Date: 2003-04-06
From: Springer Mountain

To: Hawk Mtn. Shelter
Miles today: 7.6
Weather: light rain

6 April 2003Craig and I woke up on Springer Mountain at the shelter to cooler temps and gentle breezes. A nice way to start a hiking day! We got up around 9:30 am and I rescued our food bags from the bear cables. Craig actually hung his backpack with our 2 food bags in it. I quickly mastered how to unhook the cable line and use the hand grips to slowly lower the bag to the ground. The bags are heavy because other hikers may be sharing your cable/hook with their food bags too! We made our Green Mountain Wild Blueberry Coffee this morning¢¦ so good. Oh, so good. Craig and I are sunburned! Of all the things we did not choose to bring with us, sunscreen would have been helpful. My sunburn hurts on my shoulders/upper arms and the back of my legs. It is painful to put my pack on because it scrapes my shoulders. Other than that, we woke up feeling really good. A little stiff as we straggled out of the tent, but once we start walking everything is okay. There are many thru-hikers around and about today. We hiked 7.6 miles today to Hawk Mtn. Shelter. We started hiking at noon and arrived here at 3:45pm. We saw lots of weird jungle-like vegetation today ¢ winding streams with rhododendren (?) plants that are HUGE ¢ really tall. They haven¢t bloomed yet. Nothing in the mountains is in full bloom quite yet, though there are a few violets and other white and yellow wildflowers. I need to figure out what they are.The shelter is packed here with thru-hikers. It is fun to socialize and see everyone¢s gear. We met 2 guys from MA. And a hiker that we call Michael Bolton. Craig and I have made up our own little trail names for people we meet. Our entertainment. There are some section hikers here too. We also got to check out the cool hammocks some hikers are using. The hammocks have a bug net that encloses them, and you just rig the hammock up between two trees. Then you get inside by opening the Velcro bottom and sliding in. The Velcro closes and appears to keep one from falling out. One hiker dubbed another hiker using the hammock a ¢bear taco¢. Perfect trail name. We are working on figuring out our hiking routine. Chores take a long time. We ate Lipton Asian noodles tonight for dinner. Yum. I have to say that my dorky homemade blue pot cozy (made from Wal-Mart closed cell foam, aluminum tape, foil, and twist ties) is pretty super. The pot cozy keeps our food hot while it is cooking and reduces the amount of fuel we need because we can take our pot off the stove as soon as the water boils. Craig lost his socks this morning at Springer, but they magically reappeared tonight at Hawk. I find it really hard to stay organized when you have to hang everything because of the bears. Well, you don¢t have to hang EVERYTHING, just the things that have any sort of scent or sweet scent to them. Examples: chapstick, lotion, gum, toothpaste, scotch¢¦ things you might want to use at night in your tent but you can¢t!!!! I have to get used to brushing my teeth early and then keeping a piece of gum on me or a mint that I can use later and be sure to swallow! I think Glen the Caretaker on Springer spooked us with all his bear beware etiquette. We'll see later on what we can get away with keeping in our tent. We used our packcover today while hiking because it was overcast. It just started raining (9pm) and it appears it will continue all night long. The rain is so loud on the tent¢sounds like air-popped popcorn!!! I feel really good. I appreciate my surroundings while I am hiking. I appreciate the opportunity to do this. However, I am grubby. My hair is knotted and gross and I might actually be sporting a few dreadlocks. I will have to be on the quest for conditioner when we stop at Neel¢s Gap. I have to figure out a way to keep my hair in check. Okay: peeing. The subject all female hikers need to know and talk about. First off, I envy Craig and the ability to just pee on the trail and stop whenever to do so. I have to be sure there are no hikers coming or going near me so that I can have some pee privacy. I have to be armed and ready with my toilet paper because once you bend over to go, it is hard to find your TP in your pocket with a heavy pack on. Then I have to find a large enough tree where I can feel a sense of ¢protection¢ to pee behind. Then I have to be sure I am bent over enough not to induce the splash factor all over my lower legs and shoes. It is tough! I also made the mistake today of trying leaves as a TP alternative. However, I used dry leaves (the brown fallen ones on the ground) ¢ OUCH!!! Never again. Sometimes I am pretty stupid. I have a ¢pee bottle¢ to use at night or when it is raining, but I am not sure if I like this technique or not. Not totally foolproof. Though I am sure the Scripps crowd would get a kick out of me using a pee bottle! I am also having a hard time getting used to sleeping in a tent. It is hard to find a comfortable sleeping position because I am a fetal sleeper. On the hard ground it hurts my hips. And my hands/arms start to fall asleep and get tingly because I don¢t really have a soft pillow or bed to lay them on. I will have to figure this out too. Thankfully, my allergies have been pretty bad and I get to take a Benedryl at night which knocks me out. We are on to Gooch Gap tomorrow. (Gaps are places where 2 mountains meet¢¦ small notches for the New England folk). I am enjoying taking it slow at my own pace. I also think it is great that there are flat stretches along the trail. I guess I figured it would be all up and all down. There are plenty of spots to just meander and take it easy and browse. -Erin and Craig... Craig and Erin (no trailnames.....)