I’m not one for digging holes, but the privy today was so small, that would have been the preferred route. As it was, the privy was a tad confined and smack dab in the middle of the camp. If I stood up, my junk showed over the top of the wall. When I sat down, I could see clearly all around me looking under the wall. There were people all around packing up. I discovered the best way to ensure privacy was to make eye contact with everyone and give them the “I’m watching you” gesture. It’s amazing how quickly everyone turns away when a middle aged man sitting on a privy gives you the signal. Even more astounding was how fast all the women broke camp and hit the trail. They were so considerate at giving me plenty of space that I’ll probably never see any of them again.
Gazelle had some guests with her on the trail—her mother, sister, and dog joined her for a 16 mile stretch. They were having fun, but I think only her dog will make the transition to long distance hiker.
I noticed a difference in hiking styles today. As we were being passed by a couple of girls, they had their heads down and arms pumping. I looked back at Bunny, whom they had just passed, and she was standing off to the side of the trail adjusting her hair—the same hair which hasn’t been washed in 5 days. A different level of intensity for sure.
There was a slight threat of rain early on, but, fortunately, it never materialized. The temperature did make a run above 50 and the sun tried poking through the clouds occasionally, but it was always a half-hearted attempt. It did sprinkle a little late in the afternoon. Overall, it was an ideal day for hiking.
The highlight for the day was crossing over Max Patch Summit. This is another bald in NC with crazy views. From the summit the “wall” of the Smokies is very noticeable. Weather coming in from any direction is forced up into a 6,000+’ wall of mountains. It was clear to see why we encountered so much bad weather crossing the park. Of course, the “kids” were up there sunning and enjoying life. This group is making the most of the AT experience.
Bunny Tracks has been taking Curamed—a turmeric based supplement to fight inflammation. She thinks it is doing her some good so she gave me some to try. I need to add another item to the list of things which give me gas. This also made me aware that I need to modify the way I do some things while hiking. Number 1 on the list is look behind me BEFORE I fart. Luckily, they were a couple on spring break. I asked them if they knew my name and they said “No.” I replied “Good” and kept on moving. They mysteriously disappeared at the next trail intersection.
We have a new intrigue on the trail. It’s called “The love saga of Baby Bear Face and Patches.” Patches seems like she might be a little embarrassed but it has become the goal of the hiking community to get these two together. She has ditched us once again (before we found out about this saga), so we haven’t been able to get her input in the matter so far. All we know is that Patches is about a half of a day in front of us. An interesting coincidence is that Baby Bear Face is also about a half of a day in front of us.
We got to the shelter around 4 which means we covered 13 miles in under 8 hours. Our hiking rate is slowly creeping up to around 1.75 mph. We’re hoping to break the 2mph barrier before VA. We are old and slow, but we make up for it by being erratic.
Stickers made it to the shelter ahead of us and managed to spread his stuff out to hold spots for Lady Bug, Bunny Tracks, and me. We immediately set up our beds to secure the space. The forecast is calling for rain tonight and the winds were already picking up by 7. We are fortunate to be in the shelter. It would be even more fortunate if the open side wasn’t the side where the wind was blowing. Stickers did provide his tent footprint as a wind barrier which should help quite a bit. Now if we just don’t tell Lady Bug and Bunny Tracks about the rat he saw run under the platform, we might get a good night’s sleep.
EFG