Date: 2011-06-05
From: Big Meadows Lodge

To: Elkwallow Wayside
Miles today: 26.2

I made an executive decision to reset my alarm for 6:45 am instead of 4:45 am. I was dreading the first few miles because I thought that I would be hungover. Not the case. I think I'm metabolising the calories rather quickly since I'm usually running on much fewer calories then needed. Apparently on average, one burns 3000-4000 calories per day hiking 15-20 miles. I've been doing 25-30 mile days so... I can't possibly carry enough food to replenish all of those calories. That's why binge eating in town is so awesome. It helps to replace some of those needed calories. By the time I got myself and my gear sorted out they were serving breakfast in the restaurant. It would be a shame to miss a hot breakfast. I had breakfast with Peru and then spent far too long trying to tape my left treking pole. The shaft of the pole split vertically and now it doesn't lock in at the right height properly. Leki stands behind their product 100%, but the problem is that they want me to send it to them to fix or replace. This means that I would be without poles for quite some time. I know it's fessible to do without poles for a while, but I feel completely naked without my poles. I don't think I could achieve these miles without them. Serena is looking into it for me so hopefully we can arrange something when I get to Harper's Ferry. I'll have a few days off there. I started my hike around 8:30 am which is far later than typical. My right knee has been a bit bothersome for the last couple of days. Today I was in a lot more pain and discomfort. I've never had knee trouble, but I've also never hiked 25+ milers back to back either. Oh well, fingers crossed. It seemed as if it was going to rain in the morning so I put my pack cover on just in case. I walked right up to a large group of weekend warriors that were huddled together on the trail.   They were all on a guided two mile hike on the good ole A.T. The park ranger guide immediatly stopped her speech on some boring, crappy fungus and started an interrogation of a thru hiker for the amusment of the group. I didn't have all of my note cards memorized, but I did a fairly good job of making the trail sound exciting and mystical. I made it to Skyland restaurant by 11:30 am. Lunch seemed like a good idea, in a non-trail food form. I popped in for a quick sandwich and lemonade. That makes two out of three meals in a restaurant. Let's see if I can make three. The views were rather impressive since the clouds were hanging so low in the sky. I had a hard afternoon. the terrain wasn't terribly bad, I was just exhausted and unenthusiastic. I noticed another small solitary bear down below me. He was rummaging for food at the base of a few large trees. The last few miles were without good water sources, so my main objective was to obtain water as soon as possible. I would then camp nearby. It was pretty late at this point, around 8:15pm. The sun sets at 8:30, so my time is limited. I came across a day hiker who had parked his car at the wayside and was camping randomly just off of the A.T. I asked him about good tent sites, and he was no help whatsoever. I ended up finding a nice flat bit of the A.T. and set my tent up directly on the trail. I broke a couple rules by doing so: camping less than 60' from the trail and camping less than 1/4 mile from a road. I didn't have a lot of options, and my chances of getting caught were slim since it would be dark in five minutes. I would also be moving on as early as possible. Unfortunately the wayside was closed and I was unable to go three for three on restaurant food. Noodles it is. Long day... too long.