Date: 2008-10-06
From: Lambert's Meadow Shelter

To: Daleville
Miles today: 9.4
Weather: clear sky

Today I go to a town and tomorrow is a zero day. (A day of rest with zero miles walked.) I am REALLY looking forward to that zero! 12 days of hiking is a long time.I started out the day thinking only of the end and the day just hiking to get to town. The trail gave me much more.At first the trail was nice and easy, ambling along a ridge with some very nice views over the valley. That was lovely.Animal sightings were the highlight of the day. I saw a couple deer, squirrels and some tiny black lizards that looked like babies of the ubiquitous black lizards in So Cal on the PCT this last spring. I also saw another turtle.And then I saw 2 BEARS! For all my hiking and camping in bear country in Washington and Colorao I have seen zero bears while hiking in those states and only one in Yosemite on the PCT. But a few miles outside of Daleville I saw 2.They were not cubs, but juveniles, not to big. They did not see me at first. In fact one was headed right toward me. I could have had a smashing picture but I was a little alarmed at the speed with which he was approaching me so I waved my hiking poles at him and told him to go somewhere else. He finally saw me when I waved my poles, gave me one really goood look and scampered off up the hill along with the other one. I never did see mama bear although I did hear some crashing around in the bushes which might have been a third bear, maybe mama. It was great fun to see them.Not too far down the trail after seeing the bears I met Rocky and Swamp Fox, long time AT and other trail hikers. At 69 Swamp Fox is the first hiker I have met this year who is older than me. We chatted so long on the trail that I sat down to chat. They live in New Hampshire and gave me their card and promised help when I get up there if they are not out hiking somewhere. Swamp Fox is hiking on a new knee. His Docs told him not to do too much and wear it out too fast. At the same time they asked for his picture to put on their web site when he did the John Muir Trail including Mt. Whitney last year.I also met Twichy, another long section hiker who is a theology professor in Bangor Maine, and Josh and Jeff, section hikers, and Kat, a young woman flip flop hiker. (She started at Daleville and hiked north to the end of the trail at Katahdin in Maine and then flip flopped back to Daleville and was just starting south now to walk to Springer Mountain, the start of the trail in Georgia.) There were also a couple day hikers out today.I actually got to highway 220 on time, and shortly afterwards Mike (Sugar Daddy) picked me up. Mike is a 20 something hiker who has done the AT and I met on a pass in the Sierra last year. He gave me his name and phone number then and offered support in Virginia when I got there. I took him up on his offer and will be staying in his house 2 nights.Mike took me to a store to resupply for the next couple of days and I have one new battery (all they had of that size) and food for the next couple days until my food drop. Then we went to his home, I got showered (heaven!) and my clothes cleaned and he and his roommate Wyat fixed a great dinner which I devoured.Tonight I sleep on a soft couch and tomorrow I plan to do very little.