Date: 2014-06-18
From: The Priest Shelter

To: Reeds Gap
Miles today: 15.5

Today was definitely an emotional roller coaster from the start but as in most cases so far in this trip it worked out in our favor. Our goal was to go to the Devil's Backbone Brewery which is a hiker friendly brewpub that let's thru hikers tent on the premise and they serve breakfast in the morning, plus the place has some delicious beer. We had 15.5 miles between us and the brewery and they weren't pretty.      We had to descend three thousand feet then climb back up another three thousand feet. We all headed out together and descended the Priest pretty quickly mostly through switchbacks, I wasn't feeling the hike today,I let the thought of beer and watching the World Cup cloud my mind and distract me. Once we got down the mountain, I hiked on by myself, it was already hot and I was angry at these uphills so I used that has motivation to get me to the Harpers Creek Shelter in good time and I was there for a bit by myself which is what I wanted. I was dehydrated,sweaty and these bugs are getting bad so I needed to call down and collect myself, a visit to the privy when no one is around is a good remedy for this. While at the shelter I was shoveling food in and drinking as much water as I could from the creek which was right next to the shelter which is nice,usually the water is usually about a 5-10 minutes walk from the shelter.      After hanging out for a bit with everyone for awhile it was time to conquer the last maintain of the day-Three Ridges Mountain. I cannot explain the amount of anger and rage I have toward this mountain, I hate this mountain the most out of every mountain on the trail. I never have been do angry while hiking until this mountain and I had a few yelling and cursing episodes while climbing this wretched mountain. First off the heat made it unbearable, then the rock scrambles made me hate it more and then the three false summits where I thought I was done but was wrong was the icing on the cake. It just felt like the mountains wouldn't end and stopping to wipe sweat from the face very few seconds brought out the annoying gnats who feel like flying right in front of your eyes is a fun thing to do and made me accidentally slap myself a few times while attempting to kill them. Amidst this anger, there was an overlook that was pretty sweet and breeze came along so I sat there and let the anger melt away, emotions can carry you out here but at the same time they can be your own worst enemy so sometimes taking a step back and taking some deep breaths is what's needed and it helped center me.    I met up with Atlas along the way and we got down to the road where some other thru hikes were getting a ride to the brewery and asked if we needed a ride which we happily accepted as meant we didn't have to hitchhike there. I sat in the back of a pickup truck smiling because the worst was behind us and the rest of the day was looking promising.    The brewery itself was a beautiful place and we definitely stood out, it didn't help we were all sweaty,stinky messes but they were used to it so it was cool. That first beer was like heaven in a glass, a Vienna Lager,all anger and soreness melted off of me and I was a happy person, beer in front of me and soccer on flat screens.      When Atlas and I got there, Stardust was already there and was talking to a couple who lived in the area. The guy is an architect who actually designed the brewery and invited all of us to stay at their place. There trying to start a bed and breakfast at their place and wanted us to stay there and see how we liked it plus the guy was going to make us pulled pork sandwiches so I was in. We stayed at the brewery for a bit and he came back to pick us up and bring us back to their house which was on eleven acres and was insanely beautiful. We hung out drinking some beers, they had some jazz music blasting in the house and they catered to us which was really nice and such a good way to end a day that started so miserably. They cooked us dinner of pulled pork sandwiches on pretzel rolls and grilled romaine lettuce with parmesan cheese, it was delicious.    Days on the trail can turn in an instant and today it went from bad to amazing, it makes you learn that you have to keep going no matter how bad it gets because sometime down the line it will get better. The rest of the group always stresses having faith in the trail and a mantra out here is 'the trail always provides', my reluctancy has been worn down and embracing the craziness of his trail enhances the trip so much more and I love it. The trail itself is predictable path laid out in front of us but what happens on is anyone's guess.