Man, do I hate spiders! They were everywhere on the trail today and I nearly walked in to two that were BIG & NASTY looking! I think they could have taken me down if I had not seen them. I much prefer a nice non-poisonous snake to a spider. But…I digress.

It rained again last night but I was hunkered down in my bunk bed and did not have to pack up a wet, dirty tent this morning. Something I was really thankful for! I had three bunk mates last night – a lady, her daughter and their dog. The dog did not make a single sound during the night and they were fun people to talk to. They were on a four day hike and are trying to complete the AT a few days here and there. In the past 2 days I have met six people who are hiking the trail a few days, or couple of weeks here and there. I can totally relate to this strategy and I am glad to see that not everyone is cutout to be a thu-hiker!

After a quick coffee and some French Toast this morning, my driver, Carrie,  picked me up and dropped me back off where I departed the trail yesterday. Carrie travels with her sweet dog, Bubbe. She is the sweetest lady and has been very helpful to me. Carrie is retired and cares for her husband, Jim, 82, who has severe dementia. She routinely shuttles hikers to and from their destinations as a little side gig. I will use her tomorrow and again on Monday…more about that later.

Today’s hike was, by far, the most enjoyable of this trip. As I got out of the car at the drop off point I saw one of the hikers I had met on Wednesday evening at my camp site. I could tell by the look on his face that he was totally spent. He and his two friends had hiked 4 miles on Wednesday, and 10 miles yesterday. He had originally planned to stay through Tuesday but he was heading into town to catch a bus back to Asheville, NC. I was telling my wife about this and she said, “You know, there are probably a lot of people who start out on the AT with nothing but a romanticized perception of splendid scenery, talks around the campfire and getting away from the real world. And then, when they get out on the trail they see how hard, wet, dirty and challenging it really is.” A very perceptive and accurate assessment.

Because it rained again last night, the trail was again very slippery and there was heavy fog to start with. After about 2 hours the sun broke through, for a brief period, and the forest seemed to come alive, and I had one overlook view that was very pretty. 

I only saw one person on the trail today but what a character he turned out to be. His trail name is Daddy Longlegs and I am guessing he was in his early 70s. I passed him on one of the uphill climbs and stopped briefly to chat with him as he seemed willing to do so. Turns out that this his is FIFTH, that’s right, FIFTH thru-hike of the AT since 2010! I haven’t met anyone on the AT who comes remotely close to that kind of achievement. He plans to wrap this hike up by the end of October, at Springer Mountain, GA and then have a 50th wedding anniversary celebration with his wife. I told him that I hated to break the news to him, but with five AT thru-hikes he would have to deduct two and one-half years from his anniversary date due to all the time he had spent on trail. He chuckled at that and we said our goodbyes. Five AT thru-hikes, and I could not even manage one, WOW!

Today’s hike was again moderately challenging but I made really good time as my backpack was less than half it’s normal weight. I have had very little appetite since starting this hike, which is pretty normal as it seems to take 5-7 days for your appetite to catch up with what you are putting your body through. I share this because I did not have anything to eat on today’s hike, only stopping for water breaks. So this sped up my completion time quite a bit.

Beyond the frequent spider encounters, the only other creatures I saw were a few toads and a very colorful box turtle, who was positioned dead-center in the middle of the trail.

Like the hikes earlier this week, there was often very little to see today, except the trail ahead, due to very heavy vegetation on both sides of the trail. A short video clip below illustrates that. 

The most interesting, and surprising, part of my hike today was passing by a old one room school house that was perfectly preserved. And, it turned out that the door was unlocked and I was able to step inside. Originally built in 1894, it accommodated seven grades with one teacher. The school year was five months long, (October – March). When I opened the door, and stepped inside, it almost felt like I was walking into a hallowed space and that I was intruding on something that I should not be doing. So, I just stood there and stared for about five minutes trying to comprehend what this space must have been like when it was filled with children from a bygone era. I dropped a small donation in the collection box and quietly closed the door behind me.

Warning – going off script here. For the balance of my hike I thought just how different our educational systems and schools are today. My wife, a retired teacher, and many of her teacher friends, have so many head-scratching stories of what happens, or does not happen, in our schools today. I bet in that one-room school house there were no “time out” spaces, no distraction from electronic devices, no taking exams multiple times times until a student passed, no smart-ass comments or disrespectful actions toward the teacher or fellow students, no structuring of curriculum to be dumbed down to the lowest performing students. Students who did not want to learn were likely pushed aside and not allowed to hinder the learning of their classmates. It was most likely Darwinian education at its finest. And, we should all be grateful if it was that way because that is what it took to build this nation 150- 200 years ago. I know…we “understand” so much more about how to “properly”educate children today and my comments/perceptions make me sound ancient and out of touch – and I most likely am. But, what I do know is that these one room school houses produced some of our country’s greatest presidents, industrial and financial pioneers and trailblazing educators. So, as my Mom used to say “put that in your pipe and smoke it”! (I’m sure I will get an earful from my wife on these comments….but that’s OK. I will just politely suggest that she is free to start her own blog at any time! And I will be grateful that I am not within slapping distance!)

I finished my hike one and one-half hours earlier than the pickup time I had given Carrie, in front of a Sunoco station where I came off trail. I texted her to let her know and she arrived a half-hour later, dropping me back off at my hostel. The hostel is linked to an outfitters store and I stopped by there to see if I could get some help fine-tuning the different straps on my backpack to make the ride a little more comfortable when I am back up to full carrying weight. The young lady, Peebs, who assisted me was very helpful and knowledgeable.

To pick back up on my earlier comments, I am going to slack pack again tomorrow, come back in to Marion tomorrow evening and then take a rest day here on Sunday. I am mainly doing this due to the uncertainty of the tropical storms brewing in the Atlantic. There is some potential for this area to get a major rain event next week (one model has up to 8 inches of rain through next Friday) if one particular tropical storm becomes a hurricane, as it is expected to in the next 48 hours. Once I start out on Monday I have approximately 40 miles to hike before hitting the next town. So, I just want to be better informed of what may be taking place and by staying situated in Marion I at least have a few more options if a nasty weather event plays out. Still way to soon to know what may happen with any degree of confidence. (A shoutout to my cousin Renee, who lives in Asheville, NC, who is tracking everything and keeping me updated!). Also, a shout out to my friend Doug who called to check in on me as I was typing this blog.

A long post….thanks for sticking with me!