Date: 2012-04-07
From: Muskrat Creek Shelter

To: Beech Gap Campsite
Miles today: 9.3
Weather: clear sky

Temp - 32/72Woke this morning to clear skies and 32°. Didn't sleep well due to a guy snoring like a locomotive near by but still felt better than in the hotel bed.We didn't hurry out of camp because we planned a short day to rest our legs after yesterday's horrendous climb out of Bly Gap. Still we passed a number of people who left before us as we descended into Deep Gap including a woman who has injured her knee and is hoping to get to Franklin, N.C. for medical treatment. All it takes is one false step and a hike can be over. It happened to me today when I stepped off the left side of the trail and twisted my ankle but the pain wasn't bad so I continued on and within a 1/2 mile I forgot about it. Speaking of pain I'll give you an update on my condition..... my right hip is still sore but not as bad since I had the cortisone shot back in December. I can't sleep on it for very long but hiking doesn't have much effect on it. My left knee has been acting up again but I'm being careful when I step downhill onto it. Both of my glutes (butt) are sore where the pack frame comes to rest, and finally my left heel is torn open from the heel of my shoe coming apart and scraping the skin off. It hurts when I start out in the morning but then I guess it become numb. I clean it with alcohol n the evening and it is getting better.As for Sod the bottoms of his feet get sore each day but they still look smooth and soft as a baby's bottom... at least that's what I tell him. He like myself generally is tired and sore at the end of each day but things will get better each day.Again we experienced "trail magic" as we came into Deep Gap where a hiking club provided barbecued pulled pork, beans, potato salad, and soda ....oh..and most importantly chairs where we could sit and relax our tired bodies. I want to say a very big thank you to all the groups as well as individuals who provide us with food and encouragement.Tonight we are camped in a gap where there is no cell service so I don't think Friday's journal and definitely today's hasn't reached Jim to post. My wife will think I've been eaten by a bear if she doesn't hear from me soon Speaking of bears, we haven't seen or heard any yet but before coming into my hammock to write this I noticed a plastic bottle in the woods that had been chewed to pieces by one so tonight I have my hiking poles lying just beneath my hammock in case one decides to see what is laying in this hammock that looks like a burrito hanging between two trees.Yesterday I included a photo of our hammock setup showing the tarps so today I took a photo of my hammock hanging. The long skinny thing hanging above is the tarp enclosed in what are called "snake skins" which when pulled apart allow the tarp to deploy around the hammock. They're a great time saver and I had mine custom made by a young lady in California who has the trail name Mountain Goat ....thanks M. G. they're working perfectly.Well it's 8pm and the sun has set behind the ridge so I'm going to lay down and rest my weary bone's. Speaking of Bone's he's doing well and I'm sure he is enjoying the ride on my left shoulder.Well once again I'll say goodnight from the N.C. wilderness.