Date: 2017-06-02
From: Vango/Abby Memorial Hostel

To: Pond Flat Campsite
Miles today: 17.8

Day 31Friday, June 2, 2017 Vango/Abby Memorial Hostel (405.9) to Pond Flats Campsite (423.7)Miles: 17.8 in 10 hours with one break2017 AT trip miles: 423.7Total AT miles to date: 1717Weather: Sunny, warm, 70sDinner: Mushroom sundried tomato orzo pastaHikers: Pepper, a blue-eyed black and white border collie mix and her owner, Ben, Coach, two extremely-burdened camo-d©cor men (never a good sign when you get asked ¢how much farther to the top?¢) and dozens of visitors to the Laurel Falls areaWildlife: DeerWell today didn't go completely as originally imagined. Basically I hadn't planned on doing almost eighteen miles. Popsicle and I stayed up talking well past 10 p.m. last night while Scott, the hostel owner played on. Thinking I had less than fifteen miles to do today, I slept in a bit and didn't get going until just past 8:30 a.m. Passed three people early in the day, all section hikers, I had seen yesterday at the end of the day. One of the nice things about yesterday and most of today is that the trail skirts the mountains vs. going up and down every summit. Oftentimes you're looking ahead and just know that the trail is going to lead you over that next peak. But this section has been relatively summit-free. The guidebook map lines are straighter. The only exception was the single perky breast topography, a 3-mile climb after Laurel Falls. But I wasn't going to tackle that until first thing tomorrow en route to the next hostel stay. Or so I thought. Besides straight lines and only the basic information about what is immediately near those lines, like towns, everything appears to be more or less the same. I was therefore surprised, however, when I reached a parking lot where many cars were parked. Okay¢¦there are other trail heads nearby. I started toward Laurel Falls and the next shelter, another .7 miles beyond. The trail followed a river, threaded through rocky cliffs, descended over many stone stairs, and then, then there was the massive 40¢? 80¢? falls¢and a whole slew of people, many of whom were swimming in the pool below the falls. People with dogs, people who left behind water bottles and orange peels and the ever ubiquitous toilet paper (as if that goes away).  After only seeing a few people each day, this equated to culture shock. The trail toward the shelter was well-traveled. This didn't bode well¢especially on a Friday night. Maybe my subconscious just didn't see the shelter sign, but before I realized it, I was another half mile down the trail. The next official campsite was another three miles away¢all uphill. Well that would definitely weed out the day hikers. At 5:15, I began my last climb of the day. By 7 p.m. I was home for the night¢and I got my wish, sort of. There was no one around. And I surpassed my 1700 mile mark by 17 miles today.I was so tired, however, that I didn't write this post until the next day, sitting on the deck of my tiny house bunk house at the hostel. Although, with no one around, I did manage to rinse off the sweat with a little outdoor Nalgene bottle shower. A few miscellaneous notes and observations: - I'm still swearing by the effects of taking Glucosamine. I have yet to experience the same pain that developed last year. Knees are popping. Feet feel good, although sometimes I get a ¢Restless Leg¢ kind of reaction at night. Nothing hurts per se, but it's like I can't get them comfortable as I'm drifting off to sleep.- Haven't seen as many snakes as I expected after all the rain and cold temps, but I occasionally hit pockets of a musty scent and wonder if I'm smelling something reptilian. On the other hand, sometimes I wonder if I smelling dank fur. But I just keep clicking the trekking poles along.- I definitely do not care for Rhododendrons. Another reason I was receptive to adding a 3-mile climb was because it meant I would be camping amidst oaks or pines. The Laurel Fork Shelter and any of the campsites located along the river were all in the Rhododendrons¢and thus damper. Like smells, I pick up on temperature changes. When you are descending into the gaps you can feel the difference¢sometimes in little pockets, other times the shift is uniform.