Hella Tough Mt.) It was a 1000 climb in 2 miles. I kept stopping to catch my breath and adjust my pack. I finally told everyone to go ahead without me. I needed to take my time and I would meet them down the trail somewhere. I knew it was going to be a loooong and high mileage day, so I wanted to conserve energy, but still keep in time. I told myself I would be on top of that mountain by 12pm. That was my goal. If I don't keep any other goal today, I just wanted to be on top of that mountain by 12pm. I was having another mentally tough day. Questioning why was I out here? I was 3/4's of the way up that climb and about to lose it when I decided to just sit down on a log and compose myself. I think the cold temperature and the high miles for the day were playing mind games with me. I needed to relax and remember why I enjoyed this. And just when I needed it, that's when I saw her. I caught a glimpse of a little lady bug on my log. Ladybugs have always brought me luck. That was it, I was not going to spend another minute being
unsure of myself. I was going to enjoy this, I was going to DO this, I was going to let go, just let it happen and stop trying to "time" every mile. So much for all my planning and organizing. I tossed it all out the window. I wanted an authentic thru hiker experience so I was going to surrender to what ever the thru-hiker gods had in store for me. I didn't realize it then, but I was giving myself permission to be free, completely free with no time frame, no goals, and no expectations. Just put one foot in front of the other and see what happens. I climbed that last .25 miles slowly without stopping and when I reached the top and saw that view, I had forgotten how rotten I was feeling earlier that morning. That little ladybug saved my hike that morning. Oh... and I made it up by noon :) I decided to not rush to keep up with everyone, but to hike my own hike and enjoy this little accomplishment. So I dropped my pack and for 20 minutes, I sunned myself on that mountain top and took time to pat myself on the back for climbing up that beast. This peak felt
familiar, like I had been here before. I want to say I think I climbed it back in college when I went on my first "real" backpacking trip during fall break. I've hiked a lot, but never backpacked like this. I remember my friend Marissa (a total NYC chick) whom I coerced to go on this adventure with me. She glared at me as she paused half way up the mountain to pull out her inhaler to catch her breath haha! Good memories. Thanks ECU outdoor department. You will never know how that 3 day trip changed my life. Anyways, it felt very familiar. After some beef jerky and the last of my water, I decided to move on. I knew that in 2 miles, There would be a shelter with a water source. Well, I walked not more than 50 yards, when I saw a yellow sign that said Spring, and there was the spring right there! No climbing down .33 miles to find it, but right there! My luck had already changed. :) I decided to just load up my nalgenes and skip the shelter. So I dropped my pack, pulled out the filter.
familiar, like I had been here before. I want to say I think I climbed it back in college when I went on my first "real" backpacking trip during fall break. I've hiked a lot, but never backpacked like this. I remember my friend Marissa (a total NYC chick) whom I coerced to go on this adventure with me. She glared at me as she paused half way up the mountain to pull out her inhaler to catch her breath haha! Good memories. Thanks ECU outdoor department. You will never know how that 3 day trip changed my life. Anyways, it felt very familiar. After some beef jerky and the last of my water, I decided to move on. I knew that in 2 miles, There would be a shelter with a water source. Well, I walked not more than 50 yards, when I saw a yellow sign that said Spring, and there was the spring right there! No climbing down .33 miles to find it, but right there! My luck had already changed. :) I decided to just load up my nalgenes and skip the shelter. So I dropped my pack, pulled out the filter. I was in the middle of pumping my second nalgene when I heard loud noises, like something big was crashing through the forest. My first thought was BEAR!! YEAH! I will get to see my first Shennie Bear! Then I thought BEAR! OH SHIT! my first Shennie bear is too close for comfort! RETREAT, ABORT, BAIL, RUN!!!! All my stuff was unpacked b/c I was b
usy getting water. Should I just run? Should I stand my ground? Should I just grab my stuff, move, and pack it a mile down the trail? I decided leave my pack and peek over the ridge to see and scare the bear away. Well, I peeked over and saw a hard working PTC volunteer (Potomac Appalachian Trail Club) hacking away at a section of the overgrown trail. He saw me and waved, I told him I thought he was a bear! We both laughed. I went over and thanked him for all the hard work the PTC volunteers have done, b/c the trail looked amazing. We chit chatted a bit about the trail and bears and he assured me I would see one soon. I finally returned to the spring and finished pumping my water, packed up, and hiked the 2 miles to th
e shelter. At the shelter, the sign said it was only 1.6 more miles to Powell gap. So I moved on ahead. When I got close enough to see the road crossing at Powell gap, I caught a glimpse of .....Ed!! He said he was nursing a blister and was thinking about road walking a bit. I decided I didn't want to be alone anymore so I'd join him. (Not to mention, I wasn't looking forward to the 2 mile climb we had coming after we crossed the road) We took a break, I ate a snack, and drank a liter of water.
usy getting water. Should I just run? Should I stand my ground? Should I just grab my stuff, move, and pack it a mile down the trail? I decided leave my pack and peek over the ridge to see and scare the bear away. Well, I peeked over and saw a hard working PTC volunteer (Potomac Appalachian Trail Club) hacking away at a section of the overgrown trail. He saw me and waved, I told him I thought he was a bear! We both laughed. I went over and thanked him for all the hard work the PTC volunteers have done, b/c the trail looked amazing. We chit chatted a bit about the trail and bears and he assured me I would see one soon. I finally returned to the spring and finished pumping my water, packed up, and hiked the 2 miles to th
e shelter. At the shelter, the sign said it was only 1.6 more miles to Powell gap. So I moved on ahead. When I got close enough to see the road crossing at Powell gap, I caught a glimpse of .....Ed!! He said he was nursing a blister and was thinking about road walking a bit. I decided I didn't want to be alone anymore so I'd join him. (Not to mention, I wasn't looking forward to the 2 mile climb we had coming after we crossed the road) We took a break, I ate a snack, and drank a liter of water. So I was now a Skyline Road walker. Ok.... I can deal with that. (By the way, the road isn't all flat and easy, it's got hills and climbs too) After a mile, another PTC volun
teer named Frank, pulls his car over and tells us about the (lack of) water situation at Pinefield Hut (our camp destination). Frank says, there is no water at the shelter spring, so in about 1.5 miles, we should load up with water at the ranger station. We thank him for the info and decide to stop at the ranger station, which was .5 miles from the road, but worth the extra mile of walking to get some water. We hike on for another 1/2 mile when a sweet older couple in an RV camper stop in the middle of the road and ask us "Are you guys thirsty?" Without skipping a beat, Ed and I say YES!, and the gentleman says, "Well how about a cold coke?" (HELL YA! diet coke is only my biggest craving while backpacking!) My first trail magic! Whoo hoo!! We thank him a million times and decide to sit on the side of the road and chug our cokes down. They will never know just how good that soda was or just how much it made my day. My luck has changed :)
teer named Frank, pulls his car over and tells us about the (lack of) water situation at Pinefield Hut (our camp destination). Frank says, there is no water at the shelter spring, so in about 1.5 miles, we should load up with water at the ranger station. We thank him for the info and decide to stop at the ranger station, which was .5 miles from the road, but worth the extra mile of walking to get some water. We hike on for another 1/2 mile when a sweet older couple in an RV camper stop in the middle of the road and ask us "Are you guys thirsty?" Without skipping a beat, Ed and I say YES!, and the gentleman says, "Well how about a cold coke?" (HELL YA! diet coke is only my biggest craving while backpacking!) My first trail magic! Whoo hoo!! We thank him a million times and decide to sit on the side of the road and chug our cokes down. They will never know just how good that soda was or just how much it made my day. My luck has changed :) After stopping a
several overlooks (road walking the SNP offers waaaay more views then hiking it) We reach the turn off to the ranger station and who do we run into? LORI!!! Her and James huffed it up the 2 mile climb with no water! She was going to the ranger station get water and James was going to finish the hike, get his car and pick her up at the ranger station. We all walked the .5 miles to the ranger station, filled up, drank up, and waited for James to give us a ride. SCORE! more trail magic! James rolls in with Rylan in the passenger seat. They get water, while we try to stuff our packs in the back of James' SUV. He drives us 2 miles to the trail head and after thanks and good byes (James is leaving the trail to go to a family wedding) we hike the .5 miles, all down hill, into camp in great spirits by 5pm. I find two perfect trees and start hanging up my hammock.While I was doing my camp chores, I started thinking about how I always thought I would be a purist when it came to hiking the AT. That I would hike ever single inch of the trail and not skip any of it. Well. I guess I'm a blue blazer, and I'm OK with that :) I believe in hiking your own hike. I would of missed all the little adventures and trail magic today if I stuck to the purist philosophy. Maybe there is something to this freedom thing... Let me work on it some more before I become a full blown blue blazer :)
After setting up a NICE hammock and tarp, seriously, probably my best set up yet. I checked out the privy at Pinefield Hut. The climb to it was pretty steep, but the mouldering privy was probably the best privy I have seen on the trail yet. It was clean. Well, as clean as a privy can get, and the wood chips definitely cut down the gross privy smell. (Three cheers to the PTC and the mouldering privy at Pinefield hut!) I changed clothes and met up with everyone around the shelter for dinner. Rylan had hiked in a magnum of wine, that was a perfect ending to this day. Yay for more trail magic!
There were three other hikers joining us at the shelter this evening. One seemed to want some privacy, he ate dinner, then headed straight to sleep in the shelter, so we left him alone. The other two were pretty nice. Yosemite Sam from San Francisco, who has never hiked the AT, always wanted to, and had plans to in the 70's, but never made it out east. So this was one of his "bucket list" items and he was thru hiking the SNP and headed on to W.V. Good for him! We had a good time chiding him on benefiting from John Muir's ill fated Hetch Hetchy fight. (If you're into the outdoors like we are into the outdoors, you might of caught the PBS National Park series, that's where the joke comes from.) and then Yosemite Sam's friend. I wis
h I would of remembered his name, he and Lori talked boy scouts, ALOT, for most of the evening. What a nice guy. Well, little did we know that Rylan had be recording our little chit chat segment for an episode of one of his Southeastern Backpackers. Yup, you heard it right, Sweetpea's voice, with some creative editing, will forever be Podcasted! I'm excited to hear how it turned out. I'll be sure to blog about THAT when it comes out. After what turned out to be an awesome day, we called it a night at hikers midnight (8pm) and hit the hay to rest up for our next day's adventure.
h I would of remembered his name, he and Lori talked boy scouts, ALOT, for most of the evening. What a nice guy. Well, little did we know that Rylan had be recording our little chit chat segment for an episode of one of his Southeastern Backpackers. Yup, you heard it right, Sweetpea's voice, with some creative editing, will forever be Podcasted! I'm excited to hear how it turned out. I'll be sure to blog about THAT when it comes out. After what turned out to be an awesome day, we called it a night at hikers midnight (8pm) and hit the hay to rest up for our next day's adventure. I slept good that night. Not sure if it was from all the hiking that tired me out, or the wine, but I slept GOOD. I woke up around 6:30am to pack up, eat breakfast, and start the trail with a fresh new outlook. It's going to be a good day :) Til next time. GET OUTDOORS!!!
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