Date: 2018-07-10
From: Reeds Gap

To: Paul C Wolf Shelter
Miles today: 14.2
Weather: few clouds

Woke up at Devils Backbone Campground. This place is really nice. Last night I ran into Everywhere. She¢s hiking with Cyborg now. I thought they would be way ahead of us, but Cyborg was sick for a bit so they spent some time at the beach in Maryland while he recuperated. You never know who you might see again. We headed over to the lodge for our hiker breakfast. I had scrambled eggs with spinach tossed in them, potatoes with sliced sausages, a ciabatta roll, and smoked bacon that was so thick and yummy it tasted like a porkchop! Oh and coffee!  After breakfast Hugs went to buy a Devil¢s Backbone t-shirt and I went outside to check my phone. I had plugged it into an outside socket.  Only 46%. It is difficult keeping a charge in these mountains.  Airplane mode only for me today.  Before long our shuttle driver was ready. Six of us piled into his truck some in the cab and some in the bed with our packs. We began making our way back to the trail. One quick stop at the convenient store for some sodas and we were soon walking north.  I took the lead early on. The terrain was a little rocky but not horribly so...yet. Birdies were chirping and over all it was a great morning. I heard some ruckus to my left and there was a bear. He turned and made a mad dash downhill. They really are clumsy going downhill! It sounded like a freight train had gone off track crashing through the forest. You¢ve heard the expression ¢all you could see were tennis shoes and elbows¢? Well when a bear runs downhill all I could see was ears- butt-ears-butt-ears-butt. I had to giggle a little! So those itchy weeds are everywhere right now. I should have known, but I re-learned that they are Nettles. It doesn¢t take much for those things to make a hiker miserable. Just as my itching was beginning to subside I caught up to a couple of hikers. They are That¢s Right and Bucket. That¢s Right is from Mississippi and he¢s somewhat of a history buff. I¢ve never really spent any time in Mississippi but I would really like to do that some time.  Those hikers were also smokers. I decided to take a break so I didn¢t have to breathe their second hand smoke. Hugs and Big Kahuna arrived so my tramily hiked on together. We came to a nice overlook with a view of Wintergreen township. Big Kahuna took a photo of me there. It was meant to be my feature photo for today, but that changed. Just around a small bend in the trail sat a local couple. They were enjoying the view, a snack, and each other¢s company. The woman began offering us crackers and cheese. We assured her that we were very well fed this morning, but gave her our empty soda bottles to pack out for us. She felt better doing something nice for us , and we were happy to lose our empty soda bottles. I took off first again. I just love the serenity being alone in the mountains. I know the others are just minutes behind me, but it feels alone. I came upon some unique rock wall formations. The trail had become very rocky. Every step had to be taken cautiously, so I couldn¢t hike and look. I had to stop and look. But I forged ahead listening to the birds chatter, and smelling the forest for 2 more hours alone.  Then I reached some cliffs with a view and it was lunchtime. That¢s Right, Bucket, and a new guy from Massachusetts named Rub-N-Tug were already there. Rub-N-Tug gave me his rock and I waited for Big Kahuna and Hugs to eat my lunch. We rested our very sore feet while eating and enjoying the view of a ski resort below. The three of us left lunch together. Bucket had said there was water 2.6 miles ahead, and knew that I needed it. On the way there Hugs asked me if I had heard about breakfast. No, what? Turns out breakfast was actually $5 a person.  I had just walked out without paying!  I have a great trail sister though and she took care of mine with her t-shirt. So much for the free breakfast idea!  When we got there, the water source was down to a small trickle. I was able to fill one of my bottles only. It would be enough to get me to the shelter. I think there was 4 more miles to go. It felt like it was 54 miles with my extremely painful feet! I was convinced I had a stress fracture in both feet! We stayed pretty close together from the water source on. I was in the front and heard a little scuttle on the ground to my left. I always look even at the littlest sound because there are venomous snakes everywhere. But this little scuttle turned out to be a tiny little mountain mouse. He was trying to hide under some leaves. His little head was sticking out and I got the cutest pic. We named him Harry. Harry would now be the photo of the day. Hugs said if we stick around long enough we would probably see a snake come eat him¢! Yikes! Run Harry run!  We continued on over many rock scrambles. Hugs and I were both complaining about our feet. I just started walking as fast as I could to get to the shelter and get off of them. For no reason at all I looked to my right. There she was just looking up at me, a bear! I finally got a photo! It¢s not a good photo, but I got one. Hugs was right behind me and she saw a cub hiding behind a log. Big Kahuna  made it in time to see it too. She wasn¢t threatened by our presence at all. It was one of those magical moments that occur on the A.T. We stayed on high bear alert the rest of the way. It was a good thing we did because we managed to squeeze in one more mama and baby!  We arrived at the shelter at 7pm. There were 3 section hikers already claiming space, but there was room for us too. For the first time we saw bear poles. They make hanging your bear bag so much easier! Just put your bag on a hooked pole and raise it up to a hook on a much taller stationary pole. Boom! Just like that!  A grazing doe meandered by as we were rushing to cook our dinners before dark. Painful feet were worth it!  I¢ll remember this day forever!  Until Next Time Blue Raccoon (2017) Where¢s your faith?