Date: 2010-05-02
From: Pine Swamp Branch Shelter

To: Laurel Creek Shelter
Miles today: 18.5
Weather: scattered clouds

I haven't yet copied my written journal for an entire day, rather I pick bits and pieces to put up here, but today was exceptional on many levels, here is a type up of the written account:This morning made me actually consider getting off the trail. It is BOILING and the sun isn't even showing. All the rain from last night has made the air incredibly humid and I just did a bitch of a climb! Must be 85F+ and I feel really sick.Had no apetite this morning but forced pop tarts, granola bars and oatmeal bars down my throat. Feel like a second wave of this giardia and I'm not enjoying it .... I got soaked climbing the mountain as sweating does nothing in jungle humidity so your body does it twice as much thinking it will help.Hip started hurting after the first climb along a ridge which was not actually a ridge and went up and down like a ridge, but 50 yards from the actual ridge so you saw nothing, sigh.. So hip hurts and I still feel sick, I turned phone on to listen to music and found full reception. IT was hard not to txt/call anyone expressing my misery and I resisted .. just,To make matteres worse, half the hike was actually jumping from rock to rock hoping not to break an ankle with each step. Because I felt exhausted, I actually stumbled almost drunkenly from rock to rock. Samurai passed me and asked why I was hiking so slowly. I didn't realise I was doing that badly, I watched him zoom by and realised I was doing bad. Time to call it a day?No! The second mountain climb was equally hot and steep and rocky etc. but I was feeling less sick now and moving much faster. The black and yellow millipepes were everywhere going tp to Kelly Knob and the view once I finally got on top was great. I had fun hopping around the rocks with big gaps in between.I watched a 100ft red maple tree come crashing down whilst walking up a valley towards Kelly Knob. Heard a massive 'crack' then looked around manically (looking close at first) - damn you lack of directional hearing! Tree was about 80 yards away and I assumed there was a logging crew there felling the tree. No people, no animals, I was just there as it happened naturally. Fantastic!So, soaked again I descended down to Laurel Creek Shelter to find a chap called Thomas, must have been in his 50's sectioning north. I got the shelter log to see if anyone else had had a day as horrible as mine, but it seemed to be just me. A few had written about the 'secret shower' and how amazing it was - with the only instruction being 'about 0.4 south' on how to get there. Armed with this knowledge, I went to investigate, comfortably in my crocs with Dr. Bronners in one hand. I was all set to shower in luxury.20 minutes later, I found the site and it was out of this world AMAZING. Definitely and by far the best kept secret of the trail I've come across. With a natural ledge to put things, a flat area big enough to stand under the water and beside it, a day warm enough that the cold water felt fantastic, a natural shute that looked like a slide and a deeper pool at the bottom it was perfect, and sitting in the middle of no where, in a dense rhododendron tricket in the middle of the woods.I knew Samurai was probably about 30 minutes behind me but really I didn't care, I stripped down to my boxers and thought 'why not' and took everything off, putting it all carefully on the shelf. I literally shrieked with joy like a little boy, braving the cold water and jumping about splashing. Was good to have Bronners too as I felt vaguely clean again and that would hold be through to Daleville.Told everyone else about it as they got into the shelter and they went searching. I ended up showing Sky and Stumbleweed where it was and the other two missed out unfortunately. I drew a map (to the best of my ability) in the log to hopefully more can enjoy.Today was an odd one, for something that started so horribly, it really turned around by the end of the day. I wonder what this journal entry would read like if it had got worse from lunchtime....Quite the day right?!