Finally – Just Doing It! – Day 3
June 14, 2007 – 8:11 amI didn’t have any trouble going to sleep last night but I did wake up at zero dark thirty as a result of my uncontrollable shivering. The trick to heating up quickly when you are inside a sleeping bag is to pull the bag up over your head. You lose a lot of body heat through your head, particularly when you don’t have any hair like me. I was able to go right back to sleep once my body temperature raised up above that of a day old corpse. I finally rolled out of the tent at about 0730 hours.
Overall, my body is still holding up fine but my hips are pretty sore from all that climbing yesterday. I took my time eating breakfast and packing up the tent. The bugs are really bad at the shelter but the rhododendrons are in full bloom so it is almost a good trade off. Unfortunately, I think my arms and legs will still be covered with mosquito bites long after the memory of the rhododendrons fades.
I have a short day on tap today, only 10.4 miles, but the terrain is always the wild card on the AT. I will start out with about a 1.2 mile climb to the top of Apple Orchard Mountain. If you have ever driven on the Blue Ridge Parkway near mile post 75, you probably noticed a large circular object on top of the mountain. It is actually a RADAR station but it looks like the second coming of Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock. Although six miles later, I had to traverse Floyd Mountain, I spent most of my day walking downhill. I know that sounds appealing but when you walk downhill with a thirty pound pack on your back, your knees and leg muscles pay a price, not to mention your running shoes. I quit wearing hiking boots a few years back instead opting for running shoes. The difference between hiking 10 miles in boots versus running shoes is amazing but it also comes with a price, you have no ankle support. However, I had a slightly different problem on this trip. Near the end of today’s hike, the ball of my left foot started to get hot, as though I was developing a blister. Since I was close to the end of my hike, I didn’t bother stopping to put moleskin on the hot spot. When I arrived at the shelter, I removed the shoe to take a look at my sore foot but there weren’t any blisters on the foot. However, when I examined the shoe a little more closely, it was obvious that the mid-sole had collapsed which is what was causing my discomfort. Obviously, this was not a good thing but it was not a game ender either.
On the plus side, today’s hike was much more enjoyable. The deer were plentiful and they weren’t too concerned about a lone hiker. I followed a mama deer and her fawn up the trail for about 300 meters. They just kept trotting ahead of me and then stopping. When I would get within about 15 meters, they would trot ahead but they just stayed on the trail. Finally, they turned left and headed into the forest.
At around 1500 hours, I arrived at my home for the evening – the Bryant Shelter. I have been backpacking for nearly 20 years and I have never seen a shelter that approached the grandeur this one. I almost expected a real estate agent to step out and tell me this was just the model and the other lots were for sale. The shelter looked as though it was designed by an architect and built by master craftsmen. My temporary wilderness home was a two story structure with a wrap around porch, windows and built in benches. This created a bit of a dilemma for me since a shelter this nice deserved to be slept in but I had also humped that tent all day. I decided I could have the best of both worlds by setting up my tent on the porch and it fit like a glove. One of my fellow shelter mates estimated that as many as 20 hikers could easily fit into this shelter and I would tend to agree since it easily accommodated the ten of us who ended up staying for the night.
I had my normal rice and tortilla supper, washed my pots and pumped a new supply of water. Just as my fellow travelers finished their evening meal, the thunderstorm from hell came roaring up the hollow catching four thru hikers about ten minutes from the shelter. The lightning and thunder was a little intimidating but, after the electrical light show subsided, the rain settled in for most of the night, making me glad that I had opted to set my tent up on the porch. However, I did have to put my rain fly on the tent to keep the blowing rain outside but I was warm and dry all night. Check back tomorrow for an overview of “Finally – Just Doing It! – Day 4” and don’t forget to click on the “Comments” link below to leave a comment.