Date: 2005-05-19
From: Hammock, campsite by Laurel Creek

To: Shelter, Jenny Knob Shelter
Miles today: 18.9
Weather: overcast clouds

I saw my 1st, 2nd and 3rd pink lady's slipper blossoms today! They are spectacular! I didn't really expect to see one because they are not very common. I had completely the wrong idea about them. I knew they were a member of the orchid family and that they can only grow where a certain fungus grows. I somehow thought that meant they grew in swamps and had flowers the size of large Barbie doll shoes. I was so wrong. They are a beautiful showy orchid. The 1st flower I saw was about 1/2 the size of my fist. The pink slipper part reminded me of a dusky rose satin. I could see old-fashioned dancing slippers looking like that. Seeing that 1st lady's slipper just put me into a lady's slipper haze for at least a good hour. Today I also saw my 1st wild flame azaleas. They come in a color range from bright tangerine to an orangey pink salmon color. It is really neat to be hiking along and see these floating balls of tangerine in the foliage mix. I started seeing wild lily of the valley. They look a lot like ramps. Their leaves are much skinnier than the domestic kind I have at home in my garden. Just a few of the early bloomers have sprigs with blossoms. Anyone passing by in about 1 and 1/2 to 2 weeks should have quite a treat. There are places where it seems like the lily of the valley blanket the floor. I can only imagine how fragrant it will be. Today was another dry day. We started the day at a water source and left camp with a fully load of water. 7 hot miles later (with no water source) we had sucked down more than a little water. I can tell you that it was quite a welcome sight to see some water left by trail angels. The next water source was still almost a mile away. We were able to replenish our water and attempt to stay hydrated. We were very grateful to get that water. Then at US52 a trail angel had sodas. Troll and I sucked down 2 each and Oblivious guzzled one. That soda sugary goodness gave us the energy to get to the next shelter (Helvey's Mill Shelter) where there was water. Of course there was an evil climb to get to that shelter. The shelter was .5 off of the trail and the water was a good .4 from that. Thank God for good kids like Oblivious who fetch water. At Helvey's Mill we were presented with a dilemma. Stop at 1400 or go 9.8 miles to the next shelter and water source. Hey we've toyed with dehydration for the past few days so we pressed on. I think we each force fed ourselves 1/2 to 1 liter of liquid before we left Helvey's with a full load of water. So there I am on a forced 9.8 water march. It is humid as all get out. We are hiking as fast as possible to get to water. So I'm a little concerned about time and thirst. That's when I see that gorgeous pink lady's slipper blossom. It puts me in such good spirits that I am almost flying down the trail. I then passed through a flock of blue swallowtail (I think) butterflies. Of course that makes me smile some more. Before I knew it I was walking in the rain (aka hiker shower) and I was at the shelter. Which we have all to ourselves. Ok, now you know all about my day but Troll and Oblivious also had stuff going on. The cat from last night followed them for 7 miles to US52. It was really cute to watch her strut behind them, tail aloft. Troll and Oblivious fed her some beef jerky and got it to drink a bit of water. Bluelight's mom was out section hiking with her and she fed the kitty half a pack of tuna. We think someone abandoned the kitty. She was really friendly and not feral at all. I think she was the last kitten that whomever could not get rid of. We left the kitty and food with the soda trail angel. I think he is going to see that it gets a home. Today was a 3-toad day for Oblivious. They found and caught one on the trail and then found and caught 2 more here at the shelter. Oblivious likes toads nearly as much as salamanders and newts. Oh the simple joys of a ten year old boy. We had a totally random thing happen while we were taking our break at US52. A good ole boy pulled over in his pickup and started to talk about wildlife. He never gave his name but we heard about snakes, birds, bears, and fishing. We even saw a picture of his 7 lb rainbow trout. Then he hopped back in his pickup and was on his way. Totally random. My family is asleep after our long day. It is time for me to join them. Take care and we will see you on the trail.