The 400 Mile Marker
Day 35 of the Trail: 17.6 miles hiked
There is always something, and last night it was a guy who had gone by our camp site and starred in a homicidal way at us. Honestly, I didn't notice but Thomas did and that was enough for me. We waited till dusk and covertly gathered our things then stealthy moved to a new location. Not that I am scared to throw down I just don't wanna be the guy bringing hiking poles to a gun fight.
One other oddity is when we got up today and walked about a mile or two we saw the same guy on the trail going the opposite way. He had to have been out there right at sun up and passed us in our "hide site"! We win you loose crazy guy!
Today the trail was really forgiving and such a relief. We had awesome views, saw a ton of wildlife, and hiked downhill mostly. Ever since Max Patch we have been hiking up these mountains with no trees on top. They call them Balds and they provide the best view on the trail. Today, we hit several and it makes the trail and the climbs so much more enjoyable.
Also, while we were hiking I noticed a ton of chipmunks all along the trail. It was like walking down an alley in a big city and seeing all the cats jump into dumpsters. We would get about 30 feet from one and they would dart under a log, in a hole and a brave one with a bit more distance from us would squeak a loud warning to the other chipmunks down the trail. This happened for miles. It was cool and kept my mind entertained for awhile. We also saw a couple deer this afternoon run out and stop about 20 yards away. They sized us up and then snorted their disapproval before hoping back off, to who knows where.
Lastly, we were asked today, like almost everyday, what our trail names were. Well, we don't have any and at this point we may be the only ones on the trail and I am really just fine without one. I figured I am here to reconnect and learn about me as an individual and how to cope with things. I don't need a trail name to be me and that's my take on that, but we will still probably be given one some day. That's life on the trail.
Day 36 of the Trail: 16 miles hiked approximately
Thomas and I had a nice slow morning getting up and around. It's a later step time for us now that we have been able to make good miles in decent time. No more 4:30 am wake ups for the foreseeable future. The only down side to not getting up early, as of now, is we are still hiking after 2 pm and it's getting warm out here.
Well, once again nature was in full effect today. This section, over the last day or two, has been by far the best. The view stunning and today we got to see several waterfalls and hiked next to a river for awhile. This conforms to my mental picture of how this hike should be.
We also hiked past the 400 mile mark today. Tomorrow we have a Nero of only about 6 miles to a hostel, where WH has rented us rooms and pre-paid for pizza. I'm pretty happy about that because it's suppose to storm tonight and thunderstorm for the next few days. Teresa tells me that Oklahoma is also getting storms this week and is under a high risk for tornadoes.
I do miss storm season back home because I truly enjoy the thunder and lightning, but I can do without the damaging wind and tornadoes. Things like that make it tough to be away. Teresa is a strong woman and fully able to fend for herself and manage everything without me but I know she would like to not have to. I prefer to be there, as well, but it is what it is.
