Date: 2010-06-08
From: Johns Hollow Shelter

To: Camping on Bald Knob
Miles today: 22.9

The privy at Johns Hollow was a first class affair. Beautiful timber construction, windows at the top so plenty of light and it even had toilet paper. I've been short on toilet paper on one section and it's rather scary. I still, after over 600 miles, don't know what poison ivy looks like, so if I have to use leaves as a substitute, I could be in trouble! San Gabriel gave me a good idea, choose leaves from a tree. Poison ivy is more of a plant. It's so much nicer to have a privy because digging a 6 inch hole (as is recommended and necessary) is not easy. The dirt is tough and 6 inches is quite deep. I was first on the trail again this morning. I prefer to leave early to hike a bit longer in the cooler hours and you get to see animals such as deer and critters which hide sometimes later on. However it also meant that I was again in charge of cobweb removal. They do look very pretty however when the sun shines behind them. I passed the Ottie Cline Powell monument where a 4 year old's body was found in 1891. She wandered away from a local school, over 7 miles and her body was found about 6 months later on the top of a hill. The hill was massively steep and I can tell you from hiking that 7 miles is a long way so I am not sure that CSI would have come to the same conclusion about how she arrived there. Either way, it was a sad story so I took a break to reflect on it. I had to drink water out of a murky looking river today. Of course I treat all my water with Aqua Mira drops but that river did not inspire confidence. I prefer springs or small rivers up in the mountains. Once I saw a muddy puddle and the hiker I was with and I had a laugh that one day we'll be desperate enough to drink water of that quality. Yuck. I am finding it easier to drink enough water doing shorter miles. Doing the 25 + miles means really drinking a lot every day.I had another break to continue my book about aliens taking over the Earth. It made me laugh because the aliens are granted the right to live in the Arhem Land area of Australia (a huge desert area which I think is owned by the Aboriginal people) and the Chatanoogee National Forest in North Carolina, an area I hiked through on the AT. The book's not a masterpiece but it's a good page turner. Normally I speed read, meaning that I glance at a paragraph and my brain processes the information without the need to read each individual word. Due to never reading on the trail, my brain now needs to read each separate word! Funny!I got to swim/splash in a great little creek today but as I plan to stay at a B&B tomorrow, I didn't bother washing all my clothes. Illogically, and I am not quite sure why, I washed only my hiking pants, although I don't know why I chose them. Lunch has been a little disappointing for an epicurian like me since my last resupply. Instead of my usual tortillas, I have the Fritos but they make my fingers bright yellow and are not healthy and my allegedly "Extra Sharp" cheddar was not so. The only cheese to last a few days in the heat of your backpack is extra sharp cheddar but only if it is really sharp. Some brands are not as good as others. Finally I decided to climb a massive 5 mile hill in the evening to avoid the need to do it in the morning. It was quite tough but I got there and found a perfect little camping spot for one tent with a personal campfire. I am so lucky with my spots! I got there at 630pm so was able to continue my alien book. PS I spoke to the Manager who said that "Blue Jay" mentioned in my guestbook that the book, Phytosphere, about aliens, which I found in a shelter, was in fact his!!! He left it there ages ago. What a coincidence! I picked up another book called Deep Black Biowar at today's shelter, maybe someone else owns it!