Date: 2005-05-04
From: Laurel Creek Shelter

To: Audie Murphy Monument
Miles today: 17.5
Weather: broken clouds

Winter in May rages on, but at least it's getting a little warmer. We only got into the mid to high thirties overnight. I stayed warm, mostly. Not much sun to be had this morning either, but it wasn't raining. Small victory. Hit the trail at 9 for the day's dose of fun and excitement. The trail came off our ridge and crossed through some fields and over a couple roads. I passed by the Keffer Oak today. It's a giant oak tree, they say it's the largest on the trail at 18 ft. in diameter. I might have walked right by it had Vapor not been sitting up in the tree. The boy's a climber, that's for sure. We took some pictures and rolled on. We climbed up yet another ridge and cruised along that for awhile. There were some good views of the valley below and the next ridge. The leaves are slowly coming out, but the trees on top of the hills are still bare. We are definitely right on the leading edge of springtime, as that's been the same story for weeks. But anyway, the sun came out by mid-afternoon and cooked us as Matt and I made our way across the exposed rocks on the ridge crest. It was a toe-jammin, ankle bendin' good time that mercifully only lasted for a mile or two. Then, as is the story every day, we descended the 1500 some odd ft. down to the valley/river/road below and began the 1500 some-odd foot climb to the next ridge over. At some point along the way down, I sat and spaced out for awhile. I'm finding that I need a serious snack break in the late afternoon. By then I usually find myself out of gas and dehydrated, which is such a lovely combo. So, I poured several granola bars, some pop-tarts, and a half quart of water down my throat and mustered the will to push on. The destination for the evening was dry and the nearest water was at the base of the hill. I filled up my platy at the river with about 3 qts. and headed up the hill. I don't know much, but I do know that 1500 ft. climbs at the end of the day stink. It was slow going to say the least. Carried my poles in one hand and water in the other. On the way up, I startled a deer, or I should say the deer startled me. It didn't move until I was pretty close, but made a lot of noise when it did. And, of course, I had my headphones in so I neither saw nor heard the beast until I was right on top of it. Exciting. Took a picture of my new friend, and kept on trucking. At the top, some joker had built a bench, which I'm certain has had every northbounder's butt on it. It's got to be a magnet for tired hikers, which is about everyone at that point, I'm sure. Once I pried my rear end off, I walked the rest of the way to the camp spot. I'm a stone's throw from the Audie Murphy Monument, on a 4WD road. The most decorated American soldier of WWII, Murphy died near here in a plane crash in the 70's. As the name suggests, there's now a monument to him here. I haven't been up to it yet, that'll be tomorrow's walking. The goal for tomorrow is to get down to Catawba, some 16 miles away, by 4 p.m. It's BBQ night at the AYCE restaurant. Dreams of pulled pork will dancing through my head tonight.