TRAIL DAY 14
Sat, Mar 5, 2016 I don’t have any clear memory of waking at tent-city but surely all routines were in place and observed leading up to an in-tact departure.
I went back to the point on the trail where I turned off to enter the campsite and carried on up the hill. The shorter route northward was up the bank I had climbed the night before. But I was a bit of a purest as we’re called. We want to hike the entire trail – no shortcuts.
At the top of the hill I took the right turn to the old tree which I duly noted before moving on.
It was some time this morning or perhaps the night before that I met “Zateran” who had a dark beard and told me his trail name was a Louisiana spice.
Later, along the trail, I would come upon “Plowman,” a Tennessee farmer whose son was looking after their 3,000 acres. Plowman was out to complete 100 miles and was close to his goal. We would meet up again at the 5435′ summit of Standing Indian Mountain. As we reached higher elevations north of tent-city, we encountered more snow and so it was at the summit. Plowman and I shared the peak together with Theo who was eager to get his pack off. A few others coming later moved on to another location for the night.
It had been a day of short ups and downs until the 1000′ ascent up Standing Indian. It was clear but cold and overcast.
“PUDS” – that’s what some hikers call “pointless ups and downs.” I decided they should be called “TWPS” – “the whole point”s. Dude! It’s called the “Appalachian Trail” after the mountains it passes up and over. We’re out here because of the mountains. They are why we came. It is they that bring the heart and life in us together for the challenge, the beauty, the views, the weather, the difficulty and the divinity. We looked up to the mountains, they whispered “come” and we have come. I didn’t encounter the PUD mentality too often but, when I did, I didn’t understand it. It was like diving in a lake and complaining about getting wet. I didn’t get it.
Plowman and I each set up our tent, prepared supper and turned in. It was cold and Theo shivered most of the night.
Day #14 GA/NC border > Standing Indian Mountain 8.0 miles