Date: 2006-03-18
From: Muskrat Creek Shelter

To: Betty Creek Gap
Miles today: 16.2
Weather: overcast clouds

3-18-06Muskrat Creek Shelter to Betty Creek Gap16.2 milesBefore I even begin this journal entry, I must lament about what I call the "3-mile curse". Whenever a hiker comes upon a sign that says 3 point something miles to wherever your destination may be, beware, for that is a bad omen. On the AT, that always means those three miles will be three of the longest miles you've ever hiked, and will usually be uphill, and feel like eight. I don't know what it is, but it has happened to me a few times already on various days, so be warned. The 3-mile curse is no joke.Every day seems endless, but the past on the trail seems but a blip in time.A random thought:Ancient Greeks believed the past to be receding out in front of them and the future to be coming up from behind; Modern thought contends that we look forward to the future, with the past behind us. I like the idea of Greek future/past, it makes sense to me, but on the trail, I can see exactly where my next ten steps our going to take me, so modern thought prevails. Maybe I should try hiking backwards...This morning was a cold one, with our water bottles containing not just water when we woke, but also chunks of ice in them. To me, it did not seem as cold as that night we spent camping outside Low Gap shelter, but it must have been colder. The hiking was also a bit chilly, as the sun did not escape from its cloudy cage until around noon.We hiked up Standing Indian Mountain today, which will be the highest mountain on the Trail in North Carolina until the Smokies. The terrain was relatively easy today; Uncle John only paused about five different times on the uphill sections, which probably accounted for why we hiked a whopping 16.2 miles today, a new all-time record for most miles in one day for both of us!The uneventfulness of the day lead to some thinking on my part; I thought about how wonderful it will be when I finally get to see Shanae again, how weather really does influence people's moods (Uncle John and I barely said anything until it got warm and sunny out), and of bears (the Grizz!) because apparently there is a bear in the area that we will be hiking in the next couple of days who isn't afraid of humans, and will attempt to rush them for their food (great!).But we conquered those 16.2 miles in between the times of 7:40AM to 4:00PM, and found a nice little campsite at Betty Creek Gap. Initially, we thought we had the campsite to ourselves, until a roving band of Boy Scouts and their parents/scout masters arrived fifteen minutes later to cause a ruckus setting up camp. Not the nice and peaceful spot we imagined this was going to be.Its past dark now and the little punks are still talking and playing with their cell phones. I thought about throwing peanut butter or something on their tents, so some bears would get a whiff and then that would teach them. But of course I didn't, and had to entertain myself with dreams of a big ol' grizz sitting on a couch, watching TV, calling out "Honey, would you get me a bag of BBQ glazed Boy Scout chips," and munching happily on them to the light of a flickering tube. Side note:Falafel is not a good camp food. I mixed some up and was trying to fry it up on Uncle John's white gas stove, but I must have added too much water because all I ended up with is a gloppy, oily, luke-warm mess. I tried to choke down a bit but it was awful. I¢m still kind of hungry, going to make up for it at breakfast. But that's about it for today folks.Night!