Day 45 - campsite to Double Spring Gap campsite
16 miles
Left camp this morning at 8am.
Kids wanted to catch up with the Lost Boys, who passed us last night and were planning to camp at Iron Mountain Shelter, so we hiked 3 miles to the shelter before stopping for breakfast.
The Lost Boys were gone but @ungerwhere and Shekinah were there instead. We ended up hiking with them the whole day.
1.3 miles after the shelter we came across the Nick Grindstaff Memorial:
Nick Grindstaff. Lived Alone. Suffered Alone. Died Alone.
This was a point of interest but did not dampen the mood of the day for our family. The promise of trail magic spurred us on to US 91 where the RIFF RAFF (former thru-hikers who are exactly as they sound) had set up camp and were serving lukewarm sodas and stew. The stew was a strange offering for a hot day, but like the thru-hikers we are, we ate it with gusto.
There was a large group of hikers hanging out in an improvised camp site on the north side of US 91. Apparently this is a yearly gathering in the days leading up to Trail Days in Damascus. There was a strong party vibe to the scene but our family enjoyed the hikers welcome all the same - they clap and cheer you in. And the kids enjoyed catching up with the Lost Boys.
After about 45 minutes hanging out we carried on through the cow pasture and rolling field terrain of this part of the trail. Chewbacca joined us as we were leaving the trail magic and spent the afternoon with us.
The best part of the day was the great company and being able to spend time with other Christians. We haven't had this kind of connection with other believers for many months (years). Shekinah and @ungerwhere told us all about YWAM and their Discipleship Training Program (their team out here is on the outreach phase of a DTS program based in Richmond, VA). We talked about life, the Gospel, missions, adventurous living. It was wonderful.
With all the talking and great company we were able to do longer hiking stretches today, 3 - 4 miles at a time before taking a break, and we timed all our breaks with water stops.
To have other people to talk to was a welcome change from being just the five of us.
There was more trail magic at Low Gap, US 421. Bags of chips, sugary drinks, cake. There was no one there, just food on a table. We helped ourselves, sharing with the other hikers who came along. Filled water at the piped spring down the road.
At our last resupply at Campbell Hollow Road, 5 days ago, we upped our food intake to 2.0 lbs a day per person. Then we hung out at Black Bear Resort for 2 nights, eating a lot of food from the store, and we've had three instances of trail magic. With all this extra food we are not eating as much from our bags, which means we're carrying it.
We stopped to make camp at 5pm, @ungerwhere and Shekinah kept hiking. The terrain was easy today and we had lots of engaging company. It's amazing that we started at 8 am, took almost an hour lunch, hiked 16 miles and stopped for the day at 5pm. If only every day could be like this, where the miles seem effortless.
Strider arrived a little bit after we set up and pitched his green tent between ours. Freebird, Lumberjack, Ladybug and Camel hiked through.
In bed by 8pm tonight.
