Date: 2010-06-01
From: Hightop Hut

To: Bearfence Mountain Hut
Miles today: 12.4
Weather: scattered clouds

Yay for short days!First of all, I must touch on a very important thing I left out yesterday. I had the great pleasure of eating several wild strawberries on the side of the trail. Any wild ones I have tried before were tiny, dried out inside, and flavorless. (Editor's note: I have since learned that these are actually part of an entirely different plant, a weed called false strawberry or mock strawberry.) These, however, were much like the ones in my father's garden, but smaller. They were a little tart (but in a good way) and packed with flavor. They were delicious! it was a true highlight to my day!So, Back to today...Apparently I also left out that last night, after a couple of days ahead of me, Braids was also at Hightop Hut. It was so great to be back together! We also hiked together all day today, and it was awesome. She made an important decision yesterday. She was going to have to get off the trail at the halfway point or shortly thereafter. Due to some injury/health issues, however, she has decided to instead get a train home from Harpers Ferry. This is very sad, but also gave her some finality and peace with a decision with which she has wrestled for quite a while. It has also led us to plan out the remaining week on the trail to be as fun as possible.So, as I said, we hiked together all day and had a blast. We talked most of the time, and I know how much I am going to miss her after she goes home. We didn't see any bears today, but did see several deer (one here at the shelter just a few minutes ago). The day was filled with some yummy food- this morning, a couple on a touring motorcycle was pulled up to look at their map right where we took a break. They gave us each a Diet Pepsi and a crisp, fresh Gala apple. Thank you SO much! We also stopped at yet another campstore for lunch where I enjoyed a Bud Lite (sadly, no BL Lime this time) and a fantastic bag of dill pickle potato chips. So Fun!We hiked on the mile to Bearfence Mountain Hut for a break, as we intended to do 6 or so more miles and find a campsite. The decision took a very long time (my fault), but we eventually decided to just stay here. That means we have to do a 22, but we're both ready. =)This evening at the shelter has been fun, because unless someone hikes in late, we have only women in the entire shelter area for the first time (for any of us) since Springer. Oops, scratch that- here come some boys. Oh, well. =) (They are very nice boys tho!)I'm really looking forward to the day with the Tuthill Family (part of the amazing Big Sky Kids family). Yay!Postscript, June 1, 2011: "They are very nice boys tho," she says... Not so much! Ugh! They were so obnoxious! They were boys (to remain nameless) who I later learned were mostly okay by themselves, but together, and with the beer they had just purchased at the campstore, they were so incredibly inconsiderate. One got into his sleeping bag right next to me, while the others sat out by the fire they had just made (all this, mind you, after we were all just about ready to drift off to sleep right as they came in). This would be fine, except that the guy in the sleeping bag carried on a conversation just as though he were actually sitting by the fire, which of course required yelling in my ear. Clearly, I was so put off that it still irks me a full year later. Most people on the trail are wonderful, but like anywhere in life, there are always a handful of jerks. Regardless, the rest of the day was great!