Day 2 -Prof

I am now double checking the map with Doc when we plan for food and resupplies. We originally planned to to start with 8-10 mile days to get our trail legs under us before we start pushing big miles. Today, day 2 we did 16.5 miles. With two brutal claims and one brutal down hill (down hills suck so much more, I'll explain later) to finish at a pretty campsite not quite to the summit of a ridge. The last mile destroyed us. 

I'll start from the beginning of the day though. It was a decent night until about 3am when the wind picked up and switched directions to blow right under my tarp and into my hammock. The disrupted sleep caused me to sleep in a little longer than Doc wanted and he was hurrying me out of the campsite, so much so that I almost forgot my cook system. Once we got on the trail the cool weather offered us a beautiful morning following the ridgeline. It was about 45 when we started (got in the 30s last night) although it got up to around 70 today. We stopped for a snack mid morning Sun's gap and we saw the two hawks from last night back at it hunting again. Our view was spectacular. 

 

 

From here the day started to get a little rougher. We went up and down a bunch of PUDS (pointless ups and downs) and then we made one big brutal climb. About halfway up we came across a section that held a bunch of rocky outcroppings. We found one monolithic stone in particular that we decided to climb up (I think Doc got a picture of me climbing) and take a breather on top. I took this opportunity to jot down a few notes on the morning so far. While up there Bear Bait and her hiking partner came on by but we caught up with the later at Pine Swanp Shelter. While sitting peacefully on the rock up above everything, admiring natures beauty and reflecting on the morning I was struck with inspiration. At this time of the morning the cool breeze was welcome and I had a poem pop into my head about it.

The wind carries us up the mountain

Caresses our sweat sodden bodies

And softly whispers 

Cary on

Then two chipmunks began playing tag down below until eventually it turned into a game of chasing the acorns I found. After getting down off the rock we finished the climb up and then the real fun began. We descended a couple thousand feet off of the ridgeline. You may think walking down hill would be a breeze but it's not. It destroys your legs. When going up hill the fatigue hits your muscles, but on the down hill it hits your joints. This is  especially true for the down hill rocky trail of the AT. There was one redemeeming factor though and that was the beauty of the plant diversity we saw. It was like hiking through 3 different ecosystems.

 We started on the ridgeline where spring has only recently arrived and leaves are just sprouting. Then we descended into the same plant life but more developed. The next transition was amazing. We started following these tiny streams that gathered into larger one as we continued down this narrow valley coming down from the mountains. The stream are were spectacular and I'll be posting video later. This is where the switch happened. The regular deciduous trees and flora turned into a mini tropical zone. The plants changed and were shadowed by the steep slopes around us and the ground grew more damp. I think the humidity even increased as well. So beautiful it made the tough downhill more bearable. 

We followed this all the way down to where it emptied into the Stoney river. Just shy of the river we came across the pine swamp shelter. This was a nice shelter except that it was closed. Overnight stay is prohibited at the shelter because of the amount of standing dead wood nearby. These widowmakers were the target of the destructive forces of the gypsy moth. So we continued on. The other reason we continued on is that Doc had planned for one day less of food than what he thought. We have to push bigger mikes each day to get to the next resupply before his food runs out. I had brought extra food, so I am fine, but he thinks he will be getting hungry soon. We pushed on. We came to the Captains, a notable hiker stop, but the zipline across the river was closed due to high water. We kept pushing on, eventually coming upon Mass and Teach who had passed us earlier in the day. They had decided to camp before the big climb and do it on fresh legs. I guess their wisdom might have helped make a better decision than our young energy did because we pushed on. The climb was a single mile of almost straight up muddy slope peppered with annoying rocks and downed trees that we had to climb over. 

Finally we made it to Baily Gap shelter right about 6 pm and then got busy devouring some food. The shelter sits on a flat area on a wooded slope that continues up to the ridge. We had initially planned to summit ridge but ran out of steam. I think the only thing that kept me from falling asleep at supper was how great the teriyaki noodles and spam tasted. 

I had been checking for service all day today but never got enough to wish my mom happy Mother's Day. Mom I know it will be a day late when you read this but happy Mother's Day anyway. 

Sorry if this list got a little long. I'm suprisef by its length too as I had to stay awake to right it. 

Goodnight everyone and thanks for following along.