Date: 2013-05-28
From: Terrapin Cabin

To: Niday Shelter
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: overcast clouds

I slept pretty well last night, but I still woke up by 6:45 a.m. Hiking habits are hard to break. I got up and started the coffee pot. I don't think I'll ever be able to take a nice, fresh, hot pot of brewed coffee for granted again. I typically have two packets of Taster's Choice in the mornings, and if I get the water to boiling then I can singe the tastebuds just enough to convince myself that it's drinkable. But in this jolly little cabin in the woods, Taster's Choice isn't necessary. I started gathering my gear. It was scattered across two rooms. I'm used to keeping my stuff contained, so it made me uncomfortable to have it spread over such a wide distance. It made for a real risk of losing or misplacing something. One by one, the family members rose. Soon the place was jumping. We cleaned, washed, wiped down, swept, gathered and organized. By the time we were done, it was in better shape than we how'd found it. At 10:45 a.m. the chores were done, the cars were loaded and we were hugging each others' necks. The week had flown by. I was genuinely sad to have to say good-bye. Mom & Dad drove me to Daleville, VA. I restocked on groceries, though my food bag was already way too heavy. By this point in the trail, I should know better than to try to carry more than 4 days, 5 tops, worth of food. I had about 8-9 days worth. I would pay. I also ran next door to Outdoor Trails outfitters. I had some gear that needed repairing, and I hoped to find a watch. I accomplished both. In fact, I just needed a replacement part (nothing dire) for my platypus reservoir. They didn't have the part, but they gave me a whole new one. Thank you! I saw Beerdra, Oxy, Blacksquatch, Pony Bear & boyfriend (I still can't remember his name), Garden Girl, Fluffy, Breeze, Kokopelli & DeeDee in and around town. It made me feel like I was somehow behind. Mom & Dad took me back out to the trail, where they had picked me up off the road a week before. It felt so strange to have them drop me off and drive away. It made me so incredibly sad. I was tempted to ask them to keep me for the rest of the day and then drop me tomorrow. But I knew there was stuff that they wanted to see and do in the area, and my staying would have thrown a wrench in their plans. So I hugged them both. Mom and I cried like we always do. I missed them already. I climbed over the fence stile and took a photo of them standing by the rental car in the middle of the Virginia nowhere. They were watching me leave. I wanted to run back to them, but instead I stepped down from the fence stile, picked up my poles and watched them drive away. My heart felt heavier than my pack. I climbed the hot, grassy hill. Someone had mowed down the grass making a 4ft wide path to follow. The grass was already dried and had turned to hay. I was passed by Honey Badger and Blitz. They obviously didn't have 30lbs of food teetering on their backs. I saw the enormous Keiffer Oak. Wow! That's a lot of tree! I huffed and puffed and sweated my way up Sinking Creek Mountain. Sweet Jesus, I think there were only two switchbacks up the entire thing (seriously). Once on the ridge, it flattened for a bit. Large piles of stones, evenly spaced in a grid-type of pattern dotted the ridge for a couple of miles, maybe more. Dozens and dozens of piles, over 4-5 ft across and about 4ft high. Some piles were neatly stacked like large beehives, others were collasped and messy. I guess that someone needed to clear the land of rocks to make it arable, and once they collected them, they had nowhere to put them. So they stacked them. It was hot with a nice gentle breeze. Too bad I was lugging about so much food, or else I might have enjoyed myself more. The trail followed a sharp, slanted rocky outcrop. I had to lean hard towards the left, into the mountain, to stay erect. Occasionally, the trees would open up, and there were sweeping views across the valley to the sharp ridge across the way. I sat down on the rock face and admired the well-earned vista. The far ridge had curvy, tree covered ribs streaming from its sides at even intervals. I guess that our side would have looked the same to anyone over there. The blueberry bushes have tiny berries forming. The blackberries are blooming. The mountain laurels are popping open, as are the wild azaleas. Honeysuckles, fire pink, lady's slippers, plox, wild strawberries, some kind of fluffy pom-pom looking tree, Lily of the Valley (but on the mountain top), wild geraniums, just to name a few. There are still dozens and dozens that I don't recognize. The AT is a treasure trove of flora. The trail turned hard downhill for the last 2.7 miles. It was rocky and steep, more rock crawling than hiking. Big awkward steps made my knees whimper, more slanted rock faces to traverse, climb or scale. The trail passed the Eastern Continental Divide. The day's hike finished by passing through a crescendo of blooming laurel. I got to the Niday shelter and saw Mouse (I hadn't seen him since Erwin). He'd been a few minutes ahead of me arriving at the shelter, and he'd just seen a bear! Lucky dog! Red Specs was also here; as always, I was thrilled to see his happy face. I got to meet Tie-Dye. There were several other section hikers as well. I embarassed myself by pulling out my food bag, especially when I started pulling the food out. I have enough to feed the entire camp. By the time I fetched water, cooked, ate and cleaned up, it was well past dark. The gnats ate me alive. I had planned to hang a bear bag, but I couldn't stand being in the bugs for any other than absolutely necessary. I'd rather take my chances with the bears and the mice than face the gnats for another second! I put new batteries in my headlamp, and the bugs are trying like hell to get in the tent with me. Thank goodness for the netting and this awesome tent!