I learned several things last night as I listened to the rain rolling over my hammock tarp. The first thing was that the rain was also rolling under my hammock tarp. It took me a while to figure out how the underside of my tarp was getting wet, but apparently the seam along the crest of the tarp had lost its waterproof seal, allowing dribbles and drips to find their way down the soggy tarp and into my increasingly damp sleeping area. Fortunately, the rain slacked off around dark and left me with only the occasional drip that found its way into my bed. The second thing I learned was that I had unwittingly invited around 20 chiggers to join me in my hammock to feast on my knees, shins and ankles. While not nearly as debilitating as the Great Blister Incident, it was increasingly uncomfortable last night as I tried to find a position in the hammock from which I could scratch all 20 itchy chigger sites (say that 10 times fast; “itchy chigger”).
Early this morning, I once again followed Mr. Jefferson’s advice and began preparing to hike as soon as it was light enough to see my surroundings. I was packed and walking away from the shelter by 7. Being first out on the trail in the early morning has its definite charms – the solitude, the quiet whisperings of your surroundings, the gentle cloud-like mist drifting through the canopy. It also has its definite curses – the hundreds of spider webs strung across the trail during the previous evening that end up stretched across your nose or eyes and streaming ribbon-like behind you. Being first down the trail means you get to be the web buster for everyone else to follow. I cannot imagine what would cause a spider to think that spanning a web across the trail is a good idea.
SPIDER 1: Betcha can’t catch one of those big biped walky things.
SPIDER 2: Hold my spider beer.
SPIDER 1: We’ll eat like KINGS!
I spent about two and a half uneventful hours hiking back to supertruck at Deep Gap. Once in the truck, I retraced my route down forest service road 71 back out to highway 64 and went straight to the McDonalds in Hayesville, NC to get some breakfast and coffee.
This hike was a relatively short trip totalling almost 30 miles. I’m glad that I spent the weekend preceding the 4th of July hiking this trail; the Appalachian Trail itself is a true American treasure. My next trip out will likely be in the fall where I will start at Deep Gap and attempt to go all the way to Fontana Dam, covering a distance of around 80 more miles. Until then…
DOCTOR PHOTON WILL RETURN…
Doctor Photon