Date: 2019-03-09
From: Seven Lakes Drive

To: Trail Parking 
Miles today: 7.0

Baby Girl and I got an early start. The plan was for a 10 mile day. Papa Big Swig dropped us off then drove around to our evening pick up location only to find the road was gated off. This happens from time to time on the A.T. We were forced to change plans to only 7miles again today. I really need to increase my mileage soon.  We spent the morning checking out trees and rocks. Baby Girl was on a mission today to take a photo of unique rock formations. We drew a smiley face in the snow on a big boulder for one photo. She also found a missing president from Mount Rushmore. She decided it was Donald Trump because of the bad comb-over. We laughed a while over that. She had a rough day today. Three or four falls, and a lost hat. She went back a quarter mile to retrieve her hat. I waited. We reached the top of a big hill to find another raven squawking about something. They are the noisiest birds.  The trail was busy today. Weekend warriors were taking advantage of this great weather. We talked with a couple of weekend/section hikers. One guy is trail named Stacks. I can¢t remember the other one. They were the first of many hikers we would run into today. We hurried on down to William Brien Memorial shelter. Baby Girl was hoping for a privy, but we got a boy scout troop instead. They had sheltered there last night and none of them were raring to go. We had good conversation with the leaders who were impressed with the miles I had put out last year. Even though I will be taking my through hike to the very last possible minute. Leaving the shelter we hiked past several groups of Japanese hikers. All ages were enjoying the park and the trail. I was so impressed with the amount of senior citizens out there... I mean very senior, senior citizens.  Then I had my own senior moment. Baby Girl and I had been looking up in the trees to get a picture of a squirrel nest. We kept following the footprints in the snow and looking up. Finally we found one, a really big one, 3/4 of a mile OFF TRAIL! Unbelievable! I did it again!  The upside of being off trail is that we hiked beside Silver Mine Lake. It was a frozen splendor to view, and worth the extra mileage. Going off trail was all downhill so getting back on trail was all uphill. Then we immediately began our climb up Black Mountain at 1187ft elevation. There were a couple of tricky places but over all not a bad climb. We shared the summit. This was the first of at least 8 amazing views today!  There was a fair amount of bouldering down. Baby Girl still gets nervous on steep downs. Snow and slush covered boulders are hard. But she¢s a trooper, and slowly but surely she made her way. I¢m so proud of her!  We crossed a 4 lane road and headed back up into the mountains. It was there when I started to notice the insect world. First there was a bug right on trail. Alive, making it¢s way across trail on the snow. I¢m not sure, but I think it was a Box Elder bug. Then we saw a different little insect on a rock, and eventually there were a couple of little flying things in the air. More proof that Spring is on its way! We continued on enjoying the many many views. Today was View-mazing!  We saw a couple of hawks as we made our way down the last mountain. Papa Big Swig was patiently waiting for us in the parking lot below. Until Next Time Blue Raccoon (2018/2019)Where¢s your faith?