Date: 2012-06-01
From: Sarver Hollow Shelter

To: Pickle Branch Shelter
Miles today: 16.1
Weather: light rain

I made a fabulous cup of coffee this morning. Jumanji's tips have really elevated my game out here. The girls left early and I once again took my time to enjoy the morning. I really enjoy this freedom to meander about and appreciate their ability to take care of themselves. I do miss hiking with them though. I got moving after talking with the Butterworth gang for a bit. I had met them way back in a shelter in the Smokies during a terrible hail storm. I wasn't feeling too social that day and didn't really connect with them then but I did remember their positive attitudes and support for each other. They are hiking a very different hike than me. They are hiking in honor of their buddy Charlie, who would loved an adventure like this. I took that as a gentle reminder that one of your greatest investments is in the people you share yourself with. I finally got to hiking up the hill I had just come down the night before. Once back on top of the ridge, I met up with Highgear, Johnny Walker Red, Semplesee, Merf, and a hiker whom I haven't met yet. We got to hiking fast. Really fast. We passed the Eastern Continental Divide Trail complete with signage! I met up with the girls at Niday Shelter. We ate cheese and crackers for lunch, filtered some extremely silty water from down the steep hill, and mingled with Gypsy Jean and her daughter Mana. Everything outside was wet and they lucked out with some dry space in the shelter. I hiked on ahead of the girls after lunch and met Jim Butterworth (Charlie's father) driving around trying to find the trail. He was meeting up with the hikers I had seen this morning. I talked with him for quite some time by the roadside and was able to relay the probable arrival of son's companions. Eventually, PMo and Jumanji hiked through. I let them pass by and washed my face in the nearby stream. In doing so, I slipped off the rock I was crouched upon and fell right into the water. Hilarious. You just can't undo a thing like that and laughing really is the only way I know how to handle such a situation. I took that as my cue to slosh on down the trail. Semplesee caught me at that moment and we hiked together up the big hill, named Brush Mountain, in front of us. It just kept going up. We eventually caught up with PMo and Jumanji and the four of us cruised up the rest of this hill. It had been overcast all day and as soon as we reached the ridge, like clockwork, the first bolt of lightning struck the ground. The sky then promptly opened up with cold rain. We shared a bag of Skittles in the rain near a bench at the top and hiked without poles in the downpour along a wide, grassy fireroad. The lightning was a few miles off so we took a side trail to the Audie Murphy monument and stood in the rain, admiring the massive collection of stones. As we were headed back down the mountain, we noticed that a fire had ripped through here in the past few years. Very little survived. The sun was just starting to come out and I was getting some hot spots so I stopped to change socks. I wrang the old ones out and deliberated just putting them back on. But my feet needed some extra love today so I got the dry pair out of my pack while the girls discussed the finer points of flour tortillas. There is something oddly wonderful about a processed flour tortilla that I just can't explain. It must be my gluten addiction, you dang new age hippies. We got to walking again and then we saw the next big hill we had to climb. The last few days have just seemed to be all up and down. Surprisingly, the trail went AROUND the mountain. I KNOW! It is the only time it has happened so far on this whole trip. We finally got to Pickle Branch Shelter. Everything was pretty soggy, the sun was going down, and there was a chill in the air; damp air was just sitting deep in this little valley. It all felt very grey. Hot Wheels, Lucky 10, Wifflechicken, TBD were hanging around the shelter. Wifflechicken was the only color in the whole place. He was bright oranges and reds, just glowing with positive vibes. I decided to filter some water down at the base of the valley where the stream flowed through and back-flush my filter. Jumanji and I took PMo's water jug too and she went back to find us a campsite in the dark. Semplesee came down the hill and joined us while we tried to catch minnows in our water bottles. He caught one of us, not pointing any fingers here, was singing, Woomp There It Is. He seemed amused by this and very frankly asked us if, earlier in the day, one of us made reference to some lyrics in an obscure 90's hip hop song he couldn't remember the name to. The answer to this was yes. Because one of us, might have had five on it. He then quickly scooped up a liter of water, and exclaimed with satisfaction, "Got one!" I was shocked because I believed that he actually caught one of the minnows. The joker.   Way up the hill, PMo found us a terrible set of trees. There was just no way we were all going to be dry under my one rainfly tonight in this setup. I was kinda annoyed, tired, hungry. It was dark. There really wasn't much else to find there without a lot of effort. And there were these giant spiders crawling on everything. They were harmless but annoying. She could tell I was in a bad mood. I went to fixing up the guy lines and re-routed my hammock a little, adjusting the hang. In the process, I decided to change my mood too. What's so bad about this situation, really? Not that friggen much. I had expectations, they weren't met, but it doesn't change the fundamentals. I am camping with great friends. I am in the woods. I am hiking the AT. That list could go on for a long time.. I returned to the group to finish cooking. But I was better, and PMo noticed it. And commented on it. Her kind words mean a lot to me. She doesn't know it but she is sorta my hero. After the culinary disaster that was Chili Thai pasta for dinner came some delicious banana cream pie pudding dessert. OhhhYeah! We hung our bear bags in the cold night air and watched the spiders crawl over all of the bug netting while the rain drizzled more off than on.