Date: 2017-06-20
From: Unnamed tent site alongside South River Fire Road at Mile 910.9

To: Rock Spring Hut Tent Site
Miles today: 17.0
Weather: light rain

6/20Unnamed tent site alongside South River Fire Road at Mile 910.9 to Rock Spring Hut Tent Site17.0 miles Total miles:  927.9It's hard to believe that this is my 75th day on the trail.  It was a cool night, and I slept well in my sleeping bag.  While everything was dampish, as would be expected, nothing was wet, and I spent a very comfortable and restful night.  I was up at 6:00 and we were on the trail by 7:45.  The goal for today was Rock Spring Hut, seventeen miles away.  We expected to be delayed awhile at Big Meadows Wayside, where more delicious food and drink awaited us.  The hike over Baldface Mountain was quite easy, and that's no lie.  On the way down the mountain, I took a short side trail to examine Pocosin Cabin, which is used by the Potomic Appalachian Trail Club.  It is a well-maintained and attractive cabin, but was understandably locked, as was the privy.  No worries there. Mike and Gravity did not visit the cabin, so I had fallen a ways behind them.  When I caught up, they told me that a fawn had just dashed across the path right in front of them and that they had heard a large animal moving in the woods.  They were not able to see it, but they were both pretty sure it was a bear.  We stopped at Lewis Mountain Campground for water and to dump our trash.  This campground has an interesting history of beginning as a blacks-only campground in the days of Jim Crow laws.  According to the informational sign, the food and entertainment were so exceptional that white people wanted to be able to come to the campground as well.  It was integrated in 1950, several years before other facilities of its kind.  From there, we climbed Bearfence Mountain.  I took the side trail to the rock overlook and was treated to a magnificent view.  I also saw Bones and his trail dog, Ross, as well as Van Gogh.  I hadn't seen them in weeks.  Ross was especially friendly, and I figure he remembered the Slim Jim he had dog-eyed me out of during that lunch all that time ago.  It was a bit like a reunion seeing them again.  I also saw Pippi and Redcap on the overlook.  They had both been at the shelter yesterday when I heard about Momma Splat seeing a bear.  My reputation as a Bear Summoner grew a bit more, because, as you might have guessed, Redcap, who had passed near the Pocosin Cabin just a short while after we did, had seen a bear on the trail.  I'll bet he saw the one that spooked the fawn earlier.  Pippi, who, like me, has yet to see a bear, asked me to summon one for her. I told her that I will do my best.  After admiring the view and taking some photos, it was back to the trail.  Mike, Gravity, and I all ate lunch at Bootens Gap, prior to climbing Hazeltop Mountain. We made good time up and over Hazelton and then hiked the short side trail to Big Meadows Wayside.  Calorie time!  I guess it will surprise no one to find out that I ordered a cheeseburger, fries, and a blackberry milkshake.  I also added a Gatorade and an orange juice.  We joined Splat, Dory, Pippi, Recap, and Mechanic at the picnic area.  Speedy and Young Buck were crashed out napping.  Bones and Van Gogh, with help from Ross, were performing on the lawn with Bones jamming on his guitar and Van Gogh on his harmonica.  I lay in the grass taking in the music on my right and the good-natured teasing and conversation of my hiking friends on my left and felt nothing but quiet contentment.  However, there was still four and a half more miles to go, so before too long it was back to the pack and the AT.  The trail runs right along the Big Meadows campground, and I met some special people along the way.  Billy and George from Ohio were only too happy to show off their 1960s Starcraft Pop-Up trailer, which is in excellent condition.  It is very similar to the one we camped in when I was a kid back in the '60s. Those were special times when Mom and Dad would take all nine of us kids camping for two weeks every summer.  And, no, we didn't all fit in the Starcraft, but it was a major part of the operation.  We had such good times.  I thanked Billy and George for triggering my walk down a very happy memory lane, and hit the trail again.  It was getting late, and we wanted to reach Rock Spring before dark.  I had walked about 100 yards, when a voice from above me in the campground shouted, "Hey there.  Are you a thru-hiker?"  I replied that I was.  "Would you like a sandwich and a cold drink?" Like there was ever a question. I hurried up the path and met Riley and Lydia, also from Ohio.  Riley (his trail name is Smokey) thru hiked in 2014. He and Lydia had purposely camped right along the AT so they could provide trail magic to hikers.  I enjoyed a delicious ham and cheese sandwich and an ice cold Gatorade.  Mike and Gravity joined us, and we had a short chat about thru hiking. Again, the kindness and generosity of the AT community overwhelms me.  Thanks again, Smokey and Lydia!  We then actually started hiking with some speed attached as it was getting late.  We passed yet another spectacular view not far from the campground, made even more dramatic by the sun being low in the sky.  There were more beautiful vistas as we hiked along the Franklin Cliffs.  As I began to walk out on the last outcropping, I was met by two very excited young women.  They gestured to me to hurry.  "We just saw a bear! A mother and two cubs!"  Of course, by the time I got there the bears had moved on and were no longer in sight.  The young women showed me were they had seen them.  It was wonderful to see them so excited.  All in a day's work for the Bear Summoner.  And while I might not have seen a bear, I did see several deer, an oriole, and a flock of seven wild turkeys.  Mike, Gravity, and I made it to the tent area of Rock Spring Hut as the sun was setting.  As I set up my tent, I listened to the good cheer of a group of Girl Scouts who had rented the cabin below the hut.  They were singing songs I remember from Girl Scout Day Camp when Becky was young. There weren't too many dads who volunteered for day camp, but I always enjoyed it.  One of my favorite photos of Becky and me was taking on our way to Me and My Guy at Camp Finbrook.  Becky was so excited wearing my old canvas Boy Scout backpack.  Pretty soon, she will be bringing her Osprey pack (with the little whistle on the chest strap) to hike with me in Vermont.  There was no reason to cook dinner (thanks again, Smokey and Lydia!), so I quickly finished my outdoor chores by the light of my headlamp, got myself ready for bed, and was in my sleeping bag before 10:00.  Tomorrow should be another fifteen plus mile day so it's time to get rested up for it.  It's another cool night, which makes for good sleeping.  I had actually expected today to be a pretty uneventful day, but I have very few of those on this trail. We'll see what tomorrow brings.