May
17, 1981 Sunday From Gonzo!s Appalachian
Trail journal
Up
this morning about 6:30. Had 2 bags of apple & cinnamon oatmeal.
It rained a little last night, and I was a little scared at times
very early in the morning. I don’t know why, perhaps the fear
of going on a journey by myself. The temperature at wakeup call,
approximately 51 degrees. Looks like it will be a nice day after
all. I made it to Springer at approx. 10:15 am. Already my heals
are sore. I signed the register enclosed in a mailbox nailed
to a large oak tree on the summit, and took pictures of both Bills
and myself near the summit sign. I have been seeing many wildflowers,
Solomons seals, False SS, Painted Trillium, White Trillium, Jack
in the Pulpit, etc. It is very peaceful out here. There was water
at the south, bottom (base) of Springer. Now that we have reached
the summit, we follow the white blazes of the Appalachain Trail
northward.
Had
lunch of two instant chicken noodle cup-a-soups at Cross Trails
lean to at approx. 12:30pm. A couple other hikers stopped just as
we were finishing, and said they were going to Maine, but wanted
to eventually go 20 or so miles a day. I wasn’t ready for that,
but soon after we began hiking again, I realized that I should have
gone with them anyway. So I said goodbye to Bill and Bill and took
off screaming to catch up. Saw two yellow lady slipper orchids and
about three deer. Also some wild iris – never saw any wild
ones before – they were much smaller (approx. 2 inches diameter).
I reached Hawk Mountain lean-to at 3:54 pm, just after stopping
a bit earlier, eating a little summer sausage and wondering if I
had taken the wrong route even though there were white blazes along
the trail. I had Macaroni and Cheese tonight. There was water approximately
50 – 75 yards from the trail and sign pointing to it. I did
catch up with the other hikers, but both Bills showed up at the
shelter as well. I went to sleep with my pack leaning against the
inside of the shelter just beside me.
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