Date: 2010-05-10
From: VA624/Catawba, VA/The Homeplace

To: Lamberts Meadow Shelter
Miles today: 16.3
Weather: clear sky

Today was a downright wonderful day! Braids and I had fun and great conversations hiking together all day. We passed the 700 mile mark. We got to go to McAfee Knob, one of the iconic places I was most excited about visiting. As if all this wasn't enough, we ended the day with a shelter full of fun people and S'MORES!We woke up to the cold after a surprisingly great night's sleep in the gazebo at The Homeplace. We headed down to the Catawba General Store for a great breakfast (I got a BLT with egg, a Diet Coke, and a huge piece of sweet cornbread for $4.40!). Afterwards, we went to the post office for Braids' package and headed back to pack up. We were ready to go by 9:15 or so and headed across the street to hitch. The traffic heading the direction we needed was really light but before too long a nice man in a Prius stopped to pick us up. We were back on the trail by 9:30.The hiking was great this morning. After a few hours we had crossed 311 and were 3.7 miles from McAfee Knob. I knew very little about McAfee Knob, but for years have seen classic picture after picture of thru-hikers on the unmistakable rock precipice with their feet hanging over the edge. Strange as it sounds, making it here was a much bigger thru-hike milestone to me than hitting 700 miles, which we did just before the Knob.We enjoyed running into quite a few dayhikers out enjoying themselves, one of whom said she reads my journal when I told her my trail name (SO COOL!). McAfee Knob was absolutely spectacular! We enjoyed a shoeless lunch there and then did our big fun photoshoot. Thanks to Nate Dog for taking some for us! Best of all, we hit it in perfect weather. So lucky! Soon, it was time to go, but our scenery for the day definitely wasn't over. The half mile cliff walk along Tinker Cliffs was awe-inspiring! Braids and I both agreed that an eventual return trip to watch the sunrise is in order.We got to the shelter to see Nate Dog, Walking Man, Grace and Glory, Hopi (who we've both heard about and read about in shelter logs, but hadn't met), Gar, and Steve. It was a really fun group, and the night was especially great since we had packed in a bag of marshmallows, a box of graham crackers, and several Hersey bars. We polished all but some of the graham crackers off quite nicely.Oh my!!! The most hilarious thing just happened! I'm sitting next to the smoldering remnants of the fire journaling, as most others have gone to bed. Not realizing how hot the fire still was, I was resting my Crocs (made of plastic/rubber, mind you) on the edge of the fire ring. I started to feel a little warmnth under my toes and turned them over to find that I have melted the front several inches of the sole of both Crocs! I poured water on them to cool them down, and then sat here for a few trying on focus on giggling internally rather than waking up the shelter. This will get quite a few laughs in the morning, though! Best of all, I doubt I even need new Crocs. I think they just have a different texture than before. What a hilarious end to a fabulous day! Gotta love life on the AT!Postscript, May 10, 2011: This was a really fun entry to reread! It was such a delightful day. I had completely forgotten about melting my Crocs. Those camp shoes lasted me all the way to Katahdin and are still in my closet as we speak. Braids and I are heading up to Trail Days this Friday and then up to northern Virginia to drop her off where she left off this summer. We discovered yesterday that our route on Sunday will take us within 10 miles of Catawba, so we're tenatively planning on a lunch stop at The Homeplace. Hurray! Can't wait to see trail friends this weekend!