Last night was cold, like, crazy cold. I had fresh clean socks on and still my feet were frozen. I finally grabbed our body towel and used it as a blanket inside my sleeping bag. After that I slept much better.
It was an equally chilly morning. We were camped at a gap (a place where two mountains meet – not a valley), so the wind was blowing through our site real strong. By the time we got up, Pier and Bear Bait were already out. They had made plans the night before to hike together. Ben and I knew we couldn’t keep up, so we didn’t even ask to join. Our other friend was up, but wasn’t going to be leaving camp anytime soon. He has this stove/machine that burns small twigs and channels the energy so he can use it to heat up water or charge batteries, etc. It looks awfully inefficient to me, but seems to fit him just fine.
We started the day with an uphill battle. The morning kind of flew by, especially since it was 9:30a before we were hitting the trail. We refilled water at two creeks. We had lunch on a log at the top of a mountain looking out over a valley. The view was appreciated.
We got to experience our first taste (literally) of trail magic – twice today even! Trail magic is where food or other treats are being offered to thru-hikers. It can also take the form of a ride into town or some other provision. It usually arrives when you least expect it. The people who are the givers of the magic are called trail angels. Ben and I got to be trail angels in Shenandoah National Park, twice. After the AT, I expect we will make an intentional trip down someday to grill out or whatever. Something to repay the generosity we will no doubt see on this adventure.
The first trail magic spot was a man with his son who had made breakfast for hikers. We missed the breakfast, but they still offered us apples, which we happily took. At this part, we were pretty sure we also had our first encounter with “Appalachian homeless”. Apparently there can be people who will live off of trail magic and hand outs, camping from site to site. Judging by their dental and general body care situation (which makes me feel awful), these people were it. They were friendly enough though. At the same place, we met a guy wearing a kilt! He also had this awesome face tattoo that made him look like he came straight out of the Scottish Highlands themselves. Don’t worry about the face tattoo mom, he was a real nice guy. If you are still worried, he is only a section hiker. At this same spot we met a couple and their young son who hope to hike the trail someday. They said we inspire them and took a picture with us. Funny thing is, Ben and I were in their shoes 2.5 years ago when we met that young married couple in Shenandoah National Park. So who knows? Maybe in 2.5 years this couple will be attempting the AT as well!
Our second trail magic happened after lunch about 2 or 3 miles after our first one. Each were at road crossings. This time it was a guy who owns a hostel in Harpers Ferry. He was offering beef and lentil stew, along with hot tea and fresh fruit. Ben and I each had a bowl of stew and piece of fruit. He had a jar out for donations, so I gave him $5. It was generous, but I imagine no other hikers gave. Plus, he was driving this massive bus conversion that slept 20 … 20!! We got to walk through it. The inside is all wood and is finished beautifully. It gets approximately 7-9 mpg. Crazy. There was also a pit john at this stop. The first I had seen so far. I was so happy to get to use it! I’ll take these little comforts when I can!
It was 4:07p when we left there and we still had 4 miles to go. We had a decent push over a ridge and then a long decline from there. We were headed to Lance Creek for the night. We assumed it would be busy because if you pushed much farther, you were required to have a hardened bear canister. No thru-hiker would carry that weight. So we assumed everyone would stop there and would push through the canister required area the next day.
It was about 5:30p when I turned the corner and saw a sea of tents. We had made it!! There were easily well over 30 tents here. We probably walked a tenth of a mile just to find a place to set up our tent. Even so, the spot we took was on a grade. Enough that we knew we would spend the night sliding down our sleeping pads. But beggars can’t be choosers. I was just glad for a spot. It certainly isn’t the first time that we’ve slept on a slant and I’m sure won’t be the last. You can see in the leaves where people had camped there the night before. I sure hope they slept well.
It was so much fun rolling into camp. I told Ben that I felt like I was at a festival or something. There are so many tents, people, and dogs! One dog will bark, the others will join in (one we passed was an Anatolian Shepherd – you never see that breed!). People are laughing, relaxing, eating, hanging food bags, etc. It’s oozing life here in the forest. It’s so much fun! We smelled pachouli as we walked by one tent and it made me smile.
We set up camp, ate dinner, and now are checking in with family. We are camped on the side of a hill a little bit away from a creek. You can hear the wind blowing, but for the most part, you can’t feel it. I hope that means we’ll stay warm tonight. We are going to try zipping our sleeping bags together. Ben is not hopeful that it’ll work – I think it will.
My favorite part of the day? Seeing a German Shepherd (yep, I’m a dork). She was a 3 year old female with longer hair. She was small, dark, and beautiful. It made me miss my Zeke. I am really looking forward to getting a dog when we got home!
Today we hiked just shy of 12 miles. It was an easier day, but I was still struggling to push through those inclines. Tomorrow morning is supposed to be a brutal challenge. We have 7.2 miles before we hit an outfitters store that the trail literally runs through. But first, we have to go over Blood Mountain. Let’s hope it doesn’t earn it’s name.
-k