Date: 2016-06-07
From: Calf Mountain Shelter

To: Loft Mountain Campground
Miles today: 19.1

What a difference a day makes. I crashed hard last night and even though I tented on a slope I slept good. I woke up and the air was nice and crispy and it smelled awesome. It reminded me of being at our summer cottage on the lake when I was a child. I was also pleasantly surprised by how well the problem areas of my foot felt. Granted I now have new problem areas due to the boots not being broke in, but it is a very good sign that my problems of the last months may be solved. I did a much bigger day today so tomorrow morning hopefully they will continue to feel better. I was up and out of camp at 7:30 am and right away the trail was beautiful. The flowering bushes went on for miles and miles. Everything looked awesome and smelled awesome and the fresh crisp air felt so good. It was a perfect morning for hiking. These are the days you just can not get enough of. I ran into a lot of hikers today. Shades, Goodtalk, Flannel, Stardust, Wicks, Yours Truely, and Elizabeth. There were also others I just can not remember the names. Elizabeth is a 64 year old women from Germany and she is the lady who turned me around about a month ago when I was hiking the wrong way on the trail. She stayed at the shelter last night and she remembered me and that morning. We had a good laugh about it. The terrain was easy today and so were the elevation gains and drops. I stopped four times for breaks. My feet needed it due to the new boots. My toes on my right foot were killing me. My right foot is bigger then my left so it is much tighter in the boot. It is frustrating but I did not let it get me down, not today. Today was a very good day. Yesterday not so much. I now know why Patches made sure I understood one of the golden rules of thru hiking. That rule is, you are not allowed to quit your hike when you are having a bad day. You can only decide to quit on a good day. I totally get that now. I have had several bad days, like the night before coming down into Damascus and a few of the rainy, windy, cold, foggy days, and of course yesterday. When I think about though the good days far outnumber the bad days and not just by a little but by a lot. I really love it out here. Tonight I am in a national park campground and it is beautiful. The wind is whipping so hard and is making so much noise. I love it. I am nice and comfortable in my tent. What could be better then this. So back to the rest of my day. I hiked the last six miles to Loft Mountain Campground. I checked in with Flannel and Stardust and we decided to all stay at one site and split the cost. My feet were very tired so I went to the site and they went to the camp store. I got my pack off and boots off and went to the camp store myself and took a shower. It felt so good to be clean. I then headed back and made dinner with Flannel and Stardust. When I was setting up my tent I realized my trekking poles were missing and I remember I had left them at the camp entry station. I went up to get them but they had closed for the night. I could see them inside so I should be able to get them in the morning. I hate that I do stuff like that. So tomorrow will be another great day. I just know it and I can not wait for it.