I am awake at 5 am, but because of the rain I don't get up until 5:45. Kelly is already packed and taking pics of the flora until I finish and we leave camp at 6:20.
There is a high probability of rain today, but with the clammy humidity I don't wear my rain coat. Every time the wind blows, the trees shake water down on my head, so I am soon quite wet, but the cool drops feel good.
The trail is lovely, traversing the ridge on an old forest road. Apparently a developer put in a roadway and prepared small clearings up here in order to sell home sites until the government bought the land for the AT.
The trail then runs along a beaver bog. I don't see any beaver, but one critter we see in abundance is mosquitoes. They follow us up the trail for quite some time. I want to take off my long sleeved sun shirt, but I'm leaving it on to protect me from the swarm. The material is so thin that they get me anyway. I debate getting out my bug spray, but by the time I stop to take off my pack, they disappear.
No day on the trail would be complete without some rocks. We rock climb on some really slick, worn rocks so we have to pick our way very carefully. Even though we exercise caution, Kelly takes a spill. She slides rather than falls, and goes down on her right side. She gets up and says she is okay, but her right arm aches a little.
We climb up and over several rock outcroppings that promise a beautiful view on a clear day, but we just have to take everybody's word for it from the comment section on FarOut.
We descend to a dirt road that leads to The Brink Road Shelter, the first shelter for the last 22 miles. We decide to bypass it since it's 0.3 miles off the trail and we just loaded up with water at the last stream crossing.
The trail then ascends into a gorgeous hemlock forest that we walk through for the next two miles. The hemlock sheds feel so soft underfoot, I wish I could walk on them all day.
As soon as I crest the ridge, I get absolutely assaulted by mosquitoes. They are worse than earlier today, and I don't waste anytime stopping this time to cover myself in bug spray. Shortly after, the trail passes a bog that is pretty much one big mud pit; the most likely breeding ground for all these mosquitos.
The trail climbs again and to the ridge and we are FINALLY rewarded with a view. Granted, it's not much, but we can see a neighboring ridge and a lake below. We are delighted and enjoy the vista for a moment.
What goes up must come down, and so does the Appalachian Trail. A lot. The trail drops down to cross a busy road at Culver's Gap. I am almost out of water because it's so freaking hot. I have sucked down three liters and we only hiked 12 miles so far. The next water source is four miles up another ridge, so when I see a gas station sign , I asked Kelly if she would care if we walked over so I can get a drink.
The gas station ended up being a strictly service station, but right next door was a tavern. I poke my head in to see if we could get a couple of iced teas. We smelled so bad that we waited on the front porch and the waitress brought them out to us. The tea was delicious and ice cold.
Our thirst satiated, we continued up the ridge. The 700 foot climb is fairly quick and easy, and we are thrilled to have the best view yet in this area when we arrive at the Culver Fire Tower.
We continue on to the stream at the bottom of a hill, about one mile from the fire tower. We contemplate staying at the nearby Glen Anderson Shelter, but it's only 3:30 pm. We have hiked 15 miles, but we agree we should keep going. The next shelter is another 5 miles, but there is no water between here and there other than a nasty beaver bog so we will have to carry water from here.
I have been dying to soak my feet in a cold stream all day, so I Sit on a rock and soak my feet while I scoop and filter my water. A young man walks up and with the look of a thru hiker. I ask if he is, and he replies affirmatively with a thick accent. He is from France, and his name is Vite, the French word for fast. He started April 28 and he is already over 1300 miles! Just amazing. He is doing 25 to 30 miles per day. I think his name should be "Tres Vite!"
Our packs are now much heavier with the water, and we have another decent climb until the next shelter.
We top Sunrise Mountain just as a peal of thunder rumbles nearby. A huge picnic pavilion magically appears right on the AT. We decide to hang out under the pavilion and let the storm pass. It's almost dinner time, so we make good use of our idle time to make dinner.
We are almost finished with our dinner when a couple walks up from the nearby parking area. They thought this would be a great place to get stoned and watch a thunderstorm. We chat for a few minutes but we get going in the rain.
The rain persists for the next few miles. We hike with our umbrellas and the rain in and of itself is not a problem. The problem is with the freaking mosquitoes. They are worse than ever. Thankfully I left my bug spray where I could reach it while I'm walking, and I spray myself liberally. Fortuitously we can go to town tomorrow, because I am going to use up all of my bug spray today at this rate.
Thank goodness we are almost at the shelter because I do not know what is worse: the mosquitoes, the pouring rain, the big slippery rocks that we climb over, or hiking 37 miles the last 2 days in soaking wet footwear.
We finally get to the shelter at 7:00 pm. The mosquitoes are so awful that we cannot camp inside the shelter, because we will be eaten alive while we sleep. So we both decide to set up our camps to have the protection of the bug netting.
Just as we are getting ready to set up, the sky lets loose and we get drenched. The rain does not stop the mosquitoes, and we put up our shelters as fast as possible so we can take cover under the bug netting.
It is now 8:30 pm and I am safely ensconced in my hammock. I can hear the little buggers buzzing around, trying to gain access.
We did our first 20 mile day with full packs, and I'm beat. Goodnight!
Today's Stats: 20.6 Miles, 2,756 feet gain
Trail Stats: 1,334 miles, 263K feet gain
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