Date: 2008-04-16
From: pickle branch shelter

To: lambert's meadow shelter
Miles today: 23.0
Weather: clear sky

Today is definitely in my top five of the trip, maybe three or so.   Prolly a longish entry even though I'm beat and want to go to bed.Got up and going normally. It was a little chilly last night. May have dipped below freezing, but no biggie. I was expecting a cool snap, hopefully this is it. I will definitely check the forecast before I make my gear swap tomorrow. I can always bounce it if its bad.First thing in the morning we had the approach to the Dragon's Tooth. Originally we were going to get up early and go up to it for the sunrise, but its a good thing we didn't. It was really rocky and took a long time to get to it. We would have missed the sun.A bunch of small hills lead us higher and higher. A good example of a hogback ridge. And it was rocky. And there were leaves covering the rocks. Not bad though, just slow. It seemed to me we were traveling up the dragon's scaly back towards his head. It had spines like a dinosaur {the one with the spiked tail, I forget what its called}. Up down up down. We thought we were there a couple times in vain. Finally we got to a sign pointing it out so we were sure this time. Short side trail to the tooth.The tooth itself was a rocky pinnacle on the top of the mountain. It was above the trees so it provided some excellent views. Had to pull a Sam Fischer to get up it, some chimney climbing and other creative stuff. When we got to the top we took lots of pics and chilled for a bit. Saw McAfee Knob in the distance where we would be later in the day. We could also see an entire broad valley laid out right in front of us. Incredible.We pushed on down the tooth and hit the trail. The descent didn't compare to the ascent. It was far worse. Lots of sitting down and jumping to the next rock type of stuff. My knees probably hate me for that but luckily they didn't protest. Took a long time to get down.After we made it it was off to another ridge. This one was shorter {in elevation} than the ones we had been on though there were a lot more ups and downs. The sun was beating down and sapping our energy. We decided to push on to the next shelter to take lunch because that would put us well over half way to our goal for the day.When we got to our last road crossing for the day there were a lot of people starting. VT had the day off because of what happened last year so there was a bunch of them up there. We left just before a group.Got to the shelter a mile up and took a nice break and lunch. Ate an extra bagel because I had plenty. Ended up being a 40 minute break.Headed onward to McAfee's Knob. The trail was well used and well graded for all the day hikers that visit. Easy haul up, and I even passed a couple day hikers that left the parking lot when when we did...and they didn't stop for lunch. Its awesome being fit.Got to the top of the knob. This is one of the most famous places on the trail. There is an overhanging rock with quite a bit of air under it. Also another great view of the valley below. Great place despite all the people up there. Took the required picture sitting on the overhang and chilled a bit. A bit crowded so we didn't stay long.Went down the hill to the next shelter to use the facilities and read the register. Pachyderm was signing off of the trail, his section complete. Haven't seen him since Damascus. However he left all his extra food for the taking. There was a beer, snickers, crystal lite, and dried fruit. Thanks Pachyderm. I was actually wishing for a beer only .9 miles up the trail.We decided to push on to the next shelter to set up a easy day into town.Another ridge walk up to the Tinker Cliffs. Got really steep towards the end, but we made it. Great views from the cliffs. We could see McAfee's Knob in the distance. Cool because we were there only 2 hours before. We traveled quite a bit. Another great view over the surrounding valleys. The trail traveled along the cliffs for a half mile. Right along the edge of them. Pretty Sweet and dangerous. A bit of a drop if you weren't careful.After the cliffs it was only a descent to the shelter. Last day before town so we killed some food. Did the liter of noodles loaded with my extra olive oil. BH didn't like his dinner so I had about half of it. My secondary nickname has become Garbage Disposal. Fitting.At the shelter with BH and TB.Absolutely awesome day today. Tons of incredible views and lots of challenging terrain. On top of it all, despite us taking numerous breaks we did some awesome miles. Hit three of the highlights of the entire trail. Pretty much overwhelmed right now. Great day. Should sleep well tonight, and town tomorrow. To stay or not to stay.