Musings of a Thru-Hiker
Big Spring Mountain
Morning finally came. After stopping short the night before,
I was anxious to hit hit the trail. Huff and Puff and the Florida Flyers were in
striking distance the day before. My feet were sore, my ankles somewhat tender,
and my face was beginning to itch- it felt like a bug bite, perhaps I slept on a
spider? Breakfast was quiet, and by the time the others were rising I was
packing my gear. After returning from some of my morning chores, the Orlando
boys had started fixing pancakes again. I just had to get going now, the smell
of hotcakes only tormented my senses. I finished my chores, dutifully brushing
my teeth with baking soda, vainly struggling to remove the gummy remanents of
another oatmeal breakfast. The taste stood fast.
Slow Poke drew his first waking breathes through the filter
of another Marlboro. He was still in his bag fighting off sleepiness amongst the
rising banter and commotion of the Orlando boys. They could have been brothers.
Their bickering started with the first morning yawns, and no doubt would
continue throughout the day and through the rest of their hike. Clearly there
are some benefits to traveling alone.
I awkwardly interjected my parting remarks. Slow Poke asked
why I was not eating any breakfast. Without turning to answer I just waved over
my pack. The bickering resumed afresh as my departure apparently opened an old
wound. Part of the threesome thought that the others wasted too much time and
required too long to get started in the morning. Their conversation faded as I
started into the woods.
Around mid-morning I crossed a gravel road with a small
parking area and trash can. A full-size Chevy truck and a small late model
foreign car shared the area. I passed around the truck, and decided to check out
the mirror. I was careful not to change the position of the mirror, and had to
strain to see the right side of my face. Wow! poison ivy. It wasn't a bug bite
after all. It was a nice case of ivy too. From the looks of it I must have been
nursing it for several days. It was oozing and blistering with a redish-pink
fringe closing in on my eye. I intended to bring cortisone, prescription
strength, for just such an occasion, but somehow I forgot. It was just as well,
the eye is sensitive, and most medical professionals do not like treating that
area with topical cortisone. Just as well, Yeah Right! Now I am stuck in the
woods with a first class case of the ivy causing my eye to swell shut, and I
have absolutely nothing to treat it. For me, untreated cases only get worse.
I emptied my trash, as the owner of the truck showed up. He
attempted to distract me so that I would not notice his companion pulling her
pants up in the bushes about thirty feet away. I strapped my pack on and
wandered off telling them both to watch out for poison ivy and snakes. They
assured me they would be careful. Soon the weight of the pack and the rhythm of
the hike weighed more than my worries over poison ivy.
I stopped for lunch on a log and could hear turkey off below
the ridge. After removing my boots, socks, and spreading out lunch, I set up a
cup of tea to brew in the sun. In addition to the caffeine pickup, tea also
helps to clean the lunch dishes. I wedged my pack against the tree stump and
leaned into it. The position was somewhat awkward but pleasant. My feet were
elevated and felt better as the blood began to drain from them. Perched on the
log bathed in the warm sun, I started in on cheese and crackers, went on to
peanut butter and crackers, and about forty-five minutes later realized that I
had consumed several days worth of food. Not Good. My gluttony would no doubt
cause me to go hungry a few days later. I could have kicked myself. I finished
the sun tea, packed lunch away, flicking a few errant ants off of my legs, and
ambled down the trail. That afternoon I crossed a few streams that would come
together somewhere further south to form the headwaters of a navigable river,
here however, they were insignificant except for a steady trickle.
After seventeen miles on the day, I camped. It was Sunday,
and Sunday is a day of rest. Ed Garvey was shuttled into town for church, lunch,
shower, etc.. Each person hikes a different hike. Huff and Puff, the Florida
Flyers, et. al. probably pushed on to Big Spring Mountain or further. My ankles
were swollen some(okay, a lot ), and my ivy was really beginning to itch in the
humid, sweaty heat. I took aspirin, applied cold compresses, and elevated my
feet whenever possible. I will prop them up tonight on my pack, sort of like
being in traction at a hospital. It may be necessary to take a day off, for my
eye anyway; I can still see out of it although my vision is somewhat blurred.
I can hear my bear bags swinging in the wind. It is really not necessary to hang
them this far south, is it? I did not do a very good job; they were too low.
Tonight I will leave the tent flaps up for added ventilation to reduce the
condensation inside the tent. So far I have stayed in only two shelters. Chris
was right in advising not to scrimp on a tent, "...a small fly may keep
some rain off, but it will be miserable when it rains for three days."
Should have remembered the cortisone. It is starting to drizzle and getting
dark; I hope I don't regret leaving the flaps up.
Peace,
Slim
Copyright
1991-2000, all rights reserved
This
is a fictional account of an actual Thru-Hike in 1990. Any resemblance to
specific individuals or events is purely coincidental. By Gary Shealy