Date: 2003-04-27
From: US11/I81/Atkins 

To: Knot Maul Branch Shelter
Miles today: 13.9
Weather: scattered clouds

It was great sleeping in a bed last night. I like having a pillow and bed, but for some reason the sheets and blankets bother me at times. Maybe I've just grown attached to my sleeping bag. I woke up at 6:33, went to the 'indoor privy', returned to bed and amazingly, fell asleep again until 7:47! Wow, sleeping in! Then I felt bad because I was ready to get up and Hotdog, Fly, and Smoothie were still sleeping. I did some usual morning prep in the bathroom and tried to sneak out the hotel door to do some journaling. The sun was so bright, I think all three woke up.   Oops.Sonic and Guana were planning on hiking 12 miles today, along with Michele and Anne, but when they headed to breakfast at 8am, I didn't think that would happen. It didn't. They got back from breakfast and had made a decision to go to Damascus and bike the Creeper Trail instead.Between them packing up and showing us pictures, and the four of us shopping and packing our packs, we didn't say goodbye until almost 11am. I hated to see them go, but Sonic said, as they pulled away "We WILL catch you." I'll hold them to that.We headed out of Groseclose, making only one stop at a convenience store, crossed under I-81 and turned onto a grassy meadow. I grinned to myself. I like town things such as food, and shower, but feel better when I'm on the trail. Today, there were quite a few meadows or farm fields, and they were beautiful! Even though we had to watch our steps to avoid cattle droppings, the grass was dark green, and awesome. In one place there was taller brown grass, and I could walk along with my arms out and let the grass brush my hands. That was pretty cool, and I look forward to doing that more.At the first shelter, Davis Path Shelter, we stopped for a break, and soon I heard a buzzing noise. I assumed it was a bee, and turned around to see how close it was. It was a hummingbird! It hung in the air, wings a blur, the flew off.   Awesome!Today was a beautiful day, with sunshine and a cool breeze. Despite our late start, we managed just under 14 miles today. I spent a lot of the day hiking by myself. I stopped several times for breaks and waited until everyone caught up, but mostly, I hiked alone. It was very peaceful, and gave me time to just think about myself. I found myself hiking along, hardly noticing the trail under my feet. I thought about Ted/Soleman today, and wondered again "why?". I know that everyone will have to go, and that no time on this physical earth is guaranteed. I'm selfish, but wish he could've at least done part of the trail.This hike has been great so far, and today I tried to determine why I'm doing it. I still can't come up with a single reason, and know that I don't have to have one. This is the right time and the right thing for me to be doing right now. It's what I'm meant to be doing. For what reason? I don't know, but in time, I will know. For now, I'm just having fun playing in the woods.There was an owl here at the shelter. It flew in around 8:45 and stayed a few minutes before flying off. That was very cool. I'd like to see more wildlife. I know I have plenty of time for that.PopPop was the only one at the shelter when we arrived, and he was glad Fly and Smoothie were coming in too. He'd hiked with them some, through the Smokies, and was glad to see them again. I met him at Newfound Gap, a couple of shelters north of there, and again in Hot Springs, but hadn't seen him since. He hiked the AT in 2001 and is going for it again. Jasper, Ben, Jersey, and Wicked Wizard are here too. I'd met Wicked before, but not the others.Early today, I met Eli, who is being paid to hike the AT and write newspaper articles weekly while out here. Why can't I have a job like that??? I read one of Eli's articles, about the late March snowstorm. It was good. I'll try to remember to check out more of his articles on the internet. www.nashvillecitypaper.com I think the column is called "Journey of a Fool." He's lucky to be doing this as work! Why not me?