Date: 2003-04-04
From: Blueberry Patch Hostel / Dick's Creek Gap

To: Muskrat Creek Shelter
Miles today: 11.6
Weather: overcast clouds

Got up around 7 this morning & just kind of hung around until 8:30 when breakfast was served. What an excellent breakfast it was! Had the best pancakes ever with home-made blueberry syrup, sausage, biscuits, & OJ. Gary dropped us off at the trailhead at about 9:45. I hiked with Gretel most of the morning, we seem to go about the same speed. The two of us stopped in at Plumorchard Gap Shelter for lunch where we met up with Haybaler, Iron Chef, and Two Dog Night. Two Dog Night is hiking with her 2 dogs, she took them to obedience school before they came out here so they'd be well behaved & not bother anyone. Great dogs. The reason for her trailname is because the night of the snow when it was super super cold, she ended up putting both dogs in the sleeping bag with her. I met 2 south bounders today. They started the trail in September. This was a kind of a triathlon of sorts for them, before starting the trail they did a canoeing & biking trip. They were both in good spirits & great shape. I only hope I'll be the same way. I had planned on camping at Bly Gap for the night which was 8.8 miles and had talked to Steven about that this morning but when I got there he and Mary had gone on. I still thought about stopping for the night though. Cap'n Ben, Christy, Viking & Smokey had already decided to push on & Iron Chef & Two Dog Night & Gretel couldn't make up their minds on what they wanted to do. I thought about it while I walked to the top of the hill & then decided to push on for the next 3 miles. Ended up hiking with Cap'n Ben & Viking the rest of the way. I am so glad I was with them because a couple of those mountains were extremely difficult & they kept my morale from plummeting. With all the jokes & marching songs it was kind of hard not to be in a good mood. I can't believe I crossed my first state line today! This is very exciting & I actually feel like I'm making some ground. It was close to 6 when we finally arrived into camp. The tent spots weren't all that great, they are either on a slant or have a bunch of roots running through them. I of course picked one with roots :). Because it was dark by the time I made dinner I decided to go with a Mountain House meal of spaghetti. If the weather is bad or its dark when I cook I like to go with the Mountain House meals because there is no clean up afterwards. Its been kind of drizzling most of the day & tomorrow I hear we have a 50/50 chance of rain. It wasn't really that warm out today. I think it was about 50 degrees when I got up this morning & I think its about 45 degrees now. The toughest part of the day was in that last 3 miles climbing over Sharp Top Mountain. I renamed it "Kill Me Now Mountain". My legs were wishing I had stopped back at Bly Gap with Iron Chef, 2 Dog Night & Gretel but at this moment I'm thrilled that I don't have to make that climb first thing tomorrow morning. My feet hurt pretty bad right now so I'm definitely going to take it slow tomorrow. I wore my knee brace today after not wearing it the last couple of days & I'm glad I did. The only thing with the brace is that once I take it off for the night my leg itches badly. Well, it's late so I'm off to bed.