Date: 2003-06-18
From: War Spur Shelter

To: Keffer Oak
Miles today: 9.4

Date: June 18Starting Location: War Spur ShelterDestination: Keffer OakMileage: 9.4 Well, it was a day of ups and downs. Oh, and we climbed some mountains, too. ;) The morning found us waking early to hit the trail. Since I am having such a hard time making the miles, we decided to try and be early risers and see if that would help! The great thing is that we actually woke up to see this strange yellow glow from the sky. What is that orange ball?! The sun?!?!Yay!    That started the day off well, but it went downhill from there. We literally put on our packs, walked about 30 feet, and had to cross a creek on a pair of logs. I hate this...I really do. I am scared of heights, I am clumsy, and my balance stinks.....these are bad qualities for a thru hiker when it comes to stream crossings! Well, I made it across without incident, but it took forever and by the time I got over itI was no longer in a good mood.   Then there was the climb....1400 feet, thank you very much! I did great for the first half. I felt good, I was keeping a pretty good pace, and I wasn't stopping too much. The second half was another matter entirely! By the time I had hiked 5 miles, I was thoughorly depressed. Each time I thought I was making good time, it would turn out I was nowhere near where I thought I would be. I stumbled into the Laurel Creek Shelter for lunch trying to put on a nice face for Bumpkin and Pirate, who had been sitting there for an hour.   It wasn't long after that a couple joined us and began discussing their 25, 29, 32 mile days. How are these people doing this?!?!! It is enough to make a girl feel totally inadequate!   After lunch, Bumpkin and I hiked together for the rest of the day. As we hiked, she reassured me that she wasn't frustrated about my speed, and that I should feel ok about my progress, so I lightened up a little bit. This part of the day was really beautiful with pine trees towering over the trail and pine straw softening the path. Late in the afternoon, we came to a stile and entered a series of cow pastures. I feel about stiles the same way I feel about stream crossings! And we crossed six of them!!! On one of them I froze at the top cause it was reallyhigh, and on another one, my shoe got caught on the barbed wire, making me think for a second that I would be there forever! But, all in all, I crossed them unscathed.   The cow pastures themselves were beautiful! Rolling hills with waist high wild flowers....I have never seen so many daisys in my life! Yep, they were beautiful til we came to the last pasture. A South bound hiker had warned us that it was thigh deep in mud, and .....other stuff. Luckily, if I can use that word, it was only ankle deep. Blechhhh! I had fallen into the last creek, so my boots were already wet, but now they are encrusted with yucky stuff!! And needless to say, I am not wearing these socks again til they see the inside of a washing machine!!!Well, I thought I couldn't possibly smell worse, but I was wrong! :)   As we left the cow fields, the sky began to darken and thunder began to roll. Even though we are 3 miles short of our daily goal, we began to look for a site quickly! It was already 7:00 and I was exhausted, so as far as I was concerned, the thunder storm had great timing! We rushed to set up a stealth camp (a camp site not necessarily meant for camping!), and dove into our tents as the rain began to pelt down. I was in my tent trying to dry everything off and putting on warm clothes when Bumpkin appeared at my tent door crying, "Room Service"! My tent has no vestibule to speak of and hers has a huge one, so she cooked me dinner! Isn't she wonderful! And let me tell you, things are different out here. We all carry exactly the food, water and fuel we need....no more, no less. For her to go to that kind of trouble for me really says something about the kind of person she is. I am so lucky to have her as a partner.   Well, once again, I am laying in my tent listening to the rain. I am warm, fairly dry, and on my way to being content. Here is hoping that tomorrow is a little easier! :)   One final logistical note....several of you have asked about my mail drop list. It is pretty much back to normal, albiet a little behind. My next drop is Waynesboro, Va. I hope all is well with all of you! :) Love, Anna aka Mud Butt------------------------------Local access to PocketMail mobilee-mail now available in Europe, NorthAmerica & Australia http://www.pocketmail.com