Date: 2008-06-07
From: Blackrock Hut

To: Pinefield Hut
Miles today: 13.2

It was great sleeping without the rain-fly on last night. It was so much more airy and breathable. At some god-awful early hour of the morning though a bird starting chirping this horrendous song, non stop for what felt like hours. It was torture! We both lay awake, angry and unable to sleep. We found out later from the rest of the hikers that had all heard this bird too, that it was a whippoorwill. I have decided that I hate whippoorwills. The bird must have stopped at some point, because we eventually fell back to sleep and didn¢t get up until 8am. We were the last ones out of camp. We have a mil uphill to Blackrock which has an open, rocky summit and I¢m tempted to hike to the top of it before I think better of it. It is probably filled with snakes either in the rocks, or sunning themselves on top and I don¢t so much want to run into them. The sign says that Blackrock used to be cliffs, and at some point they just fell. The Trail runs right through the piles of rocks; above and below, just rocks. It is pretty neat. We Trail is really mellow, actually flat at times. The weather feels much cooler and it is way more comfortable to hike in. We go the 7 12 miles to Loft Mountain Campground. We are joined by Sunbeam, Sunkist, Kyanite, Brown Bag, Duncan, Zack, Barakas and Snackies. We all hang out under the one enormous shade tree out front the camp store. We get chips and sodas, the boots and socks come off and we just lay around and laugh. We got here at about noon, and as the day goes on it just gets hotter and hotter. After a while we get a ride to the little park restaurant just down the road. It¢s sort of fast food-ish, and expensive, but we don¢t have to make it with just water, so it¢s great! The Ranger Station is right near where we eat so Sunbeam and I go get our picture taken with the Rangers. We even made them put on their hats so they looked professional. We wait outside the restaurant for a ride back. It doesn¢t look too promising. But, there is a truck in the parking lot so we decide to just wait for the owners to come out. When they do, we barely give them a chance to say no as we all pile into the back of it. Along the way back to the camp store we see a mother deer with a new born fawn right in the middle of the road. They start to run away, in opposite directions and the fawns legs are so wobbly it looks like he¢s going to tumble over. Back at our shady spot we lounge around some more, waiting for the heat to pass. Brad spends a buck on a shower, but I don¢t even bother. It¢s hard to get moving again, but after our six hour lunch break, we finally hit the Trail again. We actually get some views of the Park - looking out at the mountains, valleys and Skyline Drive. It¢s hazy and hot, but very pretty. I¢m glad I didn¢t take a shower because after only 10 minutes of hiking I am already sweaty again. It¢s cooler out, but still pretty hot and very humid. We cross Ivy Creek and it feels wonderful to rinse my face with the cold water. We push on to Pinefield Hut and arrive just as it¢s getting dark. We set up the tent and eat dinner. The only part of taking hanging out mid-day that I don¢t really like is that we then have to cook/clean/set up camp in the dark. But, I¢m sure as the hot summer drags on we will perfect our system. As I lay in the tent, rain-fly off, I can hear deer wandering through the woods. Although we camped near the bear poles¢¦I really hope it¢s deer¢¦