.November 18, 2006
It only takes a day and a half to get back home to Maine from here, so I can squeeze in this section that I haven't completed yet. Mileage wise this will be my easiest day on this 2 week trek, but the terrain will be the most difficult. Plus I'm already half beat from this 200 mile trek in less than two weeks. I don't sleep well away from home so completing these 200+ miles while not sleeping very well has been challenging. Although last night at Sue and Jim's was my first good night sleep in a while. As soon as I started hiking I began going up. I came to the intersect with the Scout Trail.
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I met two hikers coming down. They were both wearing orange like me.
"Great minds think alike," one of them said.
"Well, it is hunting season," I said.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ It was supposed to turn into a sunny day, but no sun yet. although I was starting to get some good views.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ The trail got more difficult.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Then I realized I dropped my map. I usually carry a map with me. It isn't necessary, I mean how hard is it to follow the white blazes, but I like to follow my progress. I decided to double back to check. I went about 10-15 back to where I took the last couple of pictures. Nothing. Well, it's just a map and this is the last section I need to complete on that particular map. I rehiked the section I just came down.
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I reached another trail junction and then the real climbing started with some scrambling required.
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~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ This was actually the trail. Can you find the white blaze in the picture below?
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The view was getting better.
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Follow the arrows.
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I reached the top. Sue gave me a heads up that Dragon's Tooth was actually off the AT. I did a little scouting around and found it without any difficulty. Thanks for giving me a heads up on this, Sue. I would have missed it otherwise. That must be it ahead.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Here's a close up.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ I thought it was even more impressive from the side.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ There were other cool rock formations there as well.
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The view from the top was magnificent.
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The next few miles were rocky but I knew it was coming.
Sue had given me an overview of this section of trail.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ My knee had held up while making the steep climb up to Dragon's Tooth, but now was starting to bother me. In fact, everything hurt now. The rest of my body has been trying to compensate for my left knee the past week or so. As a result my right leg and back were now bothering me. I see why a lot of thru hikers have a zero mileage day now and then. If this wasn't my last day hiking I would take one. Sue and Jim have an ongoing saying that "they are not 35 any more." I told them that I was now in the club. I turned 36 last week. The day before my birthday was when my knee really started to hurt. Here I am age 36 years one week and I'm falling apart. I diffently need some rest and relaxation. Come on knee, make it through today and you can rest all you want.
I thought this tree was cool.
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I was moving along at a snail's pace when I heard someone behind me. This always motivates me no matter how much pain I am in. I moved as fast as I could and stayed ahead for quite a while, but they were gaining.
I came to a lookout. This was a good excuse to stop and let them pass.
There was a man and a woman. I decided to ask if they had seen my map.
"Where did you start?" I asked.
"Route 624," they replied.
"So did I. You didn't happen to see a map laying on the ground?"
"Sure did. I figured whoever dropped it wouldn't be back for it, so I picked it up. Here it is."
"Great! Thanks."
I talked with them a few minutes. He was from Ohio, and she works/volunteers for the Appalachian Trail Conservancy. I thanked her for all her hard work and let them continue ahead of me. I told them they would probably see my wife coming in from the other direction.
This would be my last scenic view along the Appalachian Trail this year, so I sat a few minutes to enjoy it.
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I looked across to Brush Mountain. I was up there two days ago. That was where I saw the Audie Murphy memorial.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ I began my descent of the mountain. The trail became a lot more user-friendly. It was smooth, had a gentle grade, and lots of switchbacks. I met Lynn and Madison at the junction with the side trail for the Pickle Branch Shelter. It was too far off the trail so I didn't bother to check it out.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ We made our way down to Trout Creek. Our car was just on the other side. I stopped on the bridge, and Lynn took my picture as I crossed my last white blaze for the year.
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I was hoping to complete 217 miles on this trip (10% of the trail), but will have to settle for 210 miles. I was also hoping to have 50% of the AT completed by the end of this year but will have to settle for 49%. Close enough. When I tell people how much of the trail I've done saying 'half' is a lot easier than saying '49%'. This was my last AT hike for the year, but I am hoping for a couple more non-AT hikes at lower elevations before the snow flies.
Looking back at this two week AT trek, I now know some of the pros and cons of going this time of year. The biggest pro is that being from Maine, it allowed me to stretch my hiking season and put off winter for a couple more weeks. Another pro is that the air tends to be a little drier this time of year allowing clearer views (at least when it is not raining). I did find quite a few cons. The biggest was the leaves. Although the leaves being off the trees allowed great views, they were treacherous. I couldn't see the rocks and roots because they were covered with the leaves. I was constantly tripping. This may have contributed to the problem I had with my knee. If you stub your toe on a rock a hundred times a day every day, it can really start to jam your knee. Another drawback is that it is hunting season. If you wear orange, you shouldn't have a problem. I met a lot of hunters. I have no problem with hunters, I just don't have much in common with them. With the exception of the hunters, the trail was pretty empty. I enjoy talking with hikers, especially thru hikers. In Virginia this time of year, all the nobos have completed the trail and most of the sobos have made there way into North Carolina and Georgia by now. I had a great time, but I probably won't do any more AT treks in November.
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