Project Eveningland

2/25/2023 Saturday

I slept really well last night, and left a dry patch of leaves under my tent when I broke it down. I don’t think Mitch had a pleasant night. He told me he’d gotten about two hours of sleep because of hellacious snoring and poor shelter etiquette (having headlamp on for a long time at 5AM, not even the red light either). Will said he slept wonderfully on the picnic table (which was under the shelter roof and thereby protected from the rain).

Will joined me for most of the day. Or I joined him. Or both. Bill and Mitch were way ahead and we didn’t see them until the shelter at Carter Gap. Lady E (a sociologist who lives in Jersey but grew up in Ukraine and spent a lot of time in Israel) joined us for lunch at Standing Indian shelter.

It rained all day off and on. When it wasn’t raining, the water dripped from trees or else seeped into every crevice via a thick ever-present mist. The mists made the winds occasionally visible. Quite stunning. But also cold and wet and not particularly conducive to taking breaks. The incline to Standing Indian Mountain (the actual mountain comes after the shelter) was gradual and well built. Many old logging roads (which are now little more than flat grades amid the new growth trees) join and cross the trail.

I learned quite a lot about Will today, though, as I suspect is often the case for those who cross my path, not quite as much as he learned about me! One thing that strikes me about him is how observant he is of other people. Quieter people are always watchers I guess. This strength is one Ben shares. I quite like hanging around (or being married to, respectively) people who know how to listen and watch. It is educational. I also spent some time thinking about overstimulation, how it affects me, and how to notice when others are dealing with it.

We reached the second shelter, Carter Gap, just before four. It’s full of course. Will and I scouted for good tent sites. Bill joined to learn a bit about tent siting, which he too will need to do, though tonight he’s taking a spot in the shelter.

It seemed to take forever—about 2.5 hours—to do camp chores. Set up tent rainfly and let it dry (or just drip off a bit, with this humidity). Get out food and eat. Go down to the spring and get water. Brush teeth and put smelly stuff in bear bag (Ursack). Hang bear bag. Set up inside of tent. Blow up mattress and pillow. Try to keep it all dry during because it just won’t stop raining. It’s not quite as dry in my tent as it was yesterday but I gave it my best.

Will’s parents are going to meet us at Rock Gap and give a bunch of us a ride to Franklin. We got rooms at the Hampton. Mitch and the Mainers are going to press on to Winding Stair Gap and go into town proper in search of cheaper accommodations. Lady E chatted me up at various points about how to stay in town, what to eat, and how to think about mileage. Many more folks arrived at shelter, including Patrick and Katie, a couple I met at Around the Bend, and Stickers, an educator from Richmond who’s looking to start a new chapter in his career.

How about some “forest bathing” for those who like scenery? One thing I noticed today were the vibrant green mosses which seem too saturated to be real, and too aesthetically perfect to be natural. There’re two large rocks next to my tent covered in the stuff. This afternoon we walked long, smooth ridges with brown grasses and brambles of broken branches covered in pale fungus. Is it me or does fungus look more menacing after watching The Last of Us? OK I think that’s all the forest bathing I have in me for today.

Mile 100 tomorrow!