Dave blogs while Rolex mixes the sauce
Hot Springs to Spring Mountain Shelter 11 Miles
We hiked out of Hot Springs late. We didn’t get on the trail until about 3PM. Doug had fires to put out at work and I got on the phone with my assistant, Jeff while we were in the outfitter getting some last minute stuff. We kept dong stupid stuff like weighing our packs on the scale that didn’t work properly and looking at field books that we knew were too heavy to carry. I was eying the double concentrated tomato paste; but, it came in a metal tube which I thought was a real waste of materials and weight. Our procrastination was going to put us way behind to get to the next shelter; but, that burger was Worth It. It was going to be a tough climb and we might not get in until after dark.
The initial climbout after we loaf in these towns is always nasty. Today was particularly so. It just seemed like every step was a gargantuan effort with a relentless sun searing down. Just about every town is in a “gap” and by gap we mean, gap between two mountains. Here in the South, these gaps are usually pretty low because of the logistics of civilization. The gaps are where the river is or the town was established; because, it was easier to get there back when people were using horses and walking and didn’t wear shoes and stuff. After a day in town we get some rest and a fill up our packs with supplies. With all that extra weight, we have to get back up to the altitude we were before we went into town. Basically; what I’m saying is that it sucked, just like it always does after town. We get soft in just one day. One day of vegetarian meals and comfortable beds and suddenly we’re lily-livered, Caspar Milquetoasts.
On the trail, the flowers of blackberries and raspberries and other berries are blooming all over the place and soon there will be berries galore. I can’t wait to be hiking along and grabbing berries and juicy, stained fingers and all that stickiness. I hope there is this much berriocity up north when we get into the ripeness window. We passed several fields that had been left to fallow so that deer and grouse and other wildlife would have food to eat. Eventually, we got in to the shelter. It seemed longer than the purported 11 miles. The place was packed with other hikers and we set up camp together on the hill above the shelter. The sun went down while we re-supplied and purified the water from a nearby spring and we cooked our spaghetti in the dark. We picked up some Garlic Pepper stuff down in Hot Springs and I can’t wait to sprinkle it over everything. Ahhhhhh; the simple pleasures! It looks like it’s going to be a really nice night so I’m not putting my rain fly up so I can sit in my mosquito net hammock and watch the stars flitter by in the fresh mountain air. Cyclone and Rolex and I camped next to the NC boys and we had a big fire. Hanging the bear bag was an exercise in teamwork-gone-wrong that had just about arguing about physics and frustration. We finally got it up after breaking a few hundred branches. See you in the morning.
David AKA “Jukebox”
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