It was another great day. Our bodies felt strong. We hiked a total of 13 miles today (.5 out of the shelter, 12.5 on the trail). We had 3 major pushes today and I was able to go up each of them without stopping. I know part of that success is because our food bag is low, but it’s also a huge mental win for me.
The weather was beautiful all day. A mix of partly cloudy and sunny. Just over halfway through the day we hit a ridge that was all grass. Other hikers were lounging, Grey Beard and Kirby, so we joined. There was a triangle outline in old concrete. We think the ridge is a helipad for emergency. I tried to get people to agree it could be the druids, but no one would play along.
Grey Beard is 81 and will be 82 when he completes the trail. He will be the oldest thru-hiker to complete the AT. The person who currently holds the record is 81. How angry would you be if you were the one who had previously held the record? I wouldn’t think it was easy for an 81/82 year old to hike the trail, but Grey Beard makes it look as smooth as butter.
It was sunny and beautiful on that ridge with an incredible view of the mountains. We wasted too much time there. Snow Monkey and Bullseye arrived and joined in on the lounging, Lotus too, and so did Grey Eagle. Other hikers came and went. Ben and I probably sat there for an hour and a half visiting, laughing, eating lunch, etc. Finally, we decided to move on. There was still 5.5 miles until our shelter for the night.
We left in a band, each behind the other, Grey Eagle was in the front leading the way. Only .8 further on the trail was the remnants of a plane crash. Apparently it had been a military plane, 13 crew members in total. It was foggy and they went down sometime in the 1980’s. We stood for a bit looking at the twisted metal. It was a solemn couple of minutes, knowing we were on some sort of sacred spot. Everyone respected the fallen, no one did anything stupid. I was glad for that.
The rest of the miles went by quickly. Surprisingly we all stayed together. Grey Eagle leading, then Kirby, then myself. We made it into camp 4p. Way earlier than I expected for today. It was a good day.
We sat around for a while at the shelter eating and talking some more. There were quite a few people staying at the shelter who were either section hiking or were just out for the week. It’s usually fun to talk to those people. They are usually very kind and interested in us, asking lots of questions. I know sometimes thru-hikers aren’t always patient with weekenders, but so far, I’ve liked them. Maybe because we don’t sleep in the shelters. Instead, we have always set up camp.
Some prefer shelters, others avoid it like the plague – mostly because it can essentially be the plague. Lots of gross communicable diseases can be passed there or in the privies. Which is why Ben and I like our bubble of sanitation that the tent offers. Although it does make for a longer morning getting out of camp. A price I would gladly pay for privacy.
The ridgerunner there was Cloe, the same we had our 2nd day in the Smokies. She was telling us about a thru-hiker who asked for her help removing an ingrown toenail. I can’t imagine she gets paid near enough to deal with that kind of gross.
– ansel