Date: 2017-05-30
From: Laurel Creek Shelter tent site 

To: Stealth Campsite near Audie Murphy Monument 
Miles today: 17.5
Weather: light rain

5/30Laurel Creek Shelter tent site to Stealth Campsite near Audie Murphy Monument at Mile 690.717.5 milesTotal miles:  690.7I had another good night's rest, was up at 6:00, and hit the trail by 7:40.  My rock pep talk turned out not to be needed at the beginning of my hike. The trail turned pastoral as I walked through several fields.  The weather was again perfect for hiking, sunny and cool.  The scenes from the fields were beautiful and serene. I saw my first daisies, which are my daughter Becky's favorite flower. I then passed the Keffer Oak, the largest oak tree on the AT in the south (there is one slightly larger in New York).  The Keffer Oak is very impressive.  It is over 18 feet around and is over 300 years old.  I then passed an old barn in the woods and several cows. The trail then turned very steep, with an elevation change of over 200 feet in 0.4 miles.  This was perhaps the steepest and longest sustained climb so far, but still very few rocks.  The first rocks I encountered today were in dozens of large piles.  One hiker tried to tell me that farmers back in the day stacked the rocks to make the rest of the area suitable for farming and grazing.  I'm having none.of that.  I told people I believe they are the AT's maintenance project for next year when they will be spread along the trail.  At least one hiker acted like he really believed me.  The trail rocks appeared as I hiked along the ridgeline of Sinking Creek Mountain.  There was a difference today, however. (Cue the hokey metaphor music).  Today, the rocks were the punctuation marks of the sentences of the trail.  Yesterday, they were the letters of the sentences.  Today, many of the rocks were like the commas in sentences; their purpose was to slow down the action.  Unlike yesterday, there was usually still earthen trail, just with rocks.  For about two miles of the ridge, the rocks were the explanation points, adding some real excitement.  Hiking across huge, tilted rock faces with beautiful views, where a slip could cause you to tumble down a very steep ravine, is pretty exciting.  At one point, losing your balance to the left would have resulted in falling off a cliff.  Somehow, the potential of serious injury by long fall from slipping off a tilted rock face is more exhilerating than potential of a broken ankle by tilted, wobbly rock on a flatter surface with no view.  While my pace was slow, I really enjoyed the ridge walk today.  I shared the view with numerous lizards, a few of whom agreed to pose for photos.  There was one rock who tried to be the period of the sentence and put an end to things  (I warned you the metaphor was hokey).  This rock was actually in an area with very few others.  The trail was covered with leaves and pine needles.  This rock was about two feet long, three inches high, and covered with leaves.  It caused me to do my very first complete face plant.  Fortunately, I was able to get my hands in front of my face before the ground arrived.  The way I learned to use my trekking pole straps also really works, as the poles rolled away from my thumbs and fingers. I landed in soft dirt and leaves and was completely uninjured, although my pack did come up over my head.  An exciting moment, thankfully, with no bad after effects. None the worse for wear, when I reached the north end of the ridge crest of Sinking Creek Mountain, I crossed the Eastern Continental Divide. The Atlantic Ocean is 430 miles in one direction, while the Gulf of Mexico is 1,920 miles in the other.  From there, I had an uneventful walk down Sinking Creek Mountain and then a steep, long climb up Brush Mountain.  A little less than a mile past the crest of Brush Mountain,  a monument to Audie Murphy has been erected.  The most decorated American soldier in World War Two, he was killed in a plane crash near this site in 1971.  Near this site along the trail I found Juan Gone, who had been joined by a very nice southbound section hiker named Just Susan.  We had a good conversation about hiking in general and about what each of us would encounter tomorrow. Just Susan, from Chicago, has recovered from a broken hip to continue her section hike of the AT.  About thirty minutes before sundown, Juan Gone and I headed for the observation point just past Audie Murphy's Memorial to watch the sunset. It was peaceful and serene, and the sun put on quite a show.  We walked back to camp, and I finished my few remaining chores by headlamp.  The closest water source is several miles in each direction from where we camped, so I toted an extra liter up Brush Mountain.  I'll have enough to get to the next water source at Trout Creek, 3.8 miles north. This is the first section of the AT where I have really had to plan out my water stops.  I have 11.7 miles to go tomorrow to get to Four Pines Hostel.  Part of those miles is through Dragons Tooth, which is a very challenging rock formation I will get to hike down.  I plan on tenting at the hostel tomorrow night. I'll get a shuttle ride to the Catawba Grocery Store on Thursday morning, where my friend, Patricia, will pick me up so we can attend the ET&WNC Railroad Historical Society Convention in Johnson City, Tennessee, this weekend. I'm looking forward to seeing my railroad friends again. I should be back on the trail on Monday. Headed back to sleep now to be ready for another big day tomorrow.