"There's no reason to pray when you wake up everyday to the sunrise."
-Lyrics from "I don't Mind"
Start: Crampton Gap Shelter
End: Pine Knob Shelter
Today: 12.5 mi
Total: 22.7 mi
After hanging our bear bags last night I got into our tent while the sun was setting. Laying on my camp pad I looked up through the screen at the green forest canopy. Sunset quickly turned to dusk and in the half-light of the woods, the forest came alive. My eyesight was of no use in the darkness but my ears quickly adapted. I could hear all the crickets, locate which branch the chipmunk jumped to and I listened for the occasional thud of an acorn hitting the forest floor.
We slept well our first night and I woke up just before 7am and began breaking down camp. Heather got up a few minutes later and we ate breakfast. I had a very healthy meal (protein bar, 2 snickers, and 2 Air Heads) and on a fresh sugar-high, I began hiking. My shoulders were a bit sore but my knees held up much better than I expected (knock on the tree next to me 3x).
A little while later I came across this wonderful patch of Pine Trees whose fallen needles turned the path red. This complemented the vibrant greens of the bushes beside and the trees above. I took out my camera and almost as if that were her cue, a beautiful deer walked onto the path and looked up at me. Captivated by this moment, I forgot to take a picture and when I raised my camera it leapt over the bushes and into the forest. This experience is totally one of the reasons I'm out here.
We took a break at Rocky Run Shelter (most luxurious accomodations...with 3 walls, that is). After a very long break we convinced ourselves to move on. Finally, around 6:45 pm we rolled into Pine Knob Shelter. The shelter, built in 1939, was small, dark and dingy so I convinced Heather to camp next door at the campsites.
Extremely tired, we layed on our sleeping pads around 9pm and were probably asleep before darkness ever came!
~Brian (Daddy Long Legs)
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