Today was a very nice day. The weather held and was fantastic all day, even though it had rained all through the night. After about an hour we came to a little hole in the rhododendron's that went off to the side and out onto a beautiful overlook.
I just love these mountains because of how often the clouds hang very low in the valleys. It's a really beautiful view.
At this overlook we ran into this very nice young woman named "nine". She hiked out of the overlook with us and joined or little group hiking through the woods. It's crazy how you meet people out here and after a day you feel as if you've been friends with them for a long time.
After awhile we all came to Albert Moutain. Albert mountain is notoriously steep, but short. At the top is a watchtower that marks the 100 mile point of the trail going northbound.
Albert mtn view.
After having a very nice break we hiked on to rock gap shelter and had a late lunch. From there we hiked on a few more miles so that we could have a nice an easy descent into winding stair gap tomorrow.
We found a campsite next to some nice college kids from Illinois. They had a huge tent and huge food supply. They had 2 food bags that probably weighed 40 lbs a piece. They put the bags in a canvas blanket they had and tied the corners of the blanket to hang it for a bear bag. After about an hour trying they finally found a tree strong enough and managed to pull it up. Although they could have been much more prepared they were having a great time with their first exposure to the trail! That's what it's all about.
Our campsite that night had a beautiful sunset:
In order of closest to furthest: Shanna, Ghost, Nine, Fozzie.
Nice blog Jordan! Enjoying every entry. Hope to walk the AT when I retire. Have you met any older hikers and how are they doing?
ReplyDeleteATCHawk
Thanks ATCHawk!
DeleteYes actually! Quite a few! The two biggest groups of hikers are usually young people and retired people. I would say one of the biggest challenges I notice for the retired people is the strain it can put onto your knees. This can be helped with the aid of trekking poles and a pack as light as you can get it! Also slack packing is quite popular amongst retired people, usually because they have more money saved. Slack packing is when you pay a hostel or motel to either hold your pack at their place or take it ahead a days hike where you will retrieve it. This allows you to hike all day with just a few snacks and water.
Of the top of my head I met Sixties, Ramble on rose, and Russ.
Here is a link to Sixties blog. He turned 64 the day he started his thru hike! http://www.sixtiesat.com