Date: 2015-04-02
From: USFS 89, near Whitetop Rd.

To: near side trail to USFS hurricane creek campground
Miles today: 26.0

I awoke to the dawning glow of sunlight. I was sure that I had slept late.... I got that panicky feel in my guy. A quick look at the dusty and dirty Ironman watch hanging from my backpack told a different story. It was much, much earlier.It was cold this morning, but nothing at all like earlier days. I followed my usual morning routine of packing and headed out on the trail for the day. I was pleased at the availability of water throughout the day. It once again helped to lessen the weight on my injury. The trail's grade also helped with my injury. What did not help so much was the classic angled rocks that required constant hopping and balance that can strain things quickly.Today, I would walk through a place known as the Grayson Highlands. It is a scenic place that is much like a rocky, grassy bald (or maybe it is considered a Bald, not sure). The rocky outcroppings were quite interesting. One tight rock fissure that the trail went through was called Fatman Squeeze. My sleeping pad narrowly fit as it scraped and dragged against the rock walls.The Parks Dept released a bunch of feral horses in the 1960's to maintain some of the vegetation, especially invasive species. The horses are interesting to look at as they are very shaggy and unkept. They are also fairly small. I did not expect to see so many of them...There were several folks out enjoying the day. I spoke with a couple of guys who were volunteering to introduce high schoolers to backpacking. They were from Boone, NC. Nice guys.Along the way, there appeared clothing hanging on periodic branches and rocks. A nice hat here, a nice scarf there, a pair of new hiking socks next.   In the previous states, it was pretty common for people to ditch clothes along the trail, especially if they were heavy. Hang them up and walk away.This was different. Very different, in a wonderful way. Upon closer inspection, each article had a handwritten card with a message tied to the item with a ribbon. They were messages of encouragement and offerings to help the thru hikers stay warm. It was really, really kind of some people!!!! I kept reading the cards.. They were all so unique and personal. So nice. (My favorite signed the card, "Nanu Nanu!". The classic greeting from the Mork and Mindy TV show.As I proceeded through the day, I tried so hard to be nice to my knee/thigh. It didn't do too bad. It got stiff and a little sore, but (so far) not too bad. I did have me calf cramp up on the same leg today. maybe I am not getting enough electrolytes or sodium... Or maybe it was me favoring my leg or changing my hair? Hmm, I dunno. Will be working on figuring that out.After grabbing dinner water, I headed down the trail hoping to find a quick camp spot. Did I find one?? Of course not. The trail went down the side of a mountain for miles. It was all off-camber with not a flat place anywhere. I ended up doing an extra 4 miles to find a makeshift camp.The clouds concentrated and got darker. I quickly tried to set up camp. A rock that I was using to throw over a limb (to carry my bear rope with it) hit a branch a weird way, bounced off another branch, and landed way away....in the top of my tarp.About 3 x 3 inch tear that formed an "L". Dang. That is a bummer. This was a very expensive tarp. I don't know if the maker can even repair this material.The error took three parts- me deviating from my standard order of set up (bear rope should be up first!), me throwing and randomly hitting other branches, and me not grabbing the end of the bear line in time.I took my repair kit out and searched through its contents. 3M repair tape. I taped it on both sides and in about 10 minutes it started raining. The tape appeared to hold for now. How devastating. I love this tarp and it was only a few months old.... Oh well. The good news is that this 3M tape seems to be awesome... I'll give it a good field test!!It is quickly getting dark and I still need to decide on a resupply strategy. There are three towns that are options for resupplying, but none that stand out. We will decide tomorrow..Good night!!