June 5 Mile 609

Got up our regular time (6 AM) and we were hiking by 8AM. This was a very unusual hiking day. The first half -7 miles- was along a ridgeline with only one scenic viewpoint- when we passed under a big powerline. Otherwise, a long green tunnel and actually pretty boring. I mentioned to Cisco that since it was a Saturday, I expected to see more local hikers. He figured since the stretch was uneventful the locals knew to stay away. I guess this section is just filler to move us further north and east. We then crossed a state hiway- no trail magic here - and then into someting we have never seen since starting- about 7-8 miles of FLAT trail to hike thru to our shelter. Cisco suggested we take a side trip off the AT of about .3 mileto Dismal Creek Falls. Wasn't dismal at all. It was quite a beautiful spot. Lots of flat rocks to sit on, a warm sun to dry my wet socks from Tuesday, and I could put my blistered feet in the cool water and Cisco fully immersed himself! This is a popular local spot- right by a road with lots of campers and day visitors. We ate our lunch there and stayed for quite awhile. While on the subject of side trips to see other things while hiking te AT, I am reminded of a thru hiker that told a story of a group thru hiking this year, and some of the group wanted to see a wonderful rock outcropping. in the Smokies known as Charlie's Bunion, that I mentioned earlier. It's about one tenth of a mile off the trail. One of the group was incensed with this suggestion and supposedly remarked "This is an AT thru hike, It's not a vacation!" If you ever thru hike or section hike be sure to see the sights. You may not pass this way again. And take your time. As one grizzled veteran thru hiker told me-"take your time- Mt Katahdin- ( the end of the trail in Maine) isn't going anywhere. "
After Dismal Falls lunch we hiked our normal speed for about 3 hours and came to our shelter area for the night. It was a very warm day. The heat makes hiking with a pack very difficult for me. Could be a long summer. Luckily we are heading north, where maybe it will be cooler. The flat terrain would have been splendid for me, but I always seem to have some physical lament. I'm sure Cisco is tired of hearing about my aches and pains. Just before lunch my right foot arch began to ache-it's an old ailment and I actually have shoe inserts ( back home of course) that help. I do have a similar support in my right boot. Why it has waited 600 miles to start aching is beyond me. Perhaps it is just a strain that will resolve itself. I trudged on and then tried to pad my boot to relieve the ache. It did not do me much good- but it did not affect our overall time to arrive at the shelter area, getting there at about 5PM, our expected arrival time. No pain once I stopped walking. Always hope for good.
Today I noticed, as I have noticed before, quite a few holes in the trail, usually about an inch wide. Who makes them? Cute chipmunks or scary snakes?
I have no idea, but I'm certainly not going to poke around in there to find out. Tomorrow we have a short day planned, but strenuous, up a mountain about 2000 feet, but only hiking a little over 7 miles to a hostel everyone says is a "must stay" . It's called Woods Hole. Looking forward to it and food!!