TRAIL DAY 37
Mon, Mar 28, 2016 I don’t remember breakfast this morning in particular but I do remember that One Mile and Birdie had the tent away from the stream and that they cooked up a storm and were still at it when I left.
I still had Theo’s boots – I should say he had them in his saddle bags, and, because of the fairly long trek up the gravel road the day before, I thought it best to save his paws from another exposure to sharp stones, especially since he was carrying a load. I stuffed his Jello-paws into the booties and we were off.
As it turned out the trail north was not opposite the entrance onto the gravel road from the south but rather much closer to the hostel – close enough that Theo probably would have been fine without his booties.
The my-whole-life syndrome seems all the more real as moments or scenes long departed from my conscious mind surface in a flash in full detail because of some inexplicable subconscious trigger. In a millisecond I am transported to the trail! And so now as I remember the northbound turnoff from that gravel road.
It was a sunny and warm late-March day. There was a long climb and trees were showing small pink blossoms. Little flowers, some yellow, some white were beginning to pop out of the ground. The trail and the joy of being on it were in full bloom.
After 4.4 miles of climbing, I came to open ground with an FAA inverted, white conical tower called a VOR (VHF Omnidirectional Range) which is used to guide me through the skies as a pilot by sending out signals in 360̊ to a receiver in the aircraft, providing a vector to the signal. Speaking of flying, I remember thinking it would be nice to take to the skies again to soar above the scenes I was seeing daily from mountain peaks on the AT. That seems unlikely given the cost and my stage in life. Maybe, on a lark, with a certified flight instructor by my side – just for the experience – and the memories.
A short 2.5 miles past the VOR was the Groundhog Creek Shelter (0.2E) and, again, the recall kicks in. It was here that I met a nice, young couple, “Disco” and “Teach” who taught 3rd grade now. She previously taught 7th grade in Canada where she used to live. They both really loved Theo.
I met “Chopsticks” here as well. He was from Michigan where he had a computer consulting business. He loved history. It was only late in 2015 that he decided to do the trail but, as a single person consulting on his own schedule, he could just pick up and head out. He had camped a good bit on the Upper Peninsula and was gear-ready. I had run out of lighter fluid and Chopsticks gave me his spare lighter which became my spare all the way to Maine.
As happens all the time on the trail, you find yourself talking about this or that gear, or this or that food or method or system. Chopsticks maintained that one didn’t need waterproof footwear but rather footwear that dried quickly and recommended Sportivas over Gortex Surround footwear. The dry-quickly point was well taken according to another hiker in the north.
There was a campfire that night and I learned farther on that Chopsticks made a fire every night. Again, so cool to see what I learned later show up in its infancy down south.
I shared the shelter with a couple of guys, one of whom worked for an outfitter and had to post a blog every night from his phone. While I was fading off, he was aglow in the phone screen light typing away. He had shown me his Leki Micro Vario trekking poles which pulled apart into thirds like tent poles with an elastic band inside. They were made of carbon aluminum and were adjustable and very light. I thought it would be nice to have my hike and gear financed by an outfitter but I wouldn’t want any of the responsibilities he had of blogging and reporting. Happily my hike was between me and Mother Nature – end of story.
Day #37 Standing Bear Shelter > Groundhog Creek Shelter 6.9 miles