Date: 2008-10-11
From: Bryant Ridge

To: Harrison Ground Sprins
Miles today: 11.7

I had a nice soft bed on forest duff but I did not sleep particularly well. The moon was very bright and the way it came through the trees I kept thinking there must be a house with really bright lights near the trail. Silly.I also would hear acorns or other nuts falling off the trees. I haven't mentioned it before but there are a lot of nut trees, Oaks, Walnuts and some others that I cannot identify. Sometimes the ground is so thick with acorns one has to be careful where to step, especially going downhill, as they are like stepping on ballbearings. Walnuts and some other round nut have thick green casing around them and they are a bit smaller than a baseball. I even saw one casing that was all prickly on the outside almost like a cactus. I wish I knew what they all were. Anyway, you can hear them fall with a pop from the branch and a plop into the leaves on the ground. Since I was cowboy camping without anything over me I kept wondering if I was under a walnut tree and would get hit in the head with falling nuts. Silly me to be kept awake by the moonlight and falling nuts.I did wake up early and got on the trail by 7:30. It was a day of many climbs. I was glad I got the first 500 ft or so out of the way last night but I had nearly 3,000 ft of climbing during the day.My knee is holding up guite well with the brace, better than expected, not normal yet but closer.I met a few weekend or small section hikers or day hikers. I only remember the names of the first one, Stewart, and the last one, Kevin. Kevin was very helpful as he could verify that here was water at Harrison Ground Springs, not much, but some.It definitely felt like fall today. Yesterday it got up to 78 degrees and was nice and warm while I cowboy camped. Today it did not reach 70. That may be partially due to higher altitude. I started the day around 2,500 ft, spent a good portion between 3,500-4,000 and ended aboung 3,000 ft. It was good hiking weather and I was stripped to sports bra as usual but if I stopped at all I wanted my shirts back on and sometimes my coat too. There are more and more leaves changing color and more and more leaves on the trail. I walked over a carpet of changing colors, yellow, brown, red or a mix of them all like an intricately designed Persian Carpet or Turkish Kelim.The highest mountain I climbed on the trail today was Apple Ochard Mountain at 4,206 ft. And yep, there were apple trees and I saw a few downed apples on the trail but they did not look too tasty. There were nice views from there and also from Thunder Ridge Overlook.One interesting rock formation today is called the Guillotine. The trail goes through a chute between two cliff like rocks and there is this large boulder stuck between the rocks like a guillotine poised to fall. Luckily it did not do so as I went under it.I am camped tonight near Harrison Ground Spring, which is a big puddle and trickling water that seeps into the ground after a couple dozen feet. It was enough to filter a liter for breakfast and I had been carrying enough for dinner. No bathing though as there is only one puddle big enough to get water and I would take no change of contaminating it. I did manage to get a bandana wet below the one puddle and I did wash my feet. It is rather brisk tonight, so I put up the tent. It is 57 in th tent but colder outside-a taste of things to come but nice enough for a good nights sleep. So I think I will get such now.