Max's dog bed (the Cocker Spaniel). Rather than picking a fight, Max slept in Oscar's (the chow retriever mix) much larger dog bed. Oscar didn't know what to do, so he stood there and barked. This of course led to Miss Buttons (the Yorkie) joining in the chorus. Meanwhile, Tally (the black lab), oblivious to the unfolding drama in the family room, stood guard over the chickens from his perch near the back door. Eventually, Oscar just laid down next to Max and Miss Buttons went back to barking at squirrels outside. We started hiking around 2:30PM and again did a reverse hike. The weather forecast showed thunderstorms at 5PM so we took our raingear and a few snacks. We didn't even carry water bottles because the hike was so short. We did carry a shovel to bury the results of any potential bathroom breaks. We had heard that a lot of people get rid of their shovels. In fact, we heard that Miss Janet (a lady famous in the trail community for her trail magic- we haven't met her yet although we have seen her van) made a wind chime out of them just to make a statement that people need to practice Leave no Trace. If you are picturing thousands of miles of wilderness untainted by man, you would be surprised to learn that we probably have not yet gone one single day without seeing toilet paper strewn across the ground somewhere along the trail. Often, we even see it hanging in the branches of nearby bushes. Why hikers do that right near the trail is beyond us, especially when shovels are so cheap and easy to use. We did see one shovel at an outfitter that wasn't cheap. Made of titanium and weighing 0.6oz, it was the ultimate lightweight excrement sequestration device. Of course it cost $20 which seemed ridiculous when a plastic shovel only costs a few bucks. Rather than purchasing one, we opted to see if people really abandon their shovels along the trail. Sure enough, we came across a beautiful blue one while on the trail recently. We are grateful for the find but wish the person who abandoned it would have instead chosen to use it daily. The hike downhill was splendid. Instead of building up for more rain, the sun came out, eventually forcing us to shed layers. The top of the bald we started on had splendid 360 degree views, along with plenty of snow on the ground to remind us that we made a great decision staying indoors last night. We didn't see a lot of hikers on the way down, which surprised us. We made it back to Sam's Gap by 5:45 and got a ride back to Mother Marian's for supper. Tonight's menu included pork roast, broccoli, potatoes, gravy, and of course dessert. Brownies with peanut butter swirled in. Yum! We were happy to help with the cooking and cleaning because Marian wasn't feeling well.