Date: 2013-06-19
From: Hightop Hut

To: Stealth camp near spring near Big Meadows
Miles today: 18.9

I've got to hand it to the kids last night. They were quiet. It turned out to be a restful evening. So quiet, in fact, that I didn't hear the mouse that ate my shirt. Granted, I wasn't wearing it; it was hanging on a ledge just above my head. When I went to put my shirt on, I discovered that the back and side had been eaten out of it. Apparently shelter mice have a fine taste for expensive merino wool shirts and salt. I guess I was lucky that it didn't eat the front out of the shirt. As it stood, I just look really tough now. Redspecs has been telling people that I got in a fight with a bear. I'll just keep wearing it until it falls apart.It was overcast and foggy when I headed out. The 900 mile mark was only a half mile up the trail. I was chomping at the bit to reach it. I arranged "900" out of twigs on a rock and took a photo with my pack in the background. I did a little happy dance and then sat on a tock waiting for Redspecs to arrive. I waited 15-20 mins, and he didn't come. I was getting cold, so I decided to head out. I headed down the mountain, and a mile or so later I heard some rustling in the bushes uphill to my left. I looked. It was a bear! Woohoo! 900 miles and a bear. My day was off to a great start, even if I only had half a shirt on When I crossed over the road I saw huddle of boy scouts and a man sitting in a folding chair. As I approached I saw that he had a dozen gallon milk jugs filled with water. He was officially with the Boy Scouts, but he was giving water away to anyone who needed it. He also offered to take my garbage. Trail magic takes on so many forms. There was a steady but gentle climb up the other side. Some of the Boy Scouts passed me, and I passed some of the Boy Scouts. The clouds flirted with the idea of parting, but when I got to the top of Baldface they ultimately decided to stick together. Redspecs had found us a little rocky outcrop for lunch. My stomach was growing, so I was happy to see him! My feet were also in desperate need of airing out. My boots and socks were still wet from the day before, and I could feel my feet pruning. They couldn't absorb anymore moisture. I also popped 400 mg of ibuprofen. My knee felt a bit strained coming down some of the hills. I've been wearing a knee brace since Waynesboro, and I shift it around depending on where the pain is. We stopped at Pocosin Cabin and dropped our packs. Then we hoofed it through the tall grass down to the water source; it was little more than a glorified drainage ditch. Redspecs got to learn the English word for "stinging nettles." Poor guy. As we hiked back to the main trail, a big doe steeped out of the woods and started walking down the trail towards us. She looked a me and made little indication that she was concerned about my being there. She pulled a few leaves off the bushes and then stepped back into the woods. Redspecs was itching for a dry room, so I called the Big Meadows Lodge for him to ask about prices. They were asking $100 for a single room and $140 for a cabin. For a national park, the prices seemed outragious. I asked about a room at Skyland Resort for the next night. Almost $200. He decided to stick with a tent. Instead of a hotel room, we stopped at Lewis Mountain Campground to get an ice cream. It was much more in our budgets. The other weekend campers looked wearily at my tattered shirt. I kept forgetting it was shredded and looked like I'd been attacked my a mountain lion. I assured them it was only a mouse. A really big mouse.The rest of the afternoon went quickly. There were some ups and downs, but the trail was so smooth. It was covered in soft pine straw or a golden straw. The sides of the trail had recently been mowed, so not only was there 18" of trail but also an additional 3' on either side. You could hear the cars and motorcycles cruising along Skyline Drive, but the trail felt so secluded. The sun had finally started to come out (finally!). It had been so overcast all day that it felt like a perpetual evening. My knee felt good, normal. Originally I had planned to stealth camp atop Hazeltop, but Redspecs needed water so we pushed a few miles farther. The elevation chart looked flat, but you never really know what it is going to be like until your boots hit the trail. Some sadistic and masocistic thru-hikers might have called this section of trail "boring", but I thought it was heavenily. The air smelled sweetly of apples and straw. The evening lighting was golden and light. The trail was a path of silvery yellow straw. The woods were a sea of frothy green. It was a grass, but it looked like duck weed. This went on for two glorious miles. I couldn't help but wonder how many potential thru-hikers would stick with the trail if it were to start in the Shenandoahs rather than in Georgia. A gentle, loving introduction rather than the severness of Springer Mountain and the north Georgia mountains.Redspecs was waiting for me at Milicon Gap, his boots were off. This wasn't going to be good. The tops of his toes were rubbed raw. His leather boots had hardened from all the wet/dry conditions. The toes looked pretty rough, but honestly, at this point in the hike, no one has good looking feet. I know I'm looking forward to catching up to my own new boots, but they are still 80 miles up the trail. He put his shoes back on, and we crossed the road. There was a 5 gallon Lowe's bucket with a lid on top. There was a sign on top that read: For Thru-Hikers. We peeled off the top and peered inside. A new jar of peanut butter, a few slices of wheat bread (fresh, not stale!) and four packets of instant oatmeal. Wonderful We hiked about another 1/2 mile into the woods and found a flattish place about 30 yards up the hill from the trail. I made a joke about the only flat spot being directly on the trail. Redspecs took it heart and asked if we could pitch our tents on the trail. I said, No, it would be pretty bad form. But I thought it was ironic, me being the rule-follower and the German being the rule-bucker. We cracked open a couple of beers that Redspecs had packed in from the Lewis Campground campstore. We felt the need to celebrate our 900 mile achievement. Normally I'm not a Budlight drinker, but tonight it tasted pretty darn good. It had been quiet a day. 1 mouse eaten shirt, 900 mile mark, a bear, 2 X trail magic, ice cream, and a sunny end to a cloudy day.