Date: 2014-05-21
From: Jenny Knob Shelter

To: Doc's Knob Shelter
Miles today: 23.6
Weather: overcast clouds

Apparently I made the right decision to sleep in my tent last night, but for the wrong reason. Thor the Red, who slept in the shelter, was attacked by bugs all night, while I dodged that bullet. One of the things I'm dreading, as we make our way farther north and the summer closes in, is those pesky insects, particularly mosquitos, that drive thru-hikers nuts, according to many of the AT books I've read.Speaking of wildlife, I've encountered less of it than I expected so far. I saw a deer for the first time in the Smokies when it walked right into the clearing by the shelter and began to graze. In the last couple of weeks, I've seen another dozen or so. I came across one snake on the trail, which got my adrenalin going until I was able to ascertain that it didn't have the diamond-shaped head of the poisonous variety. Two notes were left on the trail just north of the Smokies about recent poisonous snake sightings: one for a rattlesnake and the other for a copperhead. I expect to see a few rattlers myself in Pennsylvania, where they're prevalent and like to sun themselves on the rocks that PA is famous for. I have yet to see a bear, though a tenter last night said this morning he heard one prowling around the camp sight last night. (Could it actually have been me he heard when I got out of my tent to take a leak?) There was also a report of a bear that had its way with a thru-hiker's food bag, ripping it to shreds and eating its contents. This occurred at a shelter I'd stayed at a night or two before. Further north, I expect I might encounter moose and porcupines.I'm ready to declare victory with my new Brooks Cascadia trail runners. Since picking them up at the post office my first time through Damascus, my feet have been feeling great: no blisters and very little soreness. I think it's also helped that I started smearing a bit of petroleum jelly on my toes and heels each morning.My appetite is now off the charts. I've taken to eating one or two candy bars just before dinner so I'll feel full after eating, for example, a Mountain House meal meant to feed two people. For breakfast, I'm up to four packets of instant oatmeal plus a couple of pop tarts. This morning, after leaving the shelter at 7:30, we stopped six miles down the trail at Trent's Grocery for a 10:00 am lunch of bacon cheeseburgers and fries. And the result of all this gluttony? When I last weighed myself a week ago, I'd lost another five pounds and was down to my high school weight of 190.Dismal Falls has to be the most egregious misnomer on the AT. Fortunately, the sign at the side trail leading to it has some alterations clarifying that it is in fact a fabulous spot with an awesome pool for swimming. I made the trip and was not disappointed, taking a dip in the refreshingly cold water and washing some of my clothes that had begun to reek, as it's been 10 days since I last did laundry.We did an unexpectedly long day today, due in part to the successful side trips to Trent's Grocery and Dismal Falls, plus the unsuccessful one to Woods Hole Hostel, a must-see attraction on the AT, according to everyone we've talked to. By the time we got there at 6:00 pm, after having walked 21 trail miles and 23 in total, all the bunks were taken, and the few remaining tenting spots were on a steep slope that would have made for a miserable night. So Thor the Red and I walked another three miles to Doc's Knob Shelter, which had exactly two spaces remaining.It's hard to believe I'm now in my 7th week on the trail. Just after leaving the shelter this morning, we passed the official 600-mile mark, where a set of sticks had been laid out on the ground to form that number. And on Monday I started in on AT-7 of my 22-map set. The days just keep rolling by, and I'm now very much accustomed to my new lifestyle. I found it disconcerting yesterday to exit the woods and cross over I-71, with all its traffic and noise. And I've had several conversations recently, including last night with my wife, Tor, about the period of readjustment I'll have to go through when I eventually get off the AT.