Date: 2008-03-23
From: somewhere near Brown Gap

To: Hot Springs
Miles today: 23.3
Weather: broken clouds

After deciding at 2:30 am that I should sleep more, I awoke at 6:30, packed, and started hiking in the darkness towards Max Patch. The overcast precluded a pretty sunrise, but I enjoyed meditating about the surprise of my fellow hikers if I could show up in their camp shortly before sunrise. However, the surprise was mine when I "summited" Max Patch at "sunrise" in dense fog to discover that I knew none of the campers there. The indistinct figures, heavily shrouded against the weather, presented an eerie sight. Riley, Joshua and Memphis Tim had camped in the forest just beyond the summit; Memphis T informed me that everyone had pushed ahead to the Roaring Forks Shelter because the winds and cold on Max Patch were just too severe. THEY MISSED AMAZINGLY VIEWS of frosted trees on every neighboring mountain and up to 1/4" of frost on all the vegetation on Max Patch. The water valve on my Platypus froze! Yes it was cold. At Roaring Forks, Toad informed me that "everyone else" (meaning Squire, Spruce, Start and Halfway) had just left 2 minutes earlier, so I left a brief note in the shelter log and moved on, hoping to catch Squire during his lunch break although he hikes much faster downhill than I do. The terrain was relatively easy, so I made good progress without rushing myself until becoming hungry towards 10am. Last year I learned that I need to eat lots and often while hiking in order to keep my energy up since it doesn't recover well if I wait to eat after tiring. "Start" caught up to me there and we hiked together with enjoyable conversation most of the afternoon; he is a nice kid taking a break from college as are his friends Riley, Joshua and Josiah (twins). The next shelter is close to a newly stripped "bald", and I remembered spending the night there last year and being disappointed with the midnight view of a cloudy sky from that bald. The spring was a puddle last year, and Start reported it to be an unacceptable puddle this year too. Today's new phenomenon is seeing dogs; dogs are not allowed in the National Park, so many hikers with dogs skip the park. After hiking 17 miles without much respite most of the day, the last climb before the next shelter became drudgery, so I stopped to enjoy a "nap" - Napping Ron might be a good trailname for me. I ate two peanut butter sandwiches while mulling over the impossibility of arriving in town with almost three days of food leftover. After a bit of sunshine, clouds blocked much of the heat and the wind was chill, so I covered up a bit after Riley and Joshua and Memphis Tim passed by. By then I had dozed a minute and rested adequately, so packed and started hiking with renewed vigor. I caught up to Memphis as he prepared to leave the the final shelter deserted and decided to continue with him to join the group in town - 33 miles and a good night's sleep in 28 hours. The "run" into town was perplexing in that we went up and up and up in order to drop 1000 feet of elevation from the shelter to town. As usual, I started making cell phone calls while approaching a town where the phone could be recharged. It seemed unbelievable that I had hiked ALL day without catching up to Squire. Linda suggests a book, the secret knowledge of water. Elmer's Sunnybank Inn was full and dinner smelled too incredibly delicious to stand, but after a good pizza at the Main Street Cafe, Spruce and Halfbrew decided to join Memphis Tim at the resort cabin, so I was enabled to share a room at the Inn with Squire. The biggest surprise is that Matthew is here !! That awesomely fast hiker is apparently love struck by Elmer, the town, or the lovely staff that Elmer employs. Matthew has been here "working for room" since Friday. What a treat to see so many familiar and happy hiker faces. What a delightfully supportive town full of nice, pleasant people. After a couple of beers with Josh, Riley, and Start, I slept well, especially as my room is unheated.