Had a pretty good nights sleep, even though it was cold. I think I'm
realizing the most important thing in getting good sleep is being on
level ground. I was last night and it seemed to make a difference. I
broke down camp at 7:15 and was out by 8:15. Pretty early on the rain
came and I had to hike in it all day. 11.5 miles worth. I finally got
to use my rain gear though!
The motivation to move quickly came from the thought of a nice warm
bed at the NOC, so I made pretty quick time. I didn't stop to admire
much, which you really couldn't do anyway, but there was one point
where I made it over this rocky section and got to the top of one
mountain. It was a great view from up there, even better with the rain
I'd say because you get to see all these lush, green mountains with
dense fog and cloud coverage swarming around them at different
altitudes. It was really cool, straight out of Lord of the Rings or
something. But other than that there wasn't much to see so I huffed
it, making it to the NOC by 1:30. It's a really cool place right next
to this river with rapids that you can white water raft and kayak on,
and there's a couple food places and other stuff too.
Keith got here a little before me, so when I rolled in him, City
Squirrel (she's a thru from NYC) and I went into one of the places and
grabbed some lunch and a beer. It was only PBR draft, but man was it
good, and I felt pretty buzzed after only the one. Must be because I'm
so deprived or something. We had a good time, I had a burger (my town
food of choice I guess) and then I did a small resupply at the general
store to last me to Fontana Dam.
I had a chance to talk with my mom and Jen a bit after all that, and
now it's 5:45 and I'm all showered and about to go share some more
beers with Keith and city squirrel. Oh, they were calling me "come
slowly" today when I rolled in, a potential trail name because I
always roll into camp or a shelter late. Maybe I'll use it, we'll see.
Some random things I thought I'd mention are tunnels and characters.
The last 3-4 days there's been these really cool tunnels made of
arcing rhodedendron plants every so often, so it feels like your
walking through a tunnel. Plus it's good cover from the sun, or rain
like today, although not as much. I tried to snap a photo but it
didn't come out too great.
The second thing I wanted to mention was the characters. You meet some
real randoms out here. Like Kentucky, who I saw today again for the
first time in 4-5 days. Or this other guy I met a couple days back who
started on March 10th, and who had only done about 80 miles. But he's
also hiking without shoes! And there was another hiker named Wanderer
who's from Japan. He has very limited English and often says funny
things because of it. Anyway, there's just lots of characters out
here, and it's been fun meeting them. It really is like a community
out on the trail. That's it for today, not sure where I'm headed
tomorrow. Hopefully no rain though.
Total miles: 135
Great blog Dan! Are the Rhodes blooming yet? It should almost be time but I'm sure you'll see it eventually. Love hearing about the trail people and the sites. Keep it up. I just packed up a box for you for the Standing Bear Farm Hostel. I will get it mailed out to you tomorrow. Tennessee here we come ! Love you Dan
ReplyDeleteI think I saw city squirrel in Patagonia a while back. there was a girl who came in looking for a jacket and said she was hiking the AT, and how many girls from NYC can there be??
ReplyDeleteAlso careful at fontana dam, the resupply there is fairly limited...
So nice to get to talk to you today Danny! What a lovely surprise! Take care of those feet! Keep those toenails attached and the blood inside you please. You have such nice feet. That guy hiking without shoes is crazy! Imagine the shape HIS feet will be in by the end! Love you!
ReplyDeleteI would liken them to homeless guy feet. Very black on the bottom.
ReplyDeleteHey Dan, sounds like you're doing great. Keep it up. The Portland Pirates suck. They were swept by Manchester in the first round of the playoffs. I went to the game in Manchester last night (game 4), and alot of the fans brought brooms. They were waving them around all night. It was pretty agonizing for me, especially when they lost 7 to 2. Oh well, I guess there's always next year!
ReplyDeleteKeep on truckin' !! Uncle G
Dan! Great post bro. You're experiencing it all and you're only at the beginning! Hopefully the rain wont last long. The past two days in Boston have been nice and sunny. The Bruins won Game 3 the other night putting them in the lead of the series 2-1 over the Sabres. They play again tonight it's very exciting. The Celtics crushed the Heat in Game 2 by over 20 points and without KG (suspended for a elbow he threw). That series is tied 1-1. The sox finally got a win last night against the Rangers. Some guy from the Paw Sox came up for the game and hit a 2 run homer late in the game to tie things up and then ended up hitting a walk-off bomb off the monster. Papi is in a huge slump (Terry actually pinch hit Mike Lowell for him late in the game) and our outfield is injured, so this guy from Pawtucket really stepped it up when we didn't have much.
ReplyDeleteMy mom and Kevin have been following your progress every night. She really enjoys tracking where you have been and where you are heading. Keep up the great work my brother and enjoy ever second of it.
Your Bro,
Craig
Another Correction: the C's are up 2-0 against the Heat not tied 1-1
ReplyDeletePS hows the facial hair looking?
O DANNY-BOONE-SON GREAT TO READ& SEE YOUR PROGRESS ON THE BLOG EACH DAY IT HAS BEEN SO BUSY AT WORK DUE TO VOLCANIC ASH ,THE KENYANS, AND SCHOOL VACATION I HAVE ONLY BEEN ABLE TO READ.. AT HOME NOW WAITING FOR BRUINS ON NESN GLAD YOU DOGS ARE BETTER AND YOUR REALLY INTO IT NOW ENJOYING ALL IT HAS TO OFFER EACH DAY A NEW BEGINNING, JUST AS IN LIFES JOURNEY OFF THE TRAIL... KEEP SAFE, SMART, AND GOOD TO THOSE DOGS<> LOVE, DAD " LIVE FROM MAINE THE WAY LIFE SHOULD BE " WHEN NOT ON THE AT THRUWAY...
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