Sunday may 26

Harpers creek shelter (830.3) to Paul c. Wolfe shelter (852.3)...holy crap I walked 22 miles!
Of course I woke up at 530..this madness must stop (I'll be really excited to be able to sleep late...) I have to admit that the forest world is beautiful at 630am.
I was walking at 7...I checked on team fortis to make sure they were up and moving and on I went.
Up, up, up three ridges mountain. Then on,on,on forward.
I tried my hand at "yogi-ing" several times yesterday and today. (that is to say, "passive aggressive begging") and found I'm not very good at it. I've been craving fresh fruit...I could've drank a half gallon of cranberry juice if I'd had it. About noon today I finally succeeded. As I hiked through reeds gap (the AT Crosses over the blue ridge parkway repeatedly..this is one of those spots), a group of day hikers stopped to ask the usual questions:
Are you a thru hiker?
Where did you start?
When did you start?
How far have you hiked?
I mentioned something about how fresh fruit is such a treat...a very nice lady named Barbara offered to bring me some fruit. She said she'd met me 5 miles ahead at dripping rock crossing in 2 hours.
Now, the only problem is that I hadn't had my morning break yet. I had hiked 8.3 miles without stopping..I was tired..but I couldn't Dilly dally if I only had 2 hours to go 5 miles...so on I went, cursing myself for not planning better.
This Barbara lady was incredible. Not only did she arrive with fruit, but she met me on the trail about a mile before I reached the destination..she walked with me and kept me company which helps a lot. She brought me a nice crisp apple and a baggie of cherries! She left me sitting in the shade at cedar cliffs (842.5...nice view) to eat and relax a bit.
This is memorial day weekend, by the way, and there are a LOT of day hikers and over nighters on the trails.
I kicked my shoes off, peeled of my socks and settled down on the rocks to relax and admire the view...eating my fresh fruit..I happened to look down and noticed all the chiggers crawling around.....DANG IT..so I jumped up and wiped off my legs and ankles...
2 men and 3 little girls were having a picnic in the shade..complete with blankets...they kindly invited me over for hummus and veggies..of course I accepted. I enjoyed the girls (ages 5-10?) asking various questions about my hike and they learned what chiggers look like. Hummus and carrots: so good...oh, and a ham sandwich and corn tortilla chips.... after my augmented lunch, I laid back in the shade to relax for a minute. That's when I got busted by team fortis. I wondered why they hadn't caught up yet. Turns out m80 themed his ankle this morning right out of camp so they were a little slower than usual. I was so glad to finally see them. We walked together the rest of the way. They decided they couldn't stop 5 miles out of town and were going all the way TODAY. (27 miles..and he had a hurt ankle) he did have a good point in saying that if he stopped, he wouldn't be able to walk on in the morning..had rather rest in town. They left me at the shelter (and made fun of me for stopping) and went on....I knew is get to sleep in and only had 5 miles to go in the morning..I was happy with that.
I was also so happy to get to lie down and be off my feet..that was a long day. But I did it and survived.
No ibuprofen today, either!
Pics: me after finishing 3 ridges, view from 3 ridges