6/1 Mile 738.9 – Curry Creek

Such a nice morning. Beth cooked breakfast for us, she called it Appalachian Toast, and it was a bananas foster casserole bake type thing. Delicious. Just beforehand, I finally finished Walking With Spring, Earl Shaffer’s memoir of the first thru hike. It was really enjoyable to read while hiking, especially when so many of his experiences just happened to line up with mine. Certain things were different hiking the trail in ’48, but a lot of things weren’t. However, I am ready to get into my tent in the evening and read something totally unrelated to hiking now. Next up is Guards, Guards by Terry Pratchett.

Beth was running into town after breakfast, so I had her drop me off at the Verizon store and replaced my phone. I cracked it like a week into the trail, and was eligible for an upgrade anyway. Nice to no longer be typing on a cracked screen.

The Verizon store took a while, so by the time we hit the trail, it was 3ish. I was feeling rejuvenated; it was a good shower and I felt like I got a lot of town stuff done. Being back on trail was good. The weather was perfectly sunny, exactly what we needed after the days of rain before. Bright sun mostly covered by dense deciduous canopy is one of my favorite things.

We were planning to push further, but after 7ish miles, we encountered a beautiful little site just above a stream, and both agreed we didn’t want to pass it up. Passing up spots like this just for the sake of miles wouldn’t feel right. We set up, and Billy Bob joined us soon after! Fantastic to see him; we had a brief encounter in town, which was our first time seeing him since Trail Days, so it was good to catch up around the fire.

I got a surprise from Gwen! I’ve liked Opinel knives for a while. This is actually something we bonded over on the day we met (day 3 of the hike), as it’s a very French knife, and we both started the trail with one. However, the one I started with is the carbon steel model. Beautiful and picks up a nice patina, but in four days of constant rain, it’s nearly impossible to keep it rust free. I had known this was coming since this morning, so I had the opportunity to mail home my old knife for safekeeping. Around the fire, we had a bit of wine Gwen had packed out as a surprise, and then he presented me with my lovely new stainless steel and walnut Opinel. What an amazing gift, and a reminder of this hike and this moment every time I use it. Thanks, Gwen!

6/2 Mile 758.5 – Jennings Creek

One of the hottest days yet, but beautiful out. Gwen and I both were feeling pretty tired this morning, but perked up after lunch. We hiked separately for a bit, and because there was service I took the opportunity to call and do some much needed catching up with my Mom and my Dad. We noticed in the guide that where we were headed was listed as having a swimming hole, which was exciting to me, Gwen, and Chuckles, who we chatted with along the way.

I arrived during the golden late-afternoon; there was a bridge where a road crossed a river, and it looked like great swimming. No sign of Gwen until I noticed he had left one trekking pole off to the side of the trail to point me in the direction of a side trail, where his other pole topped with his hat made sure I knew that that was the right way to go. I took the side trail and found that he had already set up in a womderful little site set back among the trees, with room for three or four tents.  We were ready, so I quickly tossed my tent up, put on my water shoes, and we headed down to the swimming hole.

The water felt lovely. This was the first swim (other than that icy cold Laurel Falls) where we could actually just float about. We did, and it felt great to have the weight off our muscles while the cool water soothed the little aches and pains. Soon, Chuckles joined us; we had a great time chatting about all sorts of stuff in the water and on the shore. We learned that Chuckles used to live on a sailboat (in her native Australia) and commute by dinghy to the shore every day for work.

We eventually dried off and transitioned back to the campsite, where Chuckles had set her tent up as well. We built a fire, made our dinners, and continued the wonderful conversation until it was time for bed. This was honestly one of my favorite evenings on trail so far, everything was just perfect, including the hiking that preceded it.

6/3 Mile 772.5 – Thunder Hill

Big climb this morning! 4200 feet over five miles or so! And then some showers on and off into the afternoon. We got to Thunder Hill Shelter and ate lunch. I had a really good mango I had carried for a couple days, so that was great.

We originally intended to keep going, but as we settled in the cozy shelter and the rain came back, that started seeming less and less likely. We thought about it while relaxing and reading and snacking for a couple hours, which was a really good rest. Finally, we decided the weather had improved enough that we were going to move on. We started packing, and there was immediately a huge thunderclap. We looked at each other and stopped packing. It was nice to do an early stop and relax in the shelter, totally dry, as it poured outside. Gwen, Shooter, and I had the shelter to ourselves as well, so it was a nice little hangout.

6/4 Mile 787.3 – Glasgow Shelter

The rainy morning made us glad we stayed in the shelter. Had a lovely slow morning staying dry while it was misty and wet out the front of the shelter, always the most cozy.

Eventually, we did get moving, headed toward Glasgow. Only got a little damp on the way there. It was still just misty, which always gives a very mystical atmosphere to the forest. Shooter, Gwen, and I got to the Trailhead around the same time, and stuck our thumbs out. Within a few minutes, a nice man gave us a ride to town in the bed of his pickup. Between the Glasgow Grocery and DG, we were able to put together a resupply. Today was another situation where we had been planning to head out, but got vortexed. The town of Glasgow runs a free AT hiker shelter in town, with electricity and a hot shower! I decided to check out the Italian place next to the shelter with Shooter, and who do we see there but Billy Bob! He joined for dinner (a very good calzone and an italian sub for lunch the next day), then we all headed back to the shelter. There was no chance we were hitching back to the trail at this point. We decided to enjoy Glasgow’s hospitality, with most of us tenting near the shelter. We had a great fire, with split firewood provided by the town instead of sticks we gathered. After some great fireside conversations, we all headed to bed a bit later than usual.

6/5 Mile 807.3 – Brown Mountain Creek

On the way out of town, we hitched a ride with Tom, one of the City Council members in Glasgow! He was really enjoyable to talk to about all sorts of things; he is also a very recently retired university professor. Beautiful hiking with Gwen and Billy Bob, perfect weather climbing out of Glasgow.

Later in the day, on the way into camp, Chuckles and I hiked together for the first time. Was nice! Hiking solo with someone out here is a different experience than hanging out in camp. There’s a certain freedom that, for some reason, allows you to talk about anything and everything while hiking. That’s one of the reasons deep friendships can happen so fast.

Chuckles and I rolled into camp and picked sites near Gwen. These sites were all clustered around a nice little rocky creek, with the shelter up a small hill. I soaked my feet in the creek while writing my journal entry for the day (peak relaxation), then joined Chuckles and Gwen in making the fire. It’s pretty much always a group effort, which makes it more enjoyable.

6/6 Mile 834.5 – Tye River

Good hiking today, but it just got longer and longer. We were initially thinking we’d camp at Spy Rock, but then Gwen, Billy Bob, and I were feeling good and pushed on to The Priest. By that point, we were only four miles or so from doing a marathon, which was on Gwen’s AT Bucket List before he has to head back to France. We decided to go for it. The last part was some nice cruisy night hiking (another one of Gwen’s bucket list items) that ended up putting us just over 27 miles for the day. We were feeling it, and quickly found great sites along the Tye River. This was a pretty big river, and the water sounds lulling you to sleep are always a good thing.

After setting up around 10PM or so, we ventured over to a nearby campfire and were welcomed by some folks named Stickyfingers, Mule, and Ray. Was nice to have a fire that we didn’t even have to start to eat dinner and chat around, and to talk to some new folks. They even shared their marshmallows with us!