We got an earlier start today than yesterday, but not by much; 9:45. The section hikers were camped behind the shelter and had gotten up early, built a fire, and were all packed up before any of the thru-hikers were up—the sheer enthusiasm of short time hikers! Ridge, Quatro, and Shark Bait are younger guys (20s maybe as old as 30, but pups) so they feel a need to be plugged in all the time. This generation must be afraid of hearing their inner voices. They opted this morning to play their music out loud for all to hear. Normally this would bother me, but at least they had some musical taste and listened to some “Old Time Music” or as Bunny and I might call it, “The music we grew up with”—Bad Company, Supertramp, The Band. They might be young, but they at least have good taste.
Because of our late start, we were too late for magic at the first road crossing. Someone had left a 12 pack of soda and some chips on the shoulder. We got there to find only empty cans and bags. We only knew of 8 people ahead of us, so we will give them the benefit of the doubt that this was leftover magic from yesterday and that no one in front of us was a glutton. Play by Play had told us Grumpy and Gucci Girl were coming down to give him some trail magic, so we were keeping an eye out for them.
White Top was looming over us as we walked. Normally, we don’t get intimidated by mountains we have to climb because there are plenty of trees on the trail that block how high we have to climb; not today. We had about a mile of meadow walking toward the base of the mountain so Bunny had plenty of time to psyche herself out for the climb.
Even getting near the top, we had great views. We noticed what appeared to be a forest fire in the distance along the section we had passed yesterday. We hoped it was a controlled burn and not the start of another dry season—with all the rain we’ve had so far, it has to be planned. We talked with the other hikers who were camping at our shelter last night. They were two guys that were section hiking the AT and three other people they had met over the last few years who asked to join them. The two main guys were from Indianapolis, but they DID NOT know Steve Johnson.
We kept going to get out of wind and have lunch on the other side of the mountain. One of the older guys in the group had dropped his tent (presumably on accident and not just a stupid attempt to lighten his load). We picked it up and carried it up to him. He was in his 70’s and this was only their second day out so he was struggling a little (not bad). I still think it’s harder to section hike the AT because every time you come out, you have to get your body used to the rigors of hiking all over again. It doesn’t really become fun until after the 5th day (which might be why so many people quit at Neel Gap in Georgia).
Coming down the back side of White Top, we saw a sign saying “Trail magic with Grumpy and Gucci Girl ahead.” Play by Play was telling the truth. We got there to find a set up almost as big as the Leap Frog Cafe. Grumpy had hurt himself (tendon tears in his ankle) back in Georgia just before the Top of Georgia Hostel and had to get off. He had given his pack and quilt to Arnie 1 Mile whom we met in Franklin, NC. We knew all about him, but hadn’t met him. Gucci Girl had originally planned to do trail magic in this location at this time when Grumpy started the trail, so they were just keeping to the plan and were not doing this for Play by Play. Bottom line, 2 cheeseburgers, a hot dog, 2 bananas, a bag of chips, a Snickers Bar, a cup of hot chocolate, and Coke later, Stickers and Lady Bug caught up with us.
We stayed and talked to everyone for a couple of hours. We were not feeling that great about the 17 mile day we had planned for since it was already after 4 when we wedged ourselves away from the free food. We agreed to hike another 4 miles to Thomas Knob Shelter and spend the night with Lady Bug and Stickers. That way, we’d be fresh when we entered the Grayson Highlands and get to spend time with the wild ponies.
We were dragging today. Bunny thinks it’s because she has new trail runners and has to learn to walk in a completely different manner (her shoes are “zero rise” instead of the usual 5mm she’s used to). She claims this is putting additional strain on her calves. It seems plausible and I’m tired myself so we are both very happy when we get to the shelter. Odie, the creator of the AT Hiker Yearbook, is waiting at the clean shelter with a fire going. He was planning on hiking further on, but he told us the shelter was so dirty that he had spent the afternoon cleaning it up. He had about a 30# bag of garbage as proof. His good deed had cost him a chance at some great trail magic ahead of him (behind us, he’s sobo) because the forest service has told Grumpy and Gucci Girl to move on. Feeling bad for him, we described, in detail, all the food that he had missed.
EFG