Date: 2015-04-01
From: USFS 293

To: Dennis Cove Rd
Miles today: 11.1

Happy April Fools Day. No one will actually read this on April 1 since I can't get any cell service until tomorrow, at the earliest. And that's only if I can get service on a ridge and take the time to upload the text. But the thought is there. Today was the shortest hike we've done in a while, only 11.1 miles. It was very pretty and relatively easy. Breakfast at Mountain Harbour was just as good as ever. I've included one more pic in the photo gallery, with a description of the buffet. One more round of kudos to Mary, Shannon, David and Terry for treating us splendidly. But our stay is over and we're moving on. Mary drove us to USFS 293, and we headed north from there with our full packs. After 2 days of slack-packing, I could tell the difference in weight on the climbs. We have managed to whittle down our (full) backpack weights. Princess still has her ultralight ULA and I bought a Zpack 65 backpack that weighs just over a pound. My previous Osprey was around 4 pounds, so that's a big difference. And it's waterproof, so I don't need a pack cover (although my poncho covers my backpack). I've also cut back a lot on extra clothes, and we virtually never need more than a day's worth of food. So our backpacks are still heavier, but not nearly as heavy as they were last year. We really enjoyed the trail today. It was in great condition, dry with very little debris. A lot of variation in the terrain, rhodo groves, small streams, open forest, hillside contours, some rocks - but not bad, a very pleasant hike. We remembered the end of the hike: a small, abandoned structure at the edge of a pond with daffodils blooming all around. And we had a clear sky with very mild temps. We only saw one other hiker, Happy Feet, who had stopped for a phone call. And he passed us not long after. You might wonder what we think about when we hike for 6 or 8 hours almost every day. It varies a lot. My #1 rule is to focus on the trail. In a lot of places I have to concentrate on every step, one mis-step could be disastrous. Roots, rocks, leaves, mud, moss or slime on a rock, low hanging branches, gravel on a ledge, twists and turns in the trail, you name it. You have to pay attention, and you can't get in too big a hurry. But over and above all that, recently we've been counting the blazes along the trail. A key feature of the AT is that it's marked along the full length (almost) by white blazes. A splash of white paint approximately 2" wide by about 6" high. The majority are on trees, but they can be anywhere - on rocks, posts, guard rails, sidewalks, railings, bridge beams, overpass supports, etc. I have a pic of one painted on a privy (actually located ridiculously close to the trail). I've seen YouTube videos that are collections of quirky blaze locations. About a week ago we went through a section of trail that was just opened (a reroute), in fact the trail club volunteers were just blocking off the old section and opening the new section. We were almost the first hikers through. The lead volunteer encouraged us to take it and said that it was marked as required with a blaze every 1/4 mile. A couple of hours later, we were convinced that was not enough blazes, especially for a new section. Several times we were almost certain that we were off trail. So we started counting just to see what's typical. On today's hike we counted nearly a hundred blazes in the first hour - about 2 miles - but that's more than usual. On the remaining 9 miles we counted another 225. That's more typical. It depends a lot on the terrain, and how much the trail twists and turns. We've been counting for a couple of days and I think maybe 20 a mile is average. And remember that we're just counting the blazes in one direction. There are a similar number of blazes in the reverse direction (NoBo vs SoBo). In fact this is one technique to make sure you're still in trail. If you haven't seen a blaze in a while, just look backward for the reverse blazes. There are new blazes with fresh paint and old blazes that are almost indistinct. There are blazes on trees that have blown down and there are blazes on stumps. There are blazes that have been eaten away by lichens and blazes with cracks where the tree bark has split open. So this is one of the ways to absorb your mind while you're doing all this walking. But the message is that the trail club volunteers are working hard year after year to keep the trail well-marked. Whenever we see maintainers, we always stop, introduce ourselves and thank them for their time and efforts. Tonight we're in a cabin at the Black Bear Resort(?). It's spartan, but adequate. They have clean showers, we can do our laundry, and they have a hiker store. Unfortunately, I can't get cell service. We rewatched Shawshank Redemption this evening, not sure what we'll watch tomorrow.