Today's Miles: 9.9
Total Miles: 88.5
Today started out a little warmer than yesterday. I slept in a little, which out here means until about 6:30. Blue decided to take a zero at the lean-to, so hopefully he enjoys his day off! This morning started off great. I passed Hannah a short way along the trail because she was having trouble with some of her monster blisters. I showed her a different way to tie her boots to hopefully keep it from rubbing some. We had to go by Gulf Hagas, which is known for its incredible waterfalls and gorge. I didn't take any of the side trails because I didn't want to add too much extra distance and didn't feel like crossing a stream to get there. I sat by the stream at one of the Gulf Hagas trail intersections to eat lunch, and there were a lot of people out there for day trips. There was one family that looked at me from the other side of the stream like I was a caged animal. I hope I don't look like that much of a mess yet! Today was the Summer Solstice, which is Naked Hiking Day. I didn't partake, but the rest of the group hiked naked at some point during the day. I had to ford West Branch Pleasant River, which has been the widest crossing yet. It was pretty shallow and the current wasn't too strong, so the ford wasn't too bad. I met a nice couple on the other side of the river while putting my shoes back on who were out for the day. They said their daughter had hiked from Georgia to Tennessee on the Appalachian Trail. It's always great to meet nice people who are interested in what you are doing. The hardest part of the day was getting up Chairback Mountain. Just when I thought I was getting close to the top, I looked up to see a giant rock climb ahead of me. I've learned to stop asking the questions, "How much farther could it really be?" and "Is this the top?" because usually the answers are, "A lot farther." and, "Not even close to the top yet." The lean-to was only 0.5 miles from the top, but it seemed to take forever to get there. It ended up being perched halfway up the side of a steep mountain-side, so it was another fun-filled climb to the top. After reaching the top, I had to go all the way back down to the bottom to the spring that was barely a trickle and surrounded by an abundance of stagnant green water. Everyone was exhausted, and we all ate dinner in silence. There were limited tent sites, but we managed to squeeze in two tents while the Boy Scouts and Wes stayed in the lean-to. I headed to bed really early - about 7:00 tonight. A lot of people have come up looking for a place to stay, but most had to move on. My tent is about a foot and a half from the side of a cliff, so hopefully it stays put tonight!
Total Miles: 88.5
Today started out a little warmer than yesterday. I slept in a little, which out here means until about 6:30. Blue decided to take a zero at the lean-to, so hopefully he enjoys his day off! This morning started off great. I passed Hannah a short way along the trail because she was having trouble with some of her monster blisters. I showed her a different way to tie her boots to hopefully keep it from rubbing some. We had to go by Gulf Hagas, which is known for its incredible waterfalls and gorge. I didn't take any of the side trails because I didn't want to add too much extra distance and didn't feel like crossing a stream to get there. I sat by the stream at one of the Gulf Hagas trail intersections to eat lunch, and there were a lot of people out there for day trips. There was one family that looked at me from the other side of the stream like I was a caged animal. I hope I don't look like that much of a mess yet! Today was the Summer Solstice, which is Naked Hiking Day. I didn't partake, but the rest of the group hiked naked at some point during the day. I had to ford West Branch Pleasant River, which has been the widest crossing yet. It was pretty shallow and the current wasn't too strong, so the ford wasn't too bad. I met a nice couple on the other side of the river while putting my shoes back on who were out for the day. They said their daughter had hiked from Georgia to Tennessee on the Appalachian Trail. It's always great to meet nice people who are interested in what you are doing. The hardest part of the day was getting up Chairback Mountain. Just when I thought I was getting close to the top, I looked up to see a giant rock climb ahead of me. I've learned to stop asking the questions, "How much farther could it really be?" and "Is this the top?" because usually the answers are, "A lot farther." and, "Not even close to the top yet." The lean-to was only 0.5 miles from the top, but it seemed to take forever to get there. It ended up being perched halfway up the side of a steep mountain-side, so it was another fun-filled climb to the top. After reaching the top, I had to go all the way back down to the bottom to the spring that was barely a trickle and surrounded by an abundance of stagnant green water. Everyone was exhausted, and we all ate dinner in silence. There were limited tent sites, but we managed to squeeze in two tents while the Boy Scouts and Wes stayed in the lean-to. I headed to bed really early - about 7:00 tonight. A lot of people have come up looking for a place to stay, but most had to move on. My tent is about a foot and a half from the side of a cliff, so hopefully it stays put tonight!
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| So many rocks... |
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