May
23, 1981 - Saturday From Gonzo!s Appalachian
Trail journal
Had
a packet of apple & cinnamon instant oatmeal with dried apples
& honey thrown in, and hot chocolate. John Smart told us that
last night while we were all asleep, he awoke and saw a procession
of what he called “glow worms” marching on the ground
in front of the shelter. I wished I had seen that.
John,
John, and Joel left the shelter, and I sit here waiting for Bill,
hoping that he will come by 12 and also hoping he didn’t try
to make it last night, and somehow passed the shelter - which is
off the trail and the marking was a little obscure. While waiting
around, I brushed my teeth and took a sponge bath near the spring
a little ways down by the trail. Refreshing. I finally gave up on
Bill and continued up the trail. The trail was tough going at Bly
gap untill Muskrat shelter. Up a long way! Very steep. Stopped around
3:00 on the trail and ate my last two Pop-Tarts with honey and a
bag of M&M’s. Walked a total of about 7 miles to Muskrat
Creek shelter. Bill hadn’t shown up there yet either. I believe
I will wait all day tomorrow for him at this shelter. Maybe it will
do my blister good. I can hear the drumming of a grouse somewhere
in the forest surrounding the shelter. Muskrat shelter is a large
A-frame shelter that appears fairly new. A couple of new hikers,
Mike Block and Bruce Gurnstein caught up to us this evening and
are both staying at the shelter. Bruce told about how he was a merchant
marine, and seemed to be the windbag of the two. Mike, his friend,
was kind of like his second in command and followed everywhere.
Fixed chicken noodle soup & rice again tonight with tea, cool
aid & instant banana cream pudding. There were two other older
men at shelter tonight, Bob, with multiple sclerosis from Virginia,
and Ed from New York, both heading south. Ed has hiked about 1600
miles of AT at different times and places.
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