Date: 2018-09-29
From: Brassie Brook Shelter 

To: Limestone Spring Shelter
Miles today: 9.4
Weather: clear sky

9/29 - Part 1 I¢m pretty much hiking alone, I see a few NOBO¢s and probably more SOBO¢s that have flipped, but these people are fast and I¢ll likely not see them again unless they take a day off soon and I catch up. Mostly the hikers I see are day hiking with minimal packs. I was alone at the shelter last night and I stayed inside because there were no good tent sites other than platforms and it¢s hard to set up a tent securely if it can¢t be tied down properly.The sun came out this morning and the day looked promising; if it stays out, along with the breeze, things could start to dry out. With hopes of that, I put on dry socks, though my shoes were still a bit damp, but I managed to keep my feet dry. In places I ventured off the trail by several feet to get around a big puddle, all the while keeping my eyes open for poison ivy and oak which runs rampant out here.A little over 9 miles today of mostly even trail but as always, lots of big rocks to maneuver over and around, at least most of the trail was drying out. On two occasions I was blessed with spectacular views of the country side. The first was from Lionshead Mountain, pictured, which just happens to be about 3 miles past my official 700 mile marker for my total hike. (So the picture¢s not completely accurate, but this is a better backdrop and much more memorable than standing next to a dead tree, right?). I was the only person there for about 20 minutes and enjoyed a break of granola, a protein bar and cool water in total silence. What a great 20 minutes that was! Soon nine members of the CT hiking club showed up followed by several other day hikers, when I left there were close to 25 people up there and I passed another dozen on my way down.Be sure to read ¢Entry 9/29 - Part 2.Limestone Mountain Lean-to was my resting spot for the night. It was a challenging quarter mile, only a 200¢ decent but it seemed like it was straight down over, you guessed it, rocks and roots right along side a very loud, fast moving water fall.  This far into the forest and beneath a dense canopy, it was quite wet and made the decent pretty exciting...I can¢t wait until tomorrow morning! When I arrived at the camp site, all the sites were claimed by a dozen Boy Scouts and five leaders/fathers. I stayed in the shelter with two other guys, Cat Nap and Mover. The Boy Scouts were quite active running in and out of the woods playing flashlight tag until well after 9:00.  It wasn't until morning that I had a chance to talk with a few, particularly the three Eagle Scout candidates, but I got to spend time with pretty much all of the fathers tonight. We, the adults, wondered around the campground looking to identify plants and mushrooms, they were oddly interested my life both on and off the trail. These guys were mostly in their mid to late thirties and looked at what I was doing with what seemed like faint hints of envy. Most everybody was interested in the fact that my wife LET me come out here.  My advice to them was just "be yourself" for the next 20 years and she'll pretty much insist that you go! Probably even drive you to the trail head :)It was nice to see and hear these boys out here in nature having fun; like I did when I was a kid.