Date: 2013-03-16
From: Springer Mountain shelter

To: Justus Creek Campsite
Miles today: 14.7

I spent most of the night slipping and sliding around the floor of my tent/tarp shelter. I was on an ever-so-slight incline, so gravity pulled me towards my tent poles (used to hold up the roof of the tent/tarp shelter (kind of like a mini-circus Big Top). After knocking over the lower tent pole a few times, I tried shifting diagonally, but finally just gave up and moved to the "downhill" side of the shelter. That didn't do the trick either, so I pulled the bivy sack off my sleeping bag and sleeping pad, and Voila! But by that point it was 7 a.m. and time to get up and get moving. Steve (pop-in-law extraodinaire (I'm very fortunate to have fantastic in-laws on both sides of the family tree)) was meeting me at the top of Springer to get a pic of me with the Southern terminus plaque and to see me off. We admired the view and the wind and got the shot. The sun was just coming through the trees to the east, I blew a kiss to Tom, and we headed back to the campsite. Elaine (mom-in-law extraordinaire) had sent up some sausage biscuits, homemade coffee cake and fresh brewed coffee, along with a few dehydrated meals that I had forgotten to pack. I packed up my stuff, and we bid good-bye to Jackie & Stevie. As we headed down the mountain, we encountered several groups of hikers heading up to get their pics with the with Southern terminus sign. We met Ben, Zack, & Matt, and Spencer, and others that I would continue to run into throughout the upcoming days. At the truck, I said good-bye to Steve and we took a few more pictures- "Proof of life". There was a descent climb up out of the parking area. I passed some people, some people passed me. The weather was gorgeous, so there were of tons people out. I was passing through a tunnel of rhododendron when the inevitable happened. I twisted my ankle and when down with a thump and extra momentum of 40 lbs of pack. I dirtied my hands and dirtied the knee of my pants, but other than that I was okay. I've twisted my right ankle so many times that it doesn't even bother to swell or bruise anymore. It's just given up. I also knew it was only a matter of time before I twisted the ankle on this trip, so in someways I was grateful to get it out of the way right off the bat. It took a few seconds to catch my breath, but then I got up and set off again. I stopped at Long Creek Falls to have lunch (if anyone does the trail, I highly recommend this short side trail. The falls are worth the visit). I considered soaking my feet, but just opted to bandage them up a bit. I came on on the trail will a healing blister on my left pinky toe, so I didn't want it to get any worse. I changed socks, ate my boiled egg and pb/honey sandwich and headed on. At 2:00, I came to the Hawk Mtn. Shelter. It seemed too early in the day to stop, so I opted to push the next campsite/water source 6 miles away. Coming off the side trail from the shelter was a guy I had encountered earlier in the day. His group had refilled water and were pushing on. We chatted, and then headed off up a steep side-trail up the mountain. I saw the white AT blazes in front of me. I looked back at him plowing up the mountain, I looked back at the white blazes. I look at him, I looked at the AT blazes. What to do? He definitely was not on the AT, but what did I know of his plans? Being as I didn't have a map and wasn't 100% certain of my own bearings, I let him continue up the mountain. A few hours later he caught back up with me, and I was able to apologize.I continued up and down, over rocks, roots, and streams. The sky was cloudless and the sun was pretty intense. I stopped to change my socks a few times and patch my feet, but I could still feel some gnarly blisters forming on my left foot. I'll be honest, I'm concerned about them, especially this early in the trail. There were no water sources, so I continued push on towards Justus Creek. My legs were tired, but still feeling solid, but the toes were getting worse. The last two miles were a merciful gentile downhill on a soft, smooth dirt path. I saw one small black snake as I was rounding the corner into the campsite. I joined the three guys I had met earlier in the day (one of which I had allowed to climb the mountain). They were friendly and welcoming. I have a feeling I might see them the next couple of days, but after that I'm not sure. They are really fast hikers, and their feet are blister free.