Date: 2015-04-11
From: Little Laurel Shelter

To: Hog Back Ridge Shelter
Miles today: 22.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Today was one of those perfect days for hiking. A nice cool night for sleeping followed by a dry and chilly morning. The kind of morning that you can get away with wearing shorts and tee shirt if you wear a light jacket to get started. The sky was clear with just a slight breeze going on. Picture perfect!Just when I thought the trail was getting easier I got into some of the roughest bouldering terrain yet, and it happened just 2-3 miles after leaving the shelter. But it was short, and the views were great along the top of Big Firescald Knob. It is where I took my first real tumble on the AT. My feet slipped right out from under me as I walked on the tilted slabs of rock. I landed on Mr. Maroon and scraped my elbow a little, not a big deal. When I think of some of the older hikers out here, especially the ones with packs that weigh 50 pounds or more, I wonder how they are going to manage sections like this.I stopped to eat breakfast at the Jerry Cabin Shelter. Samson was already there, and Ginger-T and Hawk soon showed up as well. It seems as if we are in a little group of hikers that puts in the same kind of miles, so we end up camping together at the same spots. Ginger-T is a nice kid from England who is bouncing along the trail at my pace, and so is 10-Speed, a middle aged guy from Switzerland. Hawk is a retired fellow from around here that is also putting in the same kind of mileage.We ran into a few people who were doing trail magic just before we started up a 3 mile long climb. Gatorade and oatmeal creme pies. As 10 Speed, Ginger-T, Samson, Hawk and I sat there alongside the road with our refreshments, we were talking about running and biking. It turns out 10-Speed used to be a professional cyclist with an Italian team, and competed against Floyd Landis and Lance Armstrong. He quit cycling 6 years ago, but that explains why he usually covers the same amount of miles we do even though he starts a lot later. So anyway, we all start heading up the steep 3 mile climb. Ginger-T is out ahead, then 10-Speed, and myself. Ginger-T and 10-Speed are starting out pretty fast, and I start thinking I would like to try keeping up with 10-Speed. After a mile of hard climbing 10-Speed pulls over to let me pass and says in his broken English, "This one Hell of hill". I grunt and power on, I put 150 feet between us and catch Ginger-T, and say to him "I think we can beat a former pro cyclist up this hill". We power on for another mile, no one is saying anything. No one needs to, it is evident, this is an all out race. I pass Ginger-T with almost half a mile to go, I am in the lead with at least a hundred feet on 10-Speed. A few hundred yards from the top I feel a little tug on my backpack, 10-Speed is there, he puts on a surge, I try to match his surge but fall back almost 20 feet by the time we reach the summit. We all bend over sucking air and dripping sweat and laughing at each other like idiots. He played it perfect, just keeping us within reach and out gunning us in the end. Three guys from different countries, on an obscure hill under a sunny afternoon sky in the Appalachians, competing against each other with everything we had. A perfect way to end a hard day of walking!I presented 10-Speed with a small candy bar as a trophy for winning the race.