6/9/12 – 790 miles
In the morning we hitched back to the trail. Kleenex was going to stop at the first shelter but I wanted to go on for a few more miles. When it doesn’t get dark until 9:00 pm, it’s hard to stop early.
We split up at the trail head, Kleenex was faster climbing the hills in the increasing heat of day. I plodded along until up ahead I saw her stopped in the trail talking with someone. It was Blue Sky, and he told us Comma-Maze was just ahead.
Crew
I was happy that the four of us would once again be in the same place. I had been regretting not taking a picture of us since we left Daleville. Now I would get the picture.
It was a long, hot climb to the top of Bluff Mountain. I walked part way up with Comma-Kaze. I could tell she was having trouble with the hill because she is usually faster than me but not today. She told me she thought she was dehydrated – she felt weak and shaky – so I gave her some of my Gatorade. She felt better soon after that.
On top of the mountain there is a monument to little Ottie Powell, whose body was found there after he got lost gathering firewood for school back in early 1800’s.
We all stayed at Punchbowl Shelter that night and went to bed with chills after listening to another hiker tell stories of how Little Ollie haunts the shelter. Robo, who thruhiked in 2010, swears his dog sensed something in the darkness, and in the morning, the footprints of a young boy were visable in the dew around his tent. I had to laugh.
Castaway you missed a good campsite on the first dirt road past punchbowl