Thursday, May 28 9:06 pm 22.8 miles
AT 294.5 Little Laurel Shelter → AT 317.3 Hogback Ridge Shelter
Weather: Mostly sunny, occasionally sunny and rainy simultaneously
Trail Conditions: Exposed ridgeline early in the day was tough on the feet and ankles (rocky, lots of scrambling)
My Condition: Was sore rolling into camp, particularly feet. It’s an Advil night!
Passed a LOT of people today. All 3 of the older gentlemen from last night must have gotten up really early, but I still passed them quick, 3 section hikers from Max Patch to Damascus, one girl taking her picture with the 300 mile marker, thru hiker Fine Line who I last saw at Hot Springs leaving the day before I did, and then saw 2 weekenders (dad and eagle scout son) and a couple of section hikers at the shelter. A grouse jumped up from right beside the trail as I passed and made a HUGE ruckus – definitely made me jump. A turkey crossed the path probably 20 feet after that. I think they were in cahoots trying to startle passerbys. Lots of varied terrain today – exposed rocky ridges, rhododendron tunnels, mountaintop meadows with blackberry bushes and tall swaying grass, sweeping views made possible by tornado ravagings, waterfalls, and deep woods. Funnily enough, my heels are the sore part on my foot now. Where the ball of the foot between the big and pointer toe is usually the hot spot, I really notice both under and behind the heel now. Wondering if it’s just the new insole. I held on to the old ones, so maybe I’ll swap them out tomorrow and see if there’s a big difference. The shape and size were almost exactly a match, but it seems the heel may be higher, there’s not as much vertical space in the shoe, and the foot seems to be more prone to sliding forward on downhills, regardless of how tight the shoes are laced. Worry a bit for my toenails!
Post Trail Analysis
The water source at the shelter site was among the furthest I ventured to along the trail. They had a nice path cut to it, but it kept going on and on and on for more than a half mile. In the grand scheme of things not much, but the miles in addition to what you were expecting to do are always the hardest ones. The grouse incident happened in front of one of the section hikers, who I had just passed. I heard some chuckling after he saw me jump. The turkey was far less startling (hopefully he never reads this – poor guy, he tried his darndest). The dad and son at the shelter were lovely, swapping stories from afar about scouting and about my thru hike as we set up our tents.
Comentarios