Date: 2007-05-07
From: Hogback Ridge Shelter

To: Spivey Gap
Miles today: 15.7
Weather: clear sky

Another great day! It was cold last night - 30 degrees when I woke up this morning. Neither myself or anyone else was in a hurry to get up. Everyone was taking their time to go partake of the trail magic at Sam's Gap at 10:30 a.m. I got out a little before 9:30. It was cold and I was hungry (I skipped breakfast) so I was moving quickly. I did 2.7 miles in an hour and 5 minutes. I walked the last part with Jett. We got down to the gap right at 10:30.A hiking club had set up tables with hot dogs, hamburgers, potato salad, chips, fruit, dessert, etc. It was great! I sat and ate 2 hamburgers and a hot dog and some strawberries. I was thinking I would hit the trail by noon at the latest, not worry about how far I got today and do a long day tomorrow if necessary to make it to Erwin. By 11:30 people were starting to move out. I was enjoying sitting in the sun and decided to eat another hamburger. After that, I was a little too full, so I decided to sit at least until noon to let the food settle. Jett was hanging out, too. He predicted that Miss Janet was going to show up anytime. Then a few minutes later, she did, and he confessed that he hadn't been serious.Miss Janet brought Donny (now Bullwinkle), Sarah (now Fishstick) and Parker and Rocky. I hadn't seen them since Neel's Gap. Donny has now donned a kilt. They were slack packing to Spivey Gap (14 miles). Jett told me he was slack packing and I immediately said, "I'm slacking, too." I went through my pack quickly, to get only what I needed. I knew I had to get started right away to make the miles by the pickup time (6:30 - 7 pm). Miss Janet loaned me a day pack that was in the back of her van. I was back on the trail by 11:45.I kept up a steady pace. It was a gorgeous sunny day. I knew if I could make it to Big Bald by 3:30 pm that I could make the pickup. I made it to Big Bald slightly before 3:30. Before I got there, I ran into some more trail magic. Someone had left a cooler by the trail that morning. There wasn't much left, but there was a thermos with hot coffee! Tim and I had leapfrogged a little, and the last I saw him he was waiting for Jeff by the cooler. He told me that he and Jeff would make it to Spivey Gap by 10 am tomorrow to slack with us when Miss Janet brought us back.When I was coming up on Big Bald I could see it and it looked steep, but the trail swithbacked around and it didn't turn out to be too bad. There was a big crew still up there when I got there - everyone who had left Sam's Gap before me, as well as the people who had passed me on the way. I sat for about 15 minutes, took my boots off and then headed out at pretty much the same time as everyone else. While I was there, I had a bad reaction to Donny's cigarette smoke (coughing fit) and had to move away.I hiked with Thumper to the next shelter, where he was stopping for the night. We figured we wouldn't see each other again so we said goodbye. A while later I caught up with Bubba who had passed me at the Bald and we hiked together awhile. Then I moved on ahead. There were flowers and lots of butterflies on this stretch. I wasn't sure how far I had gone because I had been hiking with other people. I was disappointed when I got to where I knew I was two miles away (High Rocks), because I was going more slowly than I thought. I hurried up and over High Rocks and after that the trail was mostly down. It wound back and forth all around a creek in some spots. Where it was flattish I started to jog. I knew I wasn't going to be the last to get to the Gap because I had passed Bubba, but I was ready to be there, and I knew I could jog it, so I did. Sometimes it feels better to do a different motion with my legs. I did the last 2 miles in 45 minutes. Donny went up and relieved Bubba of his pack. Then Miss Janet drove us to the burrito place in Erwin.We went back to the hostel, had showers and settled in. I bunked in a room with Sweet Water, Fuzzy Monkey, Granny Franny, Melk and Rosie. Rosie shared the double with me. She slept in her sleeping bag on top of the blankets with her head at my feet. In the morning she said that was so she wouldn't confuse me with her boyfriend in the night. I paused and said that I didn't think that that was a confusion that would last very long.