Date: 2006-03-30
From: Painter Branch

To: Walnut Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 18.0
Weather: scattered clouds

3-30-06Painter Branch to Walnut Mountain Shelter18.0 milesThe birds sing, the bees buzz, and I walk.I get to see Shanae tomorrow! I get to see Shanae tomorrow! Repeat that about a million times in your head and you might come close to my thought pattern for while I was hiking today.7:15 or so was wake up time- all those twenty mile days must be taking a toll on me or something. Bugs was already up and had taken our food bags down. She and Tortoise were sitting on some logs eating breakfast while I contemplated getting out of my warm sleeping bag and stepping out into the cold campsite, which the sun hadn¢t yet graced with its presence. But eventually I did, and chomped down on some granola, packed up, and was off. Bugs, Da Bear, and Tortoise had already left, in that order, and Dumb and Dumber were still packing up.Glad to be on my way, I was soon disheartened by all the climbing I had to do. My legs were tired from the past four days and were protesting the whole morning. To further complicated matters, I had to go to the bathroom so bad and the next privy wasn't even for five miles, at Groundhog Creek Shelter. And those who are wondering why I didn't go in the woods, I say to them you go try shitting on a steep hillside and tell me how much you liked it.You can imagine my immense relief when I finally saw the shelter sign. Bugs was there (I had passed Bear and Tortoise), but I grabbed my toilet paper and headed as fast as I could for the privy. Ahhhhhh, sweet relief!I talked to Bugs for a bit and the Tortoise came along. She wanted to make it clear to us she wasn't buddies with Dumb and Dumber and she told us about how they were yellow blazing, or hitching rides to get farther up the trail. Anxious to get on, I said goodbye and took my leave.The day was hot and sunny and the mountains were steep. My mouth quickly became dry and I was going through water quickly. I started rationing it out because I knew the next source was miles away. So tired, hot, and thirsty, I wondered if this is what being stuck in a desert was like. All I could think about was water - cool, fresh flowing water. It was torture.I was saved, however. The first half of the day was completely forgotten in lieu of the second half. First, I encountered a large stream at the bottom of Max's Patch. Second, the climb up Max's Patch wasn't too difficult, and it was the tallest mountain in the area, totally bald, so on a clear sunny day like this one you could see all the mountains in all directions. One of my favorites on the trail so far. And third, the trail was either downhill or fairly level the rest of the way until Lemon Gap, which rested at the foot of Walnut Mountain, the last climb of the day.Sweating profusely, I hauled and pushed and there I was, at the top of Walnut Mountain. It was a desolate graveyard. Not a real one, but an area that had been clear cut of trees, and had not been cleared yet, so all the broken and twisted limbs, bodies, and trunks lay strewn all about. After hiking all day in pristine forest and then coming to this, I was appalled. It was unnerving just hiking through there. But on just the other side was the shelter, a cause of great joy at the end of a long day. Already there were Two Shoes, Alexander, Restless, and some other people whose names I don't know. I grabbed the last free space in the shelter, not wanting to pitch a tent.Last night's dinner had been so bad I couldn't even finish it, so I tried something different today. I whipped up some hummus and then pan-fried some tuna in olive oil and garlic powder. While I was cooking, Bugs walked in, much to my surprise. She originally said she was going to stay at the shelter before this one, but I was glad to see she had changed her mind. And my dinner was scrumptious!I went down to pump my water and when I came back to the shelter Alexander asked Bugs and I if we wanted to go see the sunset on the top of Walnut Mountain. I wouldn't even have thought to do that, but it seemed like a good idea. We all went up to the peak, not to far away, and watched the sun sliding through the clouds, changing from yellow, to orange, to red before finally slipping behind the mountains, all while talking about food and other items of interest. What a great way to end the day! 13 miles to Hot Springs!