Date: 2017-06-22
From: BRP 97/Taylor Mountain Overlook

To: Bryant Ridge Shelter 
Miles today: 17.7
Weather: broken clouds

Day 51Thursday, June 22, 2017 BRP 97/Taylor Mountain Overlook (742.1) to Bryant Ridge Shelter (759.8)Miles: 17.7 miles in 10 hours with two breaks 2017 AT trip miles: 759.8Total AT miles to date: 2049.3Weather: Diffused clouds from tropical storm Cindy, humid, high 70s-80sDinner: Lime-Curry CouscousHikers: Road Warrior, Blue Hat, Sluggard, another half dozen staying at the shelter, plus an obnoxious young tramily who blew into the shelter for dinner, then thankfully headed out to do another seven milesWildlife: Deer, lizardsTurns out yesterday¢s red-briefed hiker was not Space Ghost after all, since he was sitting at a table this morning. His mom had sent him a care package that included a copy of Madison¢s Isthmus newspaper. He filled me in on the concert schedule he'll be missing. Then we observed that the Howard Johnson¢s complimentary breakfast buffet used an entirely obscene amount of styrofoam¢from the coffee cups to the plates to the cereal bowls. I probably generated more trash at one meal than I have all week on the trail. The shuttle deposited another slack packer, Road Warrior, and I back on the trail off of the Blue Ridge Parkway¢he another two miles ahead of where I had started yesterday. Most of the morning, the trail paralleled the parkway, reminding me of Skyline Drive in Shenandoah. I caught up to Road Warrior about five miles in and he said he was already having a rough day. My goal was to only do 13.9 miles to a swimming hole/camping area, but when I arrived, there was an uncommunicative guy who I could smell at fifty paces, with all his gear spread out preventing me from reaching the swimming hole. The ¢hole¢ had been created by stacked rocks to hold back water near a slightly graffiti-decorated bridge. I decided I didn't need a swim after all. And the camping was right by a road. It was still early, so I pushed on to the next shelter four miles further. The weather report this morning suggested Tropical Storm Cindy might dropped some rain overnight, and the guidebook indicated the shelter was a big one--holding up to 20 people.The gnats and no-see-ums are beginning to be more noticeable, but I still have yet to resort to spray. Instead, I'm festooned with Sassafras leaves, which reportedly repels insects. Thus far the whining hasn't ceased and I look like Julius Caesar. There are lots of blueberries and they are very much ripe right now. How come I've never heard about Virginia blueberries before?About three miles in, I was passed by incommunicado guy, with packages of ramen noodles spilling from the plastic bag hanging from his pack. He stopped to pick up the errant items and kept moving without fixing anything. He was sitting at the shelter picnic table when I arrived, his food now spread out all over the table. As of 9:30 p.m., with dusk settling and amidst dancing fireflies, he still sits and has yet talked to no one but himself. He chain smokes and coughs and at one point he had three lit cigarettes resting on the picnic table. I initially  though it might be to ward off biting insects, but I don't think he is actually thinking that lucidly. I'd be more concerned if I was here alone, but there are a dozen of us in the shelter and/or camping nearby. The other shelter occupants have been speculating that he is either tripping on something or possibly has Tourette's. I'm also on the top floor of one of the most awesome shelter to date. Timber frame, post and beam construction erected without nails and with offering different seating and cooking arrangements and platforms, The loft area, accessible only by rungs (which, incidentally, I don't think the chain smoking tripper can easily navigate, especially with three other guys below it) is open air. I do so hope it rains tonight. If this wasn't such a nice shelter¢and large¢it can hold at least 20 people¢I'd opt to sleep in my tent. One of the disadvantages, besides stinky people¢is the arrival of the night hikers. A group of six loud ones arrived around 7 p.m., heralded by heavy metal music blaring from one guy's speaker as he took a ¢short cut¢ up a hill instead of using the steps. He decided they would be hiking another seven miles yet tonight. For many hikers, particularly the younger ones, hiking appears to be a group experience despite having first arrived on the trail alone. Over time, some start forming groups and collectively become a pack, and in tonight¢s preview, an obnoxious pack. God created earphones for a reason. It makes me wonder how hiking with  group dynamics gels with someone who might not want to hike the distance that the charismatic leader decides, but doesn't want to be left behind. But. Not my problem.Anyhow, I was fine with their decision to push on. Spent the evening talking about upstate New York with Blue Hat,  a woman section hiking who is a little older than me and is sharing the loft. And who doesn't hike with heavy metal blasting¢at least that I know of.