Date- Saturday 5/28/05
Start- Campsite near Mountaineer Falls
Stop- Moreland Gap Shelter
Miles Travelled- 9.2 tough miles
Today's hike had positive and negative features.
It seems that the dip in the creek yesterday did the trick. No chafing.
I also got the best nights sleep since I've been out. The site was covered with a thick layer of pine needles that created a perfect mattress. I had the opportunity to see several young fawns. One of them must have heard me coming and curled up and froze right on the trail. I stopped and got a picture. It didn't move till I was well past it then it let out a loud "mew" and ran into the woods. They sound like overgrown kittens.
Another had nested down about 4 feet from where I plopped my butt for a break. I didn't see it till I got up. It then startled and ran. That startled me. I guess that makes him and us even.
Oh, by the way, North Carolina is history. I'll be in Tennessee for the next 4 or 5 days and then on into Virginia.
If you don't want to hear the complaints stop reading here.
The formal name of the AT is the Appalachian Trail. The informal name is Affordable Torture. It seems that once one physical discomfort is relieved, another arises to take its place. The calluses on my feet have gotten so thick they are starting to hurt. I constantly feel like I have a rock in my boot. Actually I do but it is attached to my foot and I don't know what to do about it.
A more serious concern is my allergies. Earlier in the spring I was fine. A 400 to 500 foot climb was taken in stride. Now the forest is bursting with life around me and my eyes are burning, my nose is stuffy, and congestion is building in my chest. I can't seem to manage a 100 foot up without having to stop to catch my breath. I have started myself on Benadryl. I don't know what I'll do if it doesn't help. The allergy has bothered me for a number of years but has never interfered with my normal sedentary life. Out here it's a different story.
Water management is becoming an issue. Seasonal springs are already slowing to a trickle. Some that are still flowing are labled, "contaminated". When I come to a good source I drink till I feel sick and fill my bottle which I sip from as sparingly as possible.
Final complaint is about the trail in this section. As the crow flies, it is 4 miles from the last shelter to this. Somehow the trail maintainers managed to squeeze more than 18 miles of PUDS and MUDS (previously defined) in between the 2 shelters. I probably ascended and descended over 3,000 feet on trail that was shown on the map to be essentially level.