Thursday, 4/23
AT Miles = 15.9 / 452.8
Other Miles = 0 / 20.1
Total Miles = 15.9 / 472.9
Glorious Day!
A great night's sleep, followed by a glorious day. Finally! Finally, we got some really, really nice weather. I woke up once during the night and had to get out to pee; the sky was full of stars and I could see the lights down in the valley.
It was cool this morning, but the sun was shining and the temp was coming up fast. I had only about 15 miles to go and the terrain was relatively easy, so I consciously decided to take it easy and enjoy my day as much as I could. It somehow worked out that I managed to be in the right frame of mind when such a beautiful day presented itself. I wasn't trying to do big miles like yesterday, and I knew today wouldn't be a physical challenge.
A few miles into the day I met Pop and Gwemmy, two retired local hikers out for a day hike carrying a big bag of snacks to hand out to the thru-hikers. They gave me a couple of Rice Krispy treats and a tangerine.
Later in the morning I passed several groups of seniors out for a day hike, and when I stopped at Double Springs Shelter to eat lunch, they soon all showed up. I enjoyed talking with them, and one of them gave me several mini Snickers bars, which I wasted no time in consuming.
It's a beautiful evening right now, and I am here with 5 other hikers. Three of them I met last night, and two just this evening. I did some of my laundry when I got here. I doubt my socks will dry overnight, but they will dry on the back of my pack tomolrrow.
I promised some of you I would do a "Da in the life of a hiker" thing, and toda is the day I picked to do it. Hopefully I will be able to get all my photos uploaded while I am in Damascus. Damascus is just ten miles away, so I should be there around noon tomorrow. I haven't decided yet if I will take a zero there or not. I think it depends mostly on whether I can get enough computer time to take care of all my photos. Then I need to shop for the next 5 or 6 day leg. From Damascus I will be off for thr Grayson Highlands.
Oh, sometime tomorrow morning I will walk out of Tennessee and into Virginia!
Okay, I feel disjointed and incoherent tonight, so I better quit.
Monkeywrench
Allen Freeman
allen@allenf.com
www.allenf.com
allenf.blogspot.com
