Date: 2019-04-25
From: Woods Hole Hostel

To: Mount Katahdin, Maine 
Miles today: 21.7

Hit the Dairy Cream at 6:00 this morning on the way out of Pearisburg and had a big breakfast. After I left and began walking the roadside on the way back to the trail, it hit me that I should have gotten an ice cream cone. High in calories and no trash to deal with. Maybe next time. It took a little time to get out of town, but eventually made it back into the mountains. It was a warm day getting up to about 75 degrees and I took it easy as I¢m nursing an ankle issue on my right foot. It¢s actually just above the ankle, but below the shin. This started yesterday as I think I may have landed awkwardly when crossing a rock field.I made a couple of mistakes today, which drove home the need to pay attention. The first was realizing that the vacuum packed sliced ham I bought, which was unrefrigerated in the grocery isle, actually requires cooking. I ate one the other day on a tortilla and it was good or I was super hungry, but today at lunch i noticed it had the texture of raw bacon. This prompted me to read the package more carefully. I¢ll have to figure my lunches out for a few days now, eating cashews, honey buns and snickers bars. My second mistake was passing a water source thinking that another was just ahead. As a result, I hiked 5 miles on empty. All a learning experience. When I did reach the Pine Branch Swamp Stream I drank two liters before filling my water bladder. I took time there to soak my right ankle. I also placed snickers bar in the stream to un-melt it. The 30 or so minutes there was well worth it. I then trekked another mile and a half to the Pine Branch Swamp Shelter. I was sitting there contemplating my next move when the sky opened up and it began to rain. Decision made, I¢ll sleep in the shelter tonight. It is expected to rain throughout the night and day tomorrow. I little later another hiker came in and then another. Space in the shelter was divided up and we were listening to Young Gun tell his story about happening upon 2 bear cubs. He said they were near a downed tree and he said they looked like little black guinea pigs when mama bear stood up behind the tree. He said she took off running away and ran for about 50 yards before turning around and charging directly at him. He said he didn¢t run but backed up some. The bear stopped about 25 feet from him and he continued to walk backwards as mama bear rounded up her cubs and moved on. He said he kept looking over his shoulder the whole way down the mountain. By dusk, I had eaten dinner, brushed my teeth, said my prayers and was massaging my ankle when movement caught my eye. It was a rat that ran across the shelter floor. I was debating if to say something when Young Gun, laying in the loft yelled as a mouse ran down a rafter over his head. I made the decision then that I was packing up and moving out. Apparently I helped others make their decision too as everyone started doing the same. As I packed and it got darker, the shelter came alive with rodents scurrying around, apparently unaffected by human activity. One guy found a tent site near the shelter, while Riggs, Young Gun and I started hiking. The rain had stopped by now, however the trees were still dripping. While walking and leading the trio, I ducked under a large downed tree, as did Ruggs, but apparently Young Gun didn¢t see it and ran into it. I walked back to him as he was thrashing in the mud yelling ¢what the hell was that?¢ I told him it was a damn tree and if he couldn¢t hike with the old dogs he¢d have to stay on the porch. Young Gun was still a little moved by his bear witnessing, and I would be too!We hiked for about two and a half hours and at 10:00pm found a side trail. There we pitched our tents on the trail and bedded down for the night camping near mile 658.6., and logging 21.7 miles. Young Gun persisted that he tent between Ruggs and I for the night.