Date: 2005-06-14
From: Blackrock Hut

To: Calf Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 13.0
Weather: scattered clouds

This seemed like a long day. Although, in the end, my body was not ailing so much as it had on shorter days. It was a very hot and humid day once again. This time there was no water for almost 12 miles. Sometimes on a hot day all you need is an ice cold spring to lift spirits. Not possible today I used another method. A nice long nap in the early afternoon. I¢m not sure if Ibuprofen makes you drowsy or if I just sporadically get these low energy spells for no reason, but for the first half of my trip I couldn¢t stop yawning and I was having a difficult time walking straight. So I found a nice grassy spot in the shade, ate, and dozed off for almost 2 hours. When I awoke I immediately felt even lazier but regained my strength after a few minutes of hiking. Initially I was about to break down. On the verge of tears I cried out ¢I just don¢t want to walk anymore.¢ I did walk, however, seeing how my options really were limited. It wasn¢t long before I passed many hikers one after the other. Some left with nothing but a smile and others stopped to talk. But from it all I could see that it was not easy for them either in this weather and yet they kept on. I met Sleeveless (who¢s journals I¢ve seen online) and Skywlker (who loved the weather and seemed to be in a great mood.) Skywalker had encountered a couple of helpings of trail magic along the side of the road where I found him. He was offered a soda by a couple of passing good Samaritans. So I sat and waited a bit after he left for my turn. But alas, none came and I had to move on. He and I had spoken for a while of many things. One of which was wildlife in the park. I let him know of a woman who drove past during my lunch break and warned me bout a cub that had run across the street not far from me. I didn¢t see that one but I did encounter two other bears not more than an hour later. I also shared with him that I had seen no snakes. I guess someone heard me and decided not to let me go without because just a mile from that spot where we spoke I encountered my first. I heard a rustling of the leaves down by my feet and, don't ask me why, but I paused out of curiosity. Normally I just assume it¢s a squirrel, toad, or a bird taking flight. But as I searched the brush I saw the serpent slither around by my feet and hiss. I slowly pulled out my camera and just then it began to rattle its tail. Holy Crap! It¢s a rattler! I jumped back so that there were a couple of feet between us figuring that was a safe distance. My only encounters with any snakes have been with domesticated pets up until this point and I¢ve only seen them move relatively slowly so I figured I would have time to move if this one decided to strike. I turned on my camera and hit the record button so I could get it rattling and maybe a bit of the stare down him and I had for a couple of minutes. As I hit record he took off. Now, in case you haven¢t seen a frightened snake slither away, I¢m telling you those guys can move. When I went back to check the video at a resting spot a bit later all I caught was the rustling of the leaves and myself in awe saying ¢Gosh those things move fast.¢ Which I realized after the fact to be a vast understatement. Two bears, a peacock (yeah, that¢s right with babies too), a butterfly relentlessly circling my head, 3 springs, 41/2 miles and a full shelter later here I am. I live to see another day. A good one I hope. Maybe a motel with a pool, lots of food and an ice cream cone day. We¢ll see.