Date: 2005-05-08
From: Trimpi Shelter

To: Old Orchard Shelter
Miles today: 14.2
Weather: clear sky

Happy Mother's Day!Spring is late up here. It surprised me; I didn't even think of the possibility of dogwoods still be ing out! We saw a couple still bloomed yesterday.We got a little bit later start today. I left a short time before David--shortly before 9am. It was humid after the rain that came alst night--appropriately right after we all turned in. The humidity seemd to disappear by the time we got to Va. 16/650. David and I sat there in the grass in the sun for awhile. I find it hard to relax before I've done half the day's miles though, so I took off again before David was quite ready. I think we have a comfortable rhythm--sometimes we hike together in silence, sometimes we hike together and toss ideas around, sometimes we separate.Hardly saw anyone for the fist part of the day. After a long, long butt-kicking climb up Iron Mountain we lunched at the brand-spaking new Hurricane Mountain Shelter. Beautiful! It's a nice view, too--up on the ridge. We both managed to call our mothers and wish them well on their special day. We were soon joined by a guy from Wales--in a kilt, which I thought somewhat appropriate (I know, it's Scotland, not Wales, where kilts are worn). Kilts are extremely popular; as are Waldies and Crocs. Seriously, 98% of hikers have these shoes. I'm ambiguous about this--there's a certain satisfaction with knowing I'm "in", having what other hikers have; but a degree of irritation at my lack of originality!At Fox Creek and Va. 603 we stopped for a dip in the cold water. Exactly what I needed to power me up the last 1.5 miles. David just soaked his feet, but I got all the way in.We'd heard rumors of a big party group of 40 or so, and I think we started to cross paths with them shortly before Fox Creek==all of a sudden there were a bunch of people, all young.At Old Orchard, soon after I pulled in and before David did, a friendly NOBO came in with no shirt--and a six-pack. Can't help but admit I was checking him out. There was some energy between us--we bantered a little, flirted; I mean, BARELY. But it was fun. Nice guy, from Miami, 28 years old. A degree in Criminal Psychology, currently working in construction, just moved to Hendersonville, NC. Yeah, how did we manage to exchange so much information in such a short time? I'm pathetic... But what can I say, I'm a woman in my late 20s, and my clock is ticking. I'm not pathetic, I'm normal.I intentionally introduced David as "my friend Flatfoot". Another NOBO had a guitar and serenaded us all as the sun went down. He spotted an owl in a tree nearby and we all went to take photos. Cute thing--a big guy! Cool. Never seen one so close, and he did let us get close. He wasn't shy at all. Flew to another branch on another tree, then came down on the ground. It's as beautiful here as I remembered. I'm sure it must have been an old orchard; the trees in front of the shelter retain only a little of the order an orchard would have had. In the midst of them are small clearings; many hikers have set up their tents in these clearings. At dark David and I went down and cowboy camped near his tarp he'd set up; it was beautiful night. I saw a few shooting stars.