Date: 2017-08-01
From: Kid Gore Shelter

To: William B Douglass shelter
Miles today: 20.4
Weather: scattered clouds

Today was such a great day! Although the walk at the end was brutal. All four of us - the San Diego couple, Easy Goin', and me - got up early and were on the trail by 6:30! A good way to hike more miles in the cool morning hours, and to make more miles overall, although that wasn't part of my plan. For a bit of the morning, I was stuck with some chatty old guy right behind me, and when I pulled over to let him pass, he declined, saying, "We're the same pace!" ARGH.The mud is thick, but it's not terrible. It feels almost soothing to step into because the impact is softened. The roots though...After many, many hours of my ankles having to stabilize my feet on the roots, no wonder they're tired!We went around the first of several ponds of the day. And then the climb up Stratton Mountain began. I decided to put on more episodes of Israel Story to distract myself from thinking about the long climb. I got a little choked up a few times, but I don't know if it's because the show is that good or if my emotions are just more accessible because of the hiking. Anyway it wasn't too hot, so up I climbed, slowly, eating my snacks, wondering if this is useful prep for the Whites.  The peak was at 4,000 feet but we started at 2,000, so only 2,000 foot elevation gain.When I got to the top I rested a bit and talked to the caretakers up there. The man gave me a tip after hearing about my fear of heights and apprehension about climbing up to the fire tower for the view. He said to treat it like a ladder and to go back down that way instead of like stairs.Yesterday I passed a different fire tower, making it up only one flight before chickening out. But that one had see-through stairs and this one at least had solid wood planks. I could still see between them and down, which was terrifying, but at least on the landings I wouldn't be able to see through to the ground. So I left my pack at the bottom and white-knuckled all the way up, chanting, "F***-oh-F***-oh-F***" the entire time. I went slowly, and I did the turns on the platforms holding onto the railings for dear life, but I did it!And the views... The views were *stunning*. I was still scared up there. . . at one point the tower started shaking, and I thought it was the guys below being jerks. But no, that's just what happens when a new person begins the climb.(Side note: I just remembered there was a bit of trail magic today too. A dad had just returned his 41-year-old daughter, Pet Gnat [her favorite wine], to trail and was in the parking lot giving out sodas. I had a Diet Pepsi the only kind available the sort of thing I'd never drink in the real world but it was awfully tasty today.)At the top of the tower, I was fretting about how I'd get back down. I wasn't able to relax until my feet hit the ground again. But it felt great that I did it! I chickened out yesterday but did it today! Easy Goin' gave me a celebratory fist bump.Then it was back down the mountain and on to the Stratton Pond shelter. I considered staying there, but tenting wasn't allowed and the shelter looked awful. So onwards!Stratton Pond itself was lovely! After that long hard climb, we all had the same mindset: swimming! Hikers just dropped their packs, stripped, and went right in. Me too.There were little salamanders in the water! The cool water felt so good after all the sweating and bugs. Everyone was just happy.Looking around, just taking it all in, one guy asked, "Why do people live in cities?"Another exclaimed, "My joints don't hurt! I think I'm going to take up swimming when I'm done with the AT!"When I was finished swimming, I didn't wait to dry off, but instead put on my clothes and pack."That's the fastest in-and-out!" one guy said."Where I come from, In N Out is a burger place," I replied.Which then set off a few of the hikers, groaning about how much they wanted animal style fries. Walking from the pond, I started to really feel tired. There are multiple kinds of tired. This was both I-need-food tired and my-feet-hurt-from-walking-all-day tired.I had never actually calculated the miles. I didn't realize I'd done another 20 until just now. D'oh!I'd been on my feet and walking for 12 hours. No wonder I was tired.So I decided to just stop at the first shelter I came to, which was this one. A whopping .5 off trail. (Adding a mile round trip. We'll walk 20 miles a day, but hikers almost never go to shelters .5 or more off trail.)But I got in early enough to chat with the few people here, have a hearty dinner, read the whole logbook, and write this long entry. Good stuff! Now I need to plan tomorrow!