The tuna & tobasco tortilla tale

Day 41 - 5/25/10
It poured last night, so I was very thankful to be sleeping in a
shelter. I woke up at 7, and was on the move at 8. Eric the Red, a
hiker I've been leapfrogging with the past few days, stopped in for
breakfast before I left. He had camped a few miles back, so I was a
bit surprised to see him, but he is a fast hiker and must be an early
riser as well.

I had two tough ups today, one in the morning and one in the
afternoon. The AM one was harder, but at least I had cool temps and
some misty rain for it. Halfway up I passed the largest tree on the
Southern section, the Keffer Oak, which according to my book overs
diameter over 18 ft. I didn't take a picture because of the rain, but
there's a bigger one up in New York that I plan to take a pic of.

I made it to the top and stopped for a snack at Braisers knob. A
couple guys were camped out there, having stayed the night before. One
was named Beaver Chief, but I forget the other guy's name. This place
was not a campsite, it was basically a pile of rocks, so I was
impressed that they were able to camp there. I left after 20 minutes
and then continued on, passing the first shelter at 11. On my way to
the second one I stopped and took a picture of a sign that said
Eastern Continental Divide. It had two distances on it, one to the
Gulf of Mexico and one to the Atlantic Ocean. I'm not sure what the
ECD means exactly, but I figured it was something important. If anyone
knows what it might be, feel free to leave a comment with an
explanation.

I arrived at the second shelter at 2:10 and had some lunch. In
Pearisburg when I resupplied I bought a pack of tortilla wraps and two
packs of premixed tuna salad. The past two days I've been having tuna
with tobasco wraps, and I'm really enjoying them. I may even continue
to eat these when I'm back home off the trail. I sort of can't believe
how easy it has been for me to eat tuna/tuna fish again.

Anyway after I was done eating I packed up then pressed on. I had
another 10 miles to the shelter I was aiming for and I didn't want to
pull in near dark. Right before I came to a road there was a bag of
sodas hanging from a branch, so I snatched one and enjoyed the trail
magic. I feel I've been very fortunate with it so far, which I'm
thankful for. It always lifts your spirits.

Like I said earlier I had two big ups, and after the TM came the
second one. It wasn't as steep as the morning uphill, although the sun
was out now and so I was sweating more. I powered through it and made
it to the top in 2 hours. Very nice. At the top was a monument to
World War II vet Audie Murphy, the most decorated American soldier of
the war. He had died in a plane crash near the site of the monument.
It's a bit strange to think that he was a pilot during the war,
survived through all that, then ends up dying in a crash back here in
the US.

After some pictures there I left and started down the other side of
the mountain. I still had another 5 miles to the shelter, but because
it was mostly downhill it went by quickly. I did stop about a mile
before to dunk my feet in a nice stream, which felt really good
because today was a bit rough for them. My boots are still wet from a
few days ago, so I'm hiking with soggy feet all day.

I arrived at the shelter close to 7 and quickly cooked up dinner.
Spanish rice with some Tobasco and bacon on it, wrapped into a couple
tortillas. A couple guys who had stayed the night at the last shelter
with me were here, Grapevine and Whippersnap, as well as a SOBO
sectioner named Griz. He had supper, then left to hike a few more
miles, but before he did he pulled out a pet snake he picked up a week
ago right here on the trail! I couldn't believe it, so I took a few
pics as proof that this really happened. After he left I cleaned up my
pots, then got in my bag so I could write this up. Now it's bed time,
which is very exciting after a 22.5 day, so I will say good night.

Total miles: 686.7