Date: 2010-04-18
From: Standing Bear Farm Hostel 

To: Max Patch 
Miles today: 14.1

After breakfast with coffee at the hostel, we got on the trail around 0900. First up, a 5 mile ascent, to eventually reach the summit of Snowbird Mountain. The last time I made that climb it felt very difficult, as I had no energy. It was still work today, but I felt strong, and really didn't mind it. Today's weather was sunny, but cooler; we hiked in long sleeves much of the day. Bugs were minimal. We stopped for lunch after about 7 miles, at the Groundhog Creek Shelter. I massaged my feet a bit, as they were starting to ache. The afternoon hiking had some ascents, and descents. My energy level was a little low, or maybe just lower than it was this morning. My biggest difficulty was sore feet. I hope they continue to get conditioned. Right now achy feet are my biggest stumbling block to consistently doing higher mileage days. Just beyond the summit of Max Patch, a bald with spectacular views, there is nice camping near a stream. We thought we would head there for the night. But, as we approached the summit, a couple of hikers began waving at us from a distance. Magnet said one of them looked like Superman, a hiker we thought was at least a day ahead of us. As we got closer we found it was Superman, along with City Slicker, Sockeye, Grizzly, and at least 10 other people. There was a group of former thru hikers doing trail magic on the summit. They had brought up a small grill for hotdogs, lots of fresh fruit, jugs of water, and cans of soda and beer. There were only 2 hotdogs left when we arrived, so we each had one, followed by apples. This was cool. Trail magic is always very appreciated, and we had just been saying earlier today that we should get some apples when we get to the next town. The providers of the trail magic were packing up, and hiking back down to their cars. We gratefully accepted all the produce they brought. This left a large group of thru hikers lounging about in the late day sunshine. Although it was sunny, it was also windy, and rather chilly. Magnet and I pulled on long pants and down jackets and were much more comfortable. As a matter of fact, Magnet was so comfortable that he took a brief nap. The general consensus of the gathered hikers, was to camp on the summit, thereby enjoying the sunset, starry night, and tomorrow's sunrise. I suggested moving down off the summit just a bit, to get out of the direct wind. Others thought this might be a good idea, too. After a while, since no one else was moving, Magnet and I set off to find a suitable place to pitch our tent. Just 0.1 mile below the summit it was less windy and there was plenty of room to pitch tents. Soon we were followed by everyone else. I think there are 11 or 12 tents gathered here tonight, along with one hiker cowboy camping, which means he is sleeping in his sleeping bag under the stars. As the sun began to sink below the distant mountain peaks, everyone climbed back toward the summit to watch the sunset and take pictures. It was absolutely beautiful. The pictures may be nice, but will never do justice to the actual event. Magnet and I cooked up some oatmeal in the twilight, which worked well as a hot meal for what promises to be a chilly night. But we have warn sleeping bags, and one another's body heat, and I'm happy with that. Be Well, Rock Star