Date: 2006-05-09
From: Betty Creek Gap

To: Silar Bald Shelter
Miles today: 15.9
Weather: overcast clouds

total miles today 16.7Trail miles today 15.9Start Betty Creek GapFinish Silar Bald Shelter at AT mile 110.3staying in tent3300 ft of ups2500 ft of downs   Well today was kind of interesting. It was raining when I woke up (naturally) but was kind enough to stop by the time I got out of the tent. Geared up and got going by 0710 to do the big climb up Mt Albert. It was quite steep but not long and not anything too outrageous. Unfortunately the mountain was completely socked in and there was no view from the fire tower.   A few minutes later I was cruising along down this really long gentle downhill feeling good about myself when I step on this little round rock hidden under some leaves. My ankle flips over and goes CRACK and my right knee does this hard wobble. Mr. Knee goes STOP DOING THAT YOU IDIOT! and starts to hurt pretty good. Not being a fool I immediately admit to Mr. Knee that I am indeed an idiot and promise not to do it again, but please stop hurting. Now it turns out that Mr. Knee has not forgotten last winter when I sort of had a little mishap on an icy hill about 30 miles from home and Mr. Knee got kind of.... smashed. That time he was so upset that he refused to work for the next 3 days and Mr. Left Knee (his brother in case you hadn't guessed) was forced to do all the up steps for the next 30 miles. Which was marginally inconvenient not to mention time consuming? But Mr. L. Knee is a trooper and did not complain.   So Mr. Knee decides "the heck with you" and continues to throb. This is even after I point out to him that Mr. Ankle (who we recall went CRACK) has not complained at all. Fortunately the rest of the downhill is uneventful and pretty much lasts till lunch. After lunch a most pleasant surprise Mr. Knee stops complaining. Of course this could be because Mr.¢s Right & Left Feet have decided that they were not getting enough attention and proceed to whine for the rest of the day and perhaps drown out everyone else. Just another day in paradise.    Met a couple (to be nameless to protect them from hiker Trolls) who hiked the PCT last year. I had heard they were about but had missed them till today. To show you that not everyone shows up having to get in shape, they start off doing 20 mile days. Somehow, while they were put zing around in Hiawassee, I got ahead of them. So they come cruising up to a shelter that I was eating lunch at about the time I was going to leave. Now I started at 0710 and had done 8 miles by then. They had done 12! So I go cruising along and like 2 hours later they come flying by. I decide I want to talk about what the PCT is like and start asking them questions. I can only hang with them for about 30 minutes before I have to drop off the pace that they keep. But I pick up some interesting data points. I asked them to compare the two trails and they mentioned that the climbs on the AT are much steeper and therefore hard, but that they are not very long like on the PCT. Plus altitude is not!A factor on the AT so all in all it was probably easier on the AT. We then discussed the relative success rates of thru hike attempts being almost 50% on the PCT while on the AT it is no more than 20%. In their opinion it was most likely due to about 80% of the PCT hikers being experienced ultra light hikers, whereas on the AT a very large number of people show up have no idea what they are doing and are bound to fail. I think this has a lot of merit as the number of hikers I, and the people I have talked to out here, have seen in the first 100 miles that are doing crazy things is just amazing. Such as showing up with hatchets, ice axes, and an incredible array of knifes, 14 days worth of food, several changes of clothing, etc. They say that you just don't see much of that kind of stuff on the PCT.    Well, more later. I am tired and there are wild turkeys calling each other outside my tent.Wyoming Which way is North?