7/10 - Day one hundred and ten
After a rainy night last night, it felt like a good day for a slow morning and some coffee in the cool, misty air.
There has been a lot of buzz on the trail about some scheduled trail magic, which is offered daily all summer by some local churches. It was about 7 miles from the shelter, and leaving late would put us there at lunchtime.
The coffee was a good move, but I'd used the last of my water to make it we hiked for almost two hours and I was starting to feel parched when we came to a dirt road where a woman came tearing in and stopped in a cloud of dust. She got out as we passed, gawking, then retrieved a large jug of water from the trunk. I filled up and then she pulled out a small cooler, and a bag of M&M's, which she dumped in my hand. The cooler contained more sweet treats.
It was a short walk from there to the trail magic, but on the way I found myself in lovely, dark hemlock groves and bright meadows, still glistening.
This is semi-hydrophobic Indian hemp
This is wild bergamot, whose leaves are incredibly fragrant and have a spicy anise-oregano taste.
The trail magic was a major operation, complete with an enormous birch-framed tent.
They made burgers and hotdogs to order, and I had 3 of each, a bag of chips, 4 slices of watermelon, some mango, a brownie, and 4 cookies. That seems like a lot, I know, but I was there for a couple hours, so it didn't seem like I was just stuffing my face. Lefty and Righty were there (along with about 15 others), and Lefty and I played a few songs together, and everyone seemed to enjoy it.
There were several long climbs after that, but the trail eased me in and allowed me a little more time to digest first.
The sun was going down as I climbed the day's final hill, which offered one spectacular view.
With the late start and the extended trail magic, the day felt unusually long. We managed to make it 20 miles to South Wilcox Shelter.
I'm tired, but there's lots of good news on the health front. First, my knee pain has quietly and unaccountably gone away. I've taken no ibuprofen in the last two days and it feels great. Second, one of the pastors involved in the trail magic has agreed to be my drug dealer. He secured a prescription for the scabies medication I need, and will be meeting me on the trail to deliver it tomorrow.