May 8 - Fossils, fossils, fossils!

Why spend the summer climbing over rocks when you can pick them up and put them in your car? I'm off on a fossil hunting bonanza. West Virginia, Virginia, and maybe Pennsylvania beware, you will have no rocks when I am done with you!

A week home, and I'm still not sure I'm going back on the trail. I made plans too, but I just can't work up any enthusiasm for it. An afternoon hiking in the Gambrils with Mike showed me that I haven't gotten over the ...BORING!... attitude that took me off in the first place. So...instead of forcing the issue I'm off galavanting around the East Coast looking for rocks at the bottoms of mountains, and in river valleys, to play with, and climb over.

I have no plans to climb any bloody mountains on this trip, though there were some interesting caves, dams, and lakes to go check out. Anyone got a pfd? (not pdf, pfd - personal flotation device for you silly computer geeks!) Anyone want to lay odds on how many sites I've planned to visit?

All the fossil belong to me!!!

Day 31 - May first Rescued by Bluebird

I'm Home! I'm Home! One of the thru-hiker's wife gave me a ride home! Bluebird (that's her trail name) was going to Buffalo, so she was going right by my town. Thanks again Bluebird! I had to stay in town an extra day at Hot Springs, but who cares. I'm Home!! I have my husband back, and my dog. Missing Blade. :-(

Ooh, my heavans, I can't tell you how much I love my electric blanket and my own pillow. No, not quite as nice as hugs from Mike but oohh, so much nicer than using a bag filled with my clothes as a pillow. Particularly after a few days of wearing the same clothes, believe me, that can be a bit eyewatering. Who'd have thought I'd miss not being able to smell things?

I'm home! I'm home! I'm home!

Not sure if I'm home forever, or if this is just a hiatis. We'll see after I get used to luxuries like HOT RUNNING WATER again. :-) I'm off to snuggle with my husband.

Day 30 - Hot springs feel oooh so good!

Oh my, Hot Springs are a wonderful thing. Soak until your bones cook and your muscles turn to jelly. Soak, soak, soak. Hmmm...:-) I've missed my baths.

Ok, good news, I'm definately going home. I'm full, I'm rested, I'm not injured, and I still hate this bloody trail so I'm going home. Bad news. Hot Springs, despite it's name, and the implication that it's a big town has ~650 residents in it. There are no buses. There are no taxis. There is no airport, train, car rentals, transportation to larger towns, and the nearest town of any size is an hour away. There is no way out of this town. I'm trapped. Mutter mutter grump. On to Erwin I guess? 5 more days on the trail. Not a happy camper, but what can you do? Rent a horse? Hmm...now there's a thought.

Day 28 - Rebound effect

What the devil happened to me yesterday? Today I hiked 18 miles with Janice (cool woman a few years younger than me that I've hiked with a couple of times). We threw up our tents, walked another mile or so to eat dinner in town, and then walked back, and I still have energy to burn. My guess? Peanuts....eeevil peanuts. I know I'm allergic to them, but I bought the wrong kind of granola bars, and I figured one or two bars with nuts wouldn't hurt. Me stupid. Eeevil peanuts. Eeevil things done to my tummy. Pain is not fun if you're not a masocist.

Day 27 - One day down and counting

Ok, it was closer to 30 miles and today was rougher than yesterday. I quit yesterday at 4:00 and went to bed and didn't get up till morning. I woke up to a cold, dreary, rainy morning, in another fog bank. Couldn't see more than 15 feet in any direction. My temper tantrum today beat yesterday's (there were tears this time), at least I got out of bed yesterday. Grumpy, surly, and damp maybe, but I got up. The only way I got myself out of my bag this morning was to tell myself that not only would nobody come find me today, but that nobody was EVER going to come get me, and that the only way out of this bloody forest was to walk out. And Up. And Up. And Up a freaking again. Did I mention that I hate mountains? Roughest day on the trail, bar none. Tougher than the day Blade died. I just had ZERO energy. I couldn't make myself move at faster than a crawl. I needed more and longer breaks to go half the distance twice as slow as normal. I'm going home when I get to Hot Springs, screw this bloody trail.

Day 26 - April 26 Bubble bubble toil and trouble...

fire burn and cauldron bubble. Ok, I've decided to have a temper tantrum today. I want to go HOME! I do not want to walk up any more damn mountains! I do not want to be cold, smelly, filthy, and/or sweaty anymore! I want to go HOME!! I'm 22 miles frm getting warm, dry, fragrant and hugged. I can't do it in one day, but I can try! I want to go home! Home! HOME!!

Picture me, if you will, standing at the base of yet another effing mountain, throwing the hiking poles down, screaming the above at the top of my lungs and stomping my feet... not my finest hour.

Day 25 - Out of the Smokies! Yippee!!

I finally made it out of the damn smokies! I don't like the Smokies - too restrictive. You must stay at the shelters, and they're oftern either way to close, or way to far apart. So the days are never quite right. Would you rather stop at 2:30 or 8:00? Blah!

Kind of a short day today. After 2 long days out of Gatlinburg (14 and 15 miles) I'm pooped. Lots of pretty flowers to see and GASP! We hiked next to a real, honest to goodness stream. I haven't seen one of them in almost of month. Springs are nice to get water from, but there's just nothing like a babbling brook to dabble your sore feet in, and listen to it gurgle. It's probably 2 more days to Hot Springs, and (maybe) home. I'm tired of hiking. I miss Mike. I want to go home. :-(