Weather: Mostly sunny, 60s to start, breezy, hot in the afternoon
Length: 13.5 m
Elevation change: Wildcat Ridge - 3000, So. fork Moormans FR - 2000, Calf Mtn. - 3000, Rockfish Gap - 1800
Duration: 8.0 h including break for lunch and more rest periods
Since I had kicked major trail butt yesterday or was it the other way round(?), I had a shorter hike today. My tent was thoroughly soaked underneath but I had a dry sleep so I call that a success. Stuffed all the wet gear in the appropriate sacks, loaded up the pack, had a quick oatmeal breakfast (love that JetBoil stove), and headed out, feeling well-rested and invigorated for the trek ahead.
The trail was altogether lovely this morning, with a mix of the normal closed in shadowy parts, to some open pasture and meadow. Having hiked mostly undercover until now, I was a bit surprised by how much the trail, usually no more than a foot wide if well-packed, was encroached by overhanging brush and grass. With recent rains and bright sun no wonder. There were places where recent trail maintenance had been performed but keeping it all clear is a major undertaking and the volunteers are doing a marvelous job. The up and downs were manageable and since I knew I had fewer miles to go, did not seem to be too challenging; just put one foot in front of the other as the song says.
My first encounter was with a local on horseback, out for a morning ride on one of the intersecting blue blaze trails. We had an informative one-sided chat regarding the history and geography of the area. My loquacious educator just would not let me go, saying something like: well, let me tell you about ... I cannot remember how I broke the suction.
My second encounter was with Grasshopper, a thru-hiker and about my age. We had an uplifting conversation and parted ways. I am truly humbled by these hikers that do this day in and day out for months at a time. You should check him out at Grasshopper's Blog. Come spring I plan to start with some of them at Springer Mtn. GA, the southern terminus of the AT and hike for a couple of weeks up to Hot Springs, NC. I have some serious training between now and then to be successful.
All during my trek, and for that matter anytime I hike, I want to see the natural flora and fauna. This can be problematic as a found out Monday confronted with an indigenous snake, but nevertheless it became the big event. Same goes for seeing a bear; I wanted to see one (many folks I had encountered mentioned seeing them) but not necessarily have to deal with a confrontation like I did with Mr. Snake. Well, here he is. This is not an actual photo I took since I had left my camera at home and my mobile was useless. So to the best of my recollection this is what I saw. He was thrashing about on the right edge of the trail enjoying the bountiful berries. He did not sense me, so I watched for a while, just enjoying viewing him doing his normal stuff. He was much bigger than I expected based on previous observations. After a while, feeling the pressure of my scheduled meeting in Richmond, I tapped my trekking poles together. He looked up, ears at attention and stared. I did not make eye contact and he moved across the trail and into the brush. Not seeing him now, I advanced down the trail tooting my whistle as a further encouragement for him to move on. Did not see him again. Now I am making a big deal of this and others talked about it casually, but again experiencing these events on the trail are what make it interesting to me, not watching you feet for hours on end to make sure you do not misstep.
The rest of the trip was anticlimactic and delightful. After passing Jarman Gap and taking on a little more water to finish the trip I just idled along. I knew I was on a good schedule so I slowed my overall pace a bit.
The long decent into Rockfish was well-designed so I did not feel like my toes were banging against the fronts of my boots (trail runners today to be precise and I had them pretty tight). And before long I could hear the semis on I-64 groaning upgrade to the pass. Not an unwelcome sound but still a mile or so away. Finally dropping down sharply onto the parkway near the entrance I felt relief and euphoria at this modest accomplishment of 44.3 m in three days. All told, I hiked for about 22 hours of the 50 hours I was out, something I had not done since the boy and I went to Philmont 20 years ago. I am encouraged and looking forward to my next hike, yet to be determined.
My second encounter was with Grasshopper, a thru-hiker and about my age. We had an uplifting conversation and parted ways. I am truly humbled by these hikers that do this day in and day out for months at a time. You should check him out at Grasshopper's Blog. Come spring I plan to start with some of them at Springer Mtn. GA, the southern terminus of the AT and hike for a couple of weeks up to Hot Springs, NC. I have some serious training between now and then to be successful.
The rest of the trip was anticlimactic and delightful. After passing Jarman Gap and taking on a little more water to finish the trip I just idled along. I knew I was on a good schedule so I slowed my overall pace a bit.
The long decent into Rockfish was well-designed so I did not feel like my toes were banging against the fronts of my boots (trail runners today to be precise and I had them pretty tight). And before long I could hear the semis on I-64 groaning upgrade to the pass. Not an unwelcome sound but still a mile or so away. Finally dropping down sharply onto the parkway near the entrance I felt relief and euphoria at this modest accomplishment of 44.3 m in three days. All told, I hiked for about 22 hours of the 50 hours I was out, something I had not done since the boy and I went to Philmont 20 years ago. I am encouraged and looking forward to my next hike, yet to be determined.
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