Happy Mother’s Day to both of our moms and to all the mothers out there, not just limited to our own. There’s lots of mothers we know of. I’ll also throw in Bunny on the list to be remembered because in the over 9 years we have been together, not one time have both kids remembered to wish her Happy Mothers Day or a Happy Birthday.
At 7:15, while we were all still in bed asleep, the kid that was supposed to shuttle Grandma Shorty and Plod Along (and told them he had to be at work at 7 and couldn’t miss—he didn’t tell them until 9:30 last night) came in and asked us if we were going to take the 7 or 8 shuttle back to the trail. Since it was already past 7, I thought this was a stupid question. The bigger issue was that we had not been informed, until now, that if we wanted a free shuttle, we had to be ready by 8. Grandma Shorty and Plod Along were already ticked and cancelled another night’s stay because of this. Stanimal has a problem in Glasgow.
We hurriedly packed, ate breakfast, and made last minute porcelain stops before loading up at 8:15. I complained to the woman about the short notice and she eased up on the 8 departure time a few minutes. Gnome and us headed out in the first car and got the kid to let us pick up some Gatorade at the Dollar General on the way out of town. Lady Bug and Stickers were in the second car and arrived as we were heading up the trail. It was only 2 miles to Johns Hollow Shelter where we all met up for a short break.
There were bees swarming all around the shelter and it was miserably hot. While we were unsuccessfully trying to chill out, another hiker named Needles came in. We, unsuccessfully, tried to guess how she got her name with guesses ranging from heroine addiction to diabetes. She told us it was much simpler—she liked to knit and carried her knitting needles with her.
The shelter was at the bottom of a 2300’ climb. No breeze, steep climb, and hot temps are not the ideal start to a day. Also with the high heat, we had the worst swarming insects we have encountered to date. I don’t know how bugs can fly full speed right into your ears, but that one of their favorite aerial tricks. We all stopped at first summit in shade to snack, enjoy a cool breeze, and make mother day calls while we all had signals.
Today was a first as we spent all day walking together. Usually, we break up to walk and meet up later. I guess misery loves company. We took lots of stops to try to cool off. We all ran out of water before we made it to the shelter. At one point, Gnome fell a little behind. He was still in sight of Bunny, though. He came to a switchback that Bunny had just passed and a rattlesnake was completely across the trail. It must have been moving fast for her to miss it in passing or she just stepped over it thinking it was a stick. When Gnome got to it, it bumped his boot with its head to let him know it was there. Gnome touched it with his pole to try to get him to move off the trail. That really pissed it off and it coiled up and rattled. Gnome got a nice video and one hell of an adrenaline rush.
I knew back in the Smokies that as bad as the snow and cold were, there would come a point where I would want those conditions again. Today was that day. You can warm up in the cold by walking faster. Yes, it makes camping harder, but the cold keeps the insects away. Now we have temps in the 90s with constant swarming insects. I also see large patches of poison ivy all around and I’m afraid I will accidentally touch some. I’m already covered in insect bites and my tolerance for noise around my ears is not great. I have to hike with my buff covering my ears to keep the insects out, but this makes me a lot hotter. I start praying for an unexpected hard freeze tonight.
Even though we only had 10 miles to go today and we got a relatively early start hiking today, there were already lots of hikers in and around Punchbowl Shelter when we arrived. The shelter was already full. We picked up spots to set up our tents and proceeded to get everything done so we could get to bed. We decided to try getting up early tomorrow and hiking until it got really hot and then resting until it cooled back off. This was the most crowded shelter we have stayed at to date, but no Patches
I got almost 10 liters of water out of the spring to refill our bladders and have enough for supper and breakfast. With the Gatorade I got this morning, I had another water container so I could have a new treat—iced tea! I’d rather have some propel or some other drink with electrolytes, but there weren’t any to be found in Glasgow.
After my bad luck hanging bear bags in the dark, I usually hang the line first thing when I get to camp. That’s what I did tonight. Bunny and I had bought enough food to get us to Waynesboro in 6 days counting on a possible couple of meals at Devils Backbone Brewery on Wednesday night. We tried to buy less than usual since we always end up with extra at the next resupply (its extremely tough to judge amounts with daily fluctuations in taste and amounts varying). When I tried to pull up the bag, I pulled down the limb—maybe we still have too much.
With the large number people at the shelter, we were surprised when everyone got into bed before dark. The heat had taken its toll on everyone, just not the old and weak. We took our vitamin I with a Benadryl kicker to help us sleep. When I woke up for my first external tent visit, I saw a red light passing down the trail. I’m not sure of the time but it had to be past 10. No doubt, Patches has caught up with us once again.
EFG