Date: 2003-04-04
From: Rich Mountain Fire Tower Side Trail Campsite

To: Little Laurel Shelter
Miles today: 11.3
Weather: overcast clouds

Today I felt much better than yesterday. I took out the Vasque insoles and used just the Sof Soles. The heel blisters didn't bother me much today, even though they are still there. Actually, I don't think any of my blisters are worse, and my feet didn't ache like yesterday. I really enjoyed sleeping in my tent last night. The weather was beautiful, and for a while I just looked up at the stars. I woke up about 1/2 hour later with my glasses on, and decided it was time to put them away and go to sleep.The trail was mostly downhill for the first 6 miles, and we stopped for a break just before 11am. We only had about 5 miles to go to the shelter, so decided to take it easy by the roadside. About the time we were packing up to move on, Lite Shoe got dropped off there to slack 8 miles back toward Hot Springs. She said "Good. Now I don't have to carry all this beer." Hotdog and I perked up and looked at each other, agreeing we could each carry at least one to the shelter for later. When we went to the car, Jan said "I don't really have beer, but I do have other Trail Magic. Do you want a Snickers, or raisens, or mini Reese's PB Cup?" The Reese's was good enough. Lite Shoe headed south, and we headed north, before noon. The sun came out, the trail went up, and we just kept hiking. Water sources weren't to be found, and we, for the second day in a row, thought we were somewhere we weren't. We were expecting to cross a road after about 3 miles, and it just wasn't happening in the time we thought it would. FINALLY I sat down, took my pack off and waited for Hotdog. He shared some water with me, so I could make it to the shelter, and we relaxed for a bit. He looked at the map, and realized we had crossed the road about 1.5 miles out, and were probably within a mile of the shelter. That gave us a little spark, and we started climbing the next hill. At the top, I said "Holy shit! There's the shelter." We had stopped about 100 yards from it. So, done for the day at 2pm, and just hanging out at the shelter. I try not to eat before 5pm, but it's hard to wait. I also try not to get in my sleeping bag until 7pm, and that's getting easier with the days getting longer. I usually read and journal and crash before 8:30. No wonder I keep waking up at 6:25am! Actually, now I'm waking up around 6am.I saw a critter today, but I don't know what it was. I was going uphill on the side of a mountain. The trail was straight for about 20 yards, then curved to the left. As I glanced up toward the curve, a critter came around the corner and immediately stopped. I stopped too. I stared at the thing for about 30 seconds and it didn't move. I thought maybe it was just my imagination, but then it turned around quickly and went back up the hill around the corner. I walked up a little bit, then stopped, listening, but didn't hear anything. I waited for Hotdog, told him about it and we continued up the trail. My first thought was that it was a bear cub, and I was afraid of Mama Bear. As it turned away, it looked shorter and longer than a bear cub, but it was brown and fuzzy, from what I could tell. I couldn't tell if it had a long tail or not. It also seemed to have short legs, as it scurried away rather than walk or run. I'd like to know what it was. I'll probably never! know.Ever since leaving Hot Springs, I'm anxious to get to Erwin. My parents are meeting me there, and it will be good to see them! I'm also looking forward to real meals, and it's only 2 days out of the last town!! Because we figured on 7 days of hiking, but didn't want to carry a lot of weight, I skimped some on food. I didn't bring any tuna or chicken to throw in with dinner, and brought less snacks. I think by the time I get to Erwin, I'll be ready to chow down bigtime!!