Date: 2011-06-04
From: Pinefield Hut

To: Big Meadows Lodge
Miles today: 28.6

I slept in a bit longer than I would have liked since I missed hearing my alarm with ear plugs in. Still not a bad start though - 6:30 on the trail. The morning was as usual, nice and cool. My original plan was to stay at Bearfence Hut tonight, but since they have a man eater on the loose I will have to change my plans. My new goal was to make it to the big meadows wayside for dinner and find a stealth tent site nearby. Just half an hour into my morning I came across another one of these foolish, tame deers. I got about four feet from this one before it went frolicking off to my left. When doing so, the deer must have woken a large bear. The bear was also to my left, 30' ish off the path. It merely sat and watched me as I tried to get a few crappy photos. This didn't last long. The bear grew tired of our interaction and plopped back down out of view. On to the next one. I arrived at the next shelter before 10:00 am for some water. There happened to be a posse of Germans still faffing aroung camp. I have already done eight miles at this point; clearly I'm a champion. It was here that i learned that I had almost caught up with Alien, Freight Train, Plan B, Forrest and Goldilocks. As I'm told by zee Germans, most of them plan to go to Big Meadows Lodge area for the night because they have a BAR... Oh snap! Things just got a little interesting. Plans had to change. As it goes, Alien is from Ireland. Therefore, he is one of the few who know how the round system works. He is also one of the few who knows how to order at last call. I haven't been able to meet up with Alien in many bar rooms thus far, so this is a must. I just hope that they will all be there. I had lunch at a public picnic area with the hopes of getting some handouts. Alas, even with my best forlorn hiker face I couldn't even get a twinkie. I may have scared the weekend warriors a bit. My beard is getting rather epic... The trail was so overcrowded, I felt that I should wait to use the proper restroom facilities instead of the trees. As a thru hiker, I should not be troubled with such nonsense. I slowly grew tired of explaining what the Appalachian Trail was, how long it is, what a thru hiker is... blah. lame. I enjoy the company of weekend warriors very little. I passed a massive, unorganized group of around 20-25 kids with 6-8 adults foolishly dragging them up and down these hills with oversized backpacks. On top of their lack of experience they didn't plan this out properly. They were all plannig on staying at Bearfence Hut, which was closed due to bear activity. What that really means is that someone had their face ripped off by a bear... LOL. Or maybe something less serious or grusome. I did not mention the latter when explaining this to the entire group. I bid the horrorstruck children ado and continued on to the beers. Beers is where i was going, not bears. I startled something in the mid afternoon. I wasn't looking in the direction of the animal (or weirdo) but saw the bushes rustling. Tthe trail took me closer, and out jumps a terrified juvenile bear (not a cub, probably around three years old) and darts away in dramatic fashion. It was much different from the older, fatter, more dangerous one this morning. The last few miles to the big meadows area were nice and flat, but my feet were still throbbing from the continued abuse. Stringing these long days together has been madness. I am still determined to meet my deadline and keep to the schedule. I finally got to the side trail to the big meadows lodge. Now to scout for a stealth tent spot. I found a perfect little hidden clearing on the ridge just above the main building. I didn't set up my tent and leave it there because these bears are arse bandits. They shredded an unattented hiker's tent within the last week. So the plan is now to look for friends, eat and drink with friends, and lead friends to ace tent spot. I hadn't realzed that this was a full holiday resort. I sheepishly asked if they had any vacancy and did not approve of the price. The plan stayed the same. I didn't find anyone at first, but bumped into the Caped Crusader, Dora and Dieago out front. I also saw Freight Train and Plan B. No one had seen Alien. Lame. We went down to the pub section of the hotel/lodge and started on a few cheeky pints. I got a tap on the shoulder from the table next to me. It was Alien! He was already two drinks up on me, but that was easily resolved. He also mentoned that he had caved and got an overpriced room with two beds. Another bit of pure brilliance. I would gladly pay half the cost, considering the predicament I may soon be in. The night went on with lots drinks being poured and a nice live band playing in the corner. Hiker after hiker slowly got up and retired back to their tents and hammocks. Alien and I continued on with our silly banter and trail stories. We finished the night off as they shooed us out of the bar. I took a lovely shower and fell asleep before my head hit the pillow. Fantastic end to a long day.