My first (and probably last) OFFICIAL 30.

Day 49 - 6/2/10
At least intentional one. If I happen to feel crazy good one day and
can spontaneously do a 30, then maybe I will. Or if by chance I get
offered an opportunity to do a 30-mile slackpack, then maybe I will.
But to set off in the morning with the mindset that I will hike 30
miles, like I did today, that I probably won't do again. It's not that
I can't, it just makes the day a lot more stressful. The whole day I
kept telling myself to push it so I could make those miles, which
wasn't always fun, but I had set the goal so I had to follow through.
Here's how the day went:

I set my alarm for 4:30, but woke up over an hour later at 5:45, still
very early. I was fed (coffee, clifbar, oatmeal) and packed up by
6:45, later than I had hoped to start for a 30-mile day, but it was
still early enough where the heat wasn't bad yet. Very good
considering the massive uphill I had to face first thing. Over 2000
ft. of incline. About halfway up I was walking along when a brown
bunny ran out from the tall grass to my left and bolted up the trail.
It stopped and waited until I caught up a bit, then ran further up and
waited again. This went on about 3 or 4 more times, and I just
couldn't help but think of Alice in Wonderland, and I was Alice. The
only thing missing was a wristwatch hanging from the bunny's paw. This
occurence brightened my mood and made that tough climb a little more
bearable.

After I made it over that first one the trail took a little dip back
down, then right back up another one, Cold Mountain. I haven't seen
the movie or read the book, so I'm not sure if it's the same one, but
I imagine so because I'm in Civil War territory and I know it takes
place during that time. I liked that part of the hike a lot because it
was a bit like being on the balds again. There was a really big open
field on top, so you had great visibility.

The first shelter came soon after that, but was way off the trail (.6
miles) so I skipped it and didn't come to the next one until almost 16
miles into the day. I stopped there and took a snack break with Wookie
who I had met a few miles back. I'd actually met him before, but only
briefly. He had just come back from a 4-day trip off the trail in DC,
and was telling me how tough it was even after only 4 days away. He
stayed at the shelter when I decided to leave at 2. I still had almost
15 miles left, which felt like a huge amount to conquer that late in
the day. I just buckled down and really pushed myself, doing the next
6.9 to the shelter in 2.5 hours. Since the water source was good and
close I decided to make an early dinner. Plus after that push I was
very hungry. I made alfredo pasta with chopped garlic and poured in
1/2 a bag of bacon bits. You'd have to have gone to Emerson to know
this, so Jen you will know, but the taste reminded me a lot of the
chicken/bacon alfredo you could get in the Piano Row diner. In case
you're wondering, that's a good thing.

By the time I had finished and cleaned up it was 5:00, and I still
needed to go 7.5 more, so I hurried and got moving again. I had a
little up that took me to the top of The Priest, a 4000 ft. mountain.
It wasn't bad coming up from the South side, but heading down The
Priest was brutal. Very steep and rocky. Made me appreciate being a
NOBO for the first time. So far it seems like the NOBOs have the
harder climbs because the South side is always more steep, but not
with this one. I wouldn't want to be a SOBO going up that 3000 ft.
uphill. I eventually made some progress downward, and met a couple
nice ladies chilling out by Cripple Creek 2/3 of the way down. I
chatted with them, and suggested they make a visit to McAfee's Knob
because they were asking about good spots. I ended up showing them my
pictures from that day, and I'm fairly certain that it convinced them.

I finally made it to the last shelter, Harpers Creek, at 8:10. 30.2
miles. I was very tired when I pulled in, and hungry, so I scarfed the
last of my gorp. I talked with a guy named Magnet while I did so. He's
a thru and lived in Maine for 3 years at one point in time. Pretty
cool guy. I didn't have much daylight left so I quickly put up my
tent. There's a creek here, so I have that to listen to again as I
drift asleep. Very awesome.

One thing I thought about today while hiking was how little Ottie
Cline Powell was found only 10 miles away from the freed slave
settlement, and that these two events were going on at the same time.
It's just neat to have both bits of historical information and know
that they were happening simultaneously, whereas both parties very
likely had no clue as to the other's existence. Anyway, I'm calling it
a night. It's 10, and I'm pooped.

One last thing. My poison ivy is doing much better, I think i'm
finally done with it (knock on wood). I still have some red bumps, but
they don't itch anymore, so I'm no longer going insane. That is all.

Total miles: 826.1