Date: 2018-05-25
From: Kimberling Creek Campsite

To: VA 611 campsite
Miles today: 8.0

Theresa and I woke up late this morning. Kamikaze told us that Theo tried to wake us up this morning. She was already packed and ready to go. Scissors said that she was hanging out at the shelter 2 miles up but I knew we wouldn't make it to her before she headed out. We said goodbyes to Kamikaze and started packing up. We planned on eating breakfast at the shelter. Booger Bear and his mom Liz came walking down the highway as we finished packing. We were going to hike with them for the next few days.  The climb from the campsite was pretty steep. It got Theresa's heartbeat going immediately. I thought back to when Booga and I started the trail at Amicalola falls. Those steps put us out of breath real quick. I made sure to hike behind Theresa so I didn't get too far ahead. Once we climbed up to the ridgeline the trail leveled out. Theresa and I were pretty hungry since we didn't have breakfast yet. We made it to the shelter in about an hour and a half. I fired up the camp stove and made hot water for coffee and oatmeal for Theresa and I. We needed to fill up our water at the shelter since there wasn't any for the next 7 miles. The water source was .3 from the shelter. It took awhile to walk down to it. I filtered 6 liters of water for Theresa and I to carry. As I was grabbing water for the last liter, my foot slipped and jammed into a rock. My big toe was stinging. I hiked back up to the shelter and took off my socks. My big toe was covered in blood. The rock had sliced open the front of my toe. It wasn't that deep though and I applied an antibiotic ointment and bandaid. We pushed on from the shelter for the 7 miles with no water. We were planning on stealth camping in that area.The trail followed the ridgeline for those 7 miles. Liz retired from Austin's botanical garden and knew a great deal about plants in the area. She would point out flowers and leaves that she knew. Booga and I just walked by all the greenery without knowing the names of most things. I showed her the app plant snap where you could take a picture of a plant and it will tell you what it is. Hiking the trail we saw several stealth sites but kept pushing on. We eventually came to a gravel road which was further than we expected to go. It was also mile 600! Someone had put together a stick sign to commemorate the achievement. We all got pictures next to the sign Right after the road we found a site and setup camp.The site was large enough house our 3 tents. It also had a small fire ring. There were a lot of bugs in the area and I decided to build a fire. Luckily there was a lot of dry kindling around. I tried using dry leaves for a few minutes but gave up and used Heet to start the fire. The fire got hot pretty quick. I added more wood to build up the coals. I was cracking large logs between the fork of a tree and built a nice little wood pile. I made Theresa and I dinner using the stove. It took a little longer since I was cooking for the both of us. I made taco mac n cheese and pasta cheese sauce. Theresa found them both good but liked the pasta cheese sauce more. Booga had also packed out 4 beers for all of us. We got another picture with us cheersing near the 600th mile marker. We finished eating dinner after hung out next to the fire until hiker midnight. I decided to hike .3 miles to an unreliable water source in the dark. I needed some water to put out the hot coals. I walked right past the water source but then heard a growl in the forest. I quickly turned around and headed back. I saw the reflection of water from my headlamp. It was hidden off trail. I filtered 3 liters of water then headed back to camp. I put out the coals with the water. Theresa and I went to bed. I was happy to share a tent with her and snuggle up. It had been two months since I slept next to her.Tonight I'm falling to sleep with Theresa in my arms.