4/12/01
This morning the alarm clock went off again at 5:55 a.m. Our private campsite at the top of Snowbird Mtn. was absolutely beautiful last night with a zillion stars and later the moonlit landscape. We had all gear packed, breakfast completed and were on the trail before sunrise at 6:50 a.m. I love early morning hiking before the heat of the day kicks in and it's great to listen and see all the activity of the wildlife as the animals start their day. We had a fairly nice descent into a gap then a tough climb back up, but by 11 a.m. we were closing in on Max Patch. Max Patch is one of the best places along the entire AT for 360 degree views. It is a large grassy bald with elevation 4629'. It can be extremely windy and is NOT the place you want to be during a thunderstorm. We stopped just short of the bald for water at a stream and were rewarded with trail magic...someone had left cans of Coke, Sprite and Dr. Pepper in the stream for thru-hikers. It came at the perfect time with another hot sunny day. We enjoyed the break and trail magic moment with Cliff and Buck and River Wizard. Then we ascended to the top of Max Patch. WOW! ! ! Magnificent panorama views and we stopped to eat lunch up there. There were about 10 of us at the top, checking things out, catching some rays and enjoying lunch as the clouds rolled in from the west.
I hiked another 5 miles and arrived at Roaring Fork shelter by 2:00 p.m. I waited an hour for Creeper to show up. As we debated about going a little farther, the rain began which promptly ended that debate. Warm and dry under a shelter was a no-brainer. It was a great afternoon to make some Thai garlic and vegetable soup, eat an early dinner, eat some more, visit with Firebird and Dimples who are tent camping for the night and chat with other thru-hikers in the shelter. Tonight we are sheltering with "Sleepy the Arab" from New Hampshire, River Wizard, Brian from New Jersey, and "JAG", an older couple. Just outside the shelter Patrick and Cary from Gainsville, GA are tenting. If you remember my story from 4 or 5 nights ago when Buzzard and I picked up and moved out of a shelter because "Sea Wolf" was coming and he has the reputation for snoring so loud...well, this afternoon, guess who showed up at the shelter. Apparently his reputation amongst the thru-hiker community is far and wide, because as soon as he showed up, we all started telling him about the next shelter only 1.8 miles farther down the trail. It was as if there was total collusion on amongst us all to convince him to move on ... and it worked. As soon as he left there were high fives in the shelter and we were all amazed that we had the common goal of trying to avoid having Sea Wolf sleep in the shelter. Great guy when he's awake...but when he sleeps apparently no one else does.
Tomorrow Creeper and I have to decide whether or not to hike the 14 miles all the way into Hot Springs or short hike it so we can have one last night together on the trail. The forecast is for rain overnight and tomorrow morning, so we'll make the decision tomorrow. It will be sad seeing Creeper come off the trail and we've had a great time together. Who's gonna hold the hose in the water when I pump for water? Who will I share my banana pudding desserts with? I'm sure I'll adjust, but it will be an adjustment after partnering with someone so long. Anyway, I'll deal with that next week. Here's today's stats: Low 50 degrees, high 80. Sunny a.m., cloudy and rain p.m. Mileage today: 13.3, cumulative mileage 256.0. Onward to Maine. Yippee. RABBIT
