Date: 2003-08-15
From: Kent, CT

To: Silver Hill Campsite
Miles today: 10.2
Weather: few clouds

Well...the power came back on at 4ish in the morning. I shut the windows and the curtains so the AC could do it's job. I had to take something to get to sleep again. Not only did two trains go through (the whole building shook, as the tracks were directly behind the Inn), but peepers were making tons of noise all night. It's amazing how much noisier it was with the windows open, and without the white noise of the AC. The good part about getting to sleep with the magic of vicodin, was that when I got up this morning, my hip didn't hurt. It has been giving me ongoing pain when I get up in the morning...almost an arthritic thing. I've had a hard time walking upon arising, although it seems to work itself out during the course of the day. I hope that the fix is permanent, though. It was nice to wake up today and just be able to walk. I took a shower, and Gerri was awake when I was done. We went to do laundry, then Randy and I went to the post office. We packed up our! stuff and went to get some lunch. At CaraLee's, we had the most awesome, fabu malts that we've had on the trip. Yum! We went to the outfitters, so that Randy and Gerri could get fuel, and Randy got his poles looked at. We got an easy hitch back to the Trailhead, and were on our way. The first bit was a fairly steep ascent, but most of the next couple of miles was quite lovely...a meandering path through gentle hills in the forest. Today reminded me of when I lived in CT as a child, although not of where I lived. It reminded me of my Aunt Ardis' house, which I believe was closer to here. We would visit, and I would explore the woods around her house with my siblings...massive moss-covered boulders, large trees, an earthy smell pervading the air. I think this area also reminds me of trips to The Sleeping Giant, a mountain somewhere near where we lived. I saw a CT deer today...I think that makes GA the only state where I didn't see one. Randy missed it though. We !were almost to our first break spot when we came across two fledgling vultures. They were very curious about us, although we made them nervous, as well. When they took off to a nearby tree limb, they flew, and landed, quite precariously. They were pretty cute for such non-lovely birds. We then hit a very steep rocky descent. We waited for Gerri to catch up, and we wended our way sloooowly down. We were over halfway when we heard Gerri fall behind us...it sounded bad. We took off our packs and hurried back to her. She had landed, it looked, headfirst on the rocks. I was sure that something was broken. Randy got her pack off, and she got up. She had re-opened a couple of cuts on her knees and dirtied one arm, but other than that, seemed fine. We kept on going to a well deserved break at the bottom of the hill. The rest of the day was, really and truly, flat. We made good time and had a nice walk by the river. The campsite we're staying at is sweet! There's a swing, covered pi!cnic table, benches and a deck...and we have it all to ourselves! We set up camp and ate dinner. I watched the stars for a bit from the swing, then hit the tent. I need to get to sleep now, as I need to get going early tomorrow...Nuts and Twigs are meeting us, and I need to do 12 miles by 1:00...must...hike...fast! Good night!Oh, yeah, discovered late last night that I'd managed to get a lovely bit of poison ivy on my back...itchy and oozy, yuck! I am using ivy-dry on it, and will have Seester, the nurse, look at it when I see her on the 20th! I'm sure she'll be thrilled! hehehe...