Day 62, Friday April 30, 2021

 

2nd Corinthians

Otter Overlook campsite to Apple Orchard Mountain campsite - 21.4 miles hiked today - 771.0 total AT miles hiked to date.

I woke this morning feeling like I was in a wind tunnel.  While the anticipated rain had not materialized, the wind had picked up dramatically. 20 mph sustained winds, with gust of 35 or better were present all morning. It wasn’t too bad on the downwind side of the mountains, but cresting a hill on the north facings meant leaning into the wind to proceed.  Sometimes I felt like a high profile vehicle trying to cross a high bridge during a storm.  It continued to be windy, clear and cool as the morning progressed.   

I crossed the Blue Ridge Parkway one more time before a long section of mild ups and downs.  Early in the day, I saw several deer,  including one only about a dozen of feet away off of the trail.  I stopped and we stared at each other for a minute or two before we both moved on.  The balance the morning I passed over a dozen southbound hikers, mostly day or section hikers.  I did run into WingNut again, as he was slack packing that section southbound.

The miles flew by, and by the time I stopped for lunch at the Bryant Ridge Shelter for lunch, I’d already covered over 12 miles.  This shelter is on of the largest on the trail, a double decker easily holding 20 people.  The only person there was Marvel, a southbound section hiker who’d also stopped for lunch.  Turns out he was a PK (preachers kid) and one of the few I’d met who knew Isaiah 43:19 when I quoted it when sharing my trail name.

After lunch I headed out, and immediately started up the first of a series of significant climbs I’d face today.  Floyd Mountain, Black Rock, and ultimately Apple Orchard Mountain consumed the rest of the day.  Flowers were blooming all along the trail.  I did see some liquid trail magic, as someone had left a case of Natural Light beer by the trail.  Interesting choice of TM.  I finally stopped at a stealth site about 1/2 mile from the crest of Apple Orchard mountain.  Pitched my tent, ate dinner, hung my bear bag, and went to bed.

Until next time…