Too hot to sleep in my mummy bag, too buggy to sleep in the open. Another night of failed slumber. The bugs trick me by being absent when I first go to sleep, and then they swarm in for the kill!
I made it out of camp at my usual 9am today though, so all was not lost. Mr. Fantastic was just waking up, so I left him our communal TP and wandered up the trail.
I had 7 miles of relaxing ridge lining ahead of me, and took advantage by saving my strength for the nightmare to come. Once at the Priest shelter I enjoyed a quick and hearty lunch and refilled my water supply. I was joined towards the end of my snacking by Chewy, Tiny Dancer, and a couple of other guys whose names I didn't catch. They told me about a rumor that there was a hiker feed going on today at the bottom of The Priest. That was all I needed to hear to incite a little enthusiasm for the painful 4 miles that were to come next. I said thankee and continued on my trek, hot food on the brain.
The descent really was quite brutal, and brought about pain in my knees the likes of which they haven't seen since way back at Blood Mountain. All 4 of the guys I had lunch with passed me as I delicately shimmied my way down. Reaching the clearing at the bottom I was delighted to see them all standing there, because I knew what that meant. There was an amazing trail angel busy on the BBQ, cooking up his own pulled pork recipe that had me salivating before I could even drop my pack. He offered me a plate, which I gratefully accepted, and I sat down in a comfy camp chair. I also met Stoves at the feed, another thru-hiker whom I had heard of on a few occasions.
Once the pork and Gatorade had been downed, I decided it would be foolish to rest for too long and moseyed back onto the trail.
The ascent was divided into 2 portions, both 3 miles. The first leg would bring me to another shelter, where I could rest briefly, refill my water, and write Mr. F a note about what my plans were. I made it up to that shelter in record time, and let me feet enjoy an airy stint outside of my shoes. The next leg was nowhere near as easy though.
The climb turned from smooth switchbacks into almost bouldering up a jagged cliff face. If not for the fact that I found myself with an odd overabundance of energy I would have been quite frustrated. As it was I just kept pushing, and truly felt like a thru-hiker. While we're all thru-hikers in spirit, none of us have finished the trail before, so it still feels a bit presumptuous to name ourselves as such. There are rare moments, though, when you feel like everything just clicks; you hit your stride, and can push through any obstacle in good time. Today was one of those days, which was perfect since the terrain demanded absolute attention.
I made it to the summit, barely sweating, with an ear to ear grin. The breeze had kept me comfortably cool, and I was looking for a decent campsite up there to no avail. It was only another 3 miles to the shelter, and by the time I found a good place to camp, it was so close that I decided to keep moving and go all the way. This made today's hike just over 20 miles across the most challenging terrain we've yet faced. Still, I walked into camp with plenty of daylight, and a spring in my step. Of course once I stopped walking for just a few minutes I was able to feel exactly how sore my feet had become. I also got to read the sign declaring there to be a rattlesnake that has been living beside the shelter for the past month. Joy.
Pitching my tent and stuffing my face followed my arrival, as I want to avoid another night of muggy, buggy, heat (and our friendly neighborhood rattler).
Mr. Fantastic and Stoves hiked in while I was enjoying my dinner, and quickly joined the picnic. We all talked about how challenging, yet rewarding today's hike was, and made plans for tomorrow. We also talked about food, but that goes without saying.
Because of the extra miles we did today, we have two options for tomorrow. If tired, we can hike 15 miles to the next shelter and call it an early day. It's looks like truly easy terrain ahead of us, so we have no concerns there. If we find ourselves with excess energy, however, we can hike 20 miles and finish in Waynesboro. Doing that has the benefit of being able to stay at the local YMCA for free and make use of their showers. I'm hoping for the latter, if for no other reason than we would be able to enjoy all that Waynesboro has to offer.
Of course tonight the weather finally decides to be accurate and it does rain, so my tenting wasn't necessary, and is more of a pain than anything. It's hard to be too upset with the kind of endorphin high I'm on after today's hike though, and I think I'll sleep just fine regardless of how noisy the rain might get.
