Day 10

Sat. Sept. 6 Hogsback Ridge Shelter to No Business Shelter 21 miles Weather: cloudy, clearing late afternoon Never have I learned as much in one day as I did today. Waking up earlier than I have in many years, I knew that this was going to be a difficult day. After finishing my second pack of oatmeal, a stranger walks up to the shelter. This was strange at 7 in the morning. Just as the father finally got his daughter out of bed, I was ready to go. Shadow and I were both heading north so we hiked together. I lead and he kept up fine with both of us chatting the whole time. We soon hit the uphill and he took off straight up. I come to find that his pack weighed less than half of mine. He was pretty hardcore ultralight. I was pushing myself as hard as I could and there was no catching him. So for about four hours straigh I kept my heartrate above 160bpm as I fought my way to the top of Big Bald. There were absolutely no views all morning because I was in the clouds. Hiking up through miles of mountain top meadows and all I could see was white. Finally we make it to the Big Knob Shelter and I collapse. I had finished over 10 miles climbing up from I-26 to the top of a mountain and didn't move for an hour. I was an hour behind schedule getting out of there. The whole way down, I learned everything I could from Shadow as he was the only one I had met that had already completed the trail before. He carried no tent, but instead slept on top of a groundcloth and threw a tarp over if it was raining. He had an slcohol burning stove and what I perceived to be very little food. Oh and I have not met a single thru-hiker that filters their water. I figure I will keep on just to be safe. He wears tennis shoes, but for now I will keep the boots to protect my ankles. After getting down to Spivey Gap, where the father and daughter had started out three days before, my knees were dead. Then I had to climb up, and up, and up. It was only a mile's climb from the gap, but after lugging 45lbs for 16 miles, the rest of my body died. I had no energy at all. And I still had 5 miles to go after the climb. Just after I reached the top, I dawned my headlamp for a dead-tired night hike. Finally I've made it and am sitting down to dinner. In total, 21 miles and 4000ft climbing. For all of you that take the elevator, that is something like 300 flights of stairs. At the end of the day, I feel pretty uplifted. High: learning from an expert Low: pack didn't carry itself