Date: 2013-06-04
From: Cove Mountain shelter

To: Thunder Mountain shelter
Miles today: 17.2
Weather: broken clouds

The flowers bloom, the songbirds sing,And though it be sun or rain,I walk the mountaintops with springFrom Georgia north to Maine Earl Shaffer   Yowser, this day had it all....and then got better. Swimming hole, tadpoles (love those little guys!), a deluxe shelter at lunch, big climbs (bring it on!), a huge soccer ball in an apple orchard (brought to us by the FAA), the Guillotine and a surprise ending to the best day ever.    Weather is finally clear as we left Cove Mountain for Jennings Creek. We got water there but skipped the great swimming hole--still a bit chilly for me. We climbed over Fork Mountain to the amazing Bryant Ridge shelter, where we lunched.    The shelter was built in memory of a young man and was deluxe in every way. It could easily hold 20 or more hikers and had two sleeping levels, a covered area for a picnic table, a permanently installed clothes line, plexiglass covered windows for bug control and a beautifully built fire ring.      We'd be climbing a lot for the remainder of the day, so RS and I rested before hiking on. I felt very strong today, having been focused on food for days. We had a couple thousand feet in elevation gain over the next four miles, so I put my music on and up I went.    I so enjoy flowers and spring has brought us a multitude. The mountain laurel and rhododendrons are in bloom and are glorious in every shade of white, pink and purple. Tiny wildflowers are visited by colorful black and yellow bumblebees and insects in iridescent green and blue bodies crawl around.   The tree seedlings are many shades of green, ferns pop up in the sunlight and there are lichens and moss everywhere. It's a delight for all my senses. I often stop to touch stuff and the smells are ever changing. You hear woodpeckers, songbirds, water and wind and see footprints on the trail as you pass through. It's very enticing to me and today I was lost in these thoughts as the climbing continued.    We peaked out over Floyd Mountain at nearly 3600 feet and descended to a water source at Cornelius Creek shelter. It was getting later and we had over five miles to go and another climb. But we felt great, well fed and hydrated.    Apple Orchard Mountain awaited, a beautiful clear hilltop with old trees and a HUGE white orb that looked like a soccer ball with antennae. It seemed so odd, to see this after hundreds if miles of forests. Ya gotta love the AT, and the FAA.    We walked under a cool rock named the Guillotine, but didn't linger as it was getting late and we had to stop again for water just short of the shelter. There was a spring just after crossing the BRP and we filled our containers. RS walked on and I followed, happy to be nearly finished.   I became aware of a voice, someone speaking from a side trail. Oh my, it turns out to be Alex, backpack and twelve pack in hand. Knock me over.    We three had a fun trail dinner together, washed down by PBR, always a favorite scenario for Specs. We talked about future hiking and enjoyed the night at the Thunder Ridge shelter all by ourselves. Amazing. It's all good, and very surprising!Tie Dye