5/19/99 Moreland Gap Shelter   Miles Today : 22.1 Miles from Springer : 396.1

No sunrise this morning. I woke up at 7:30 to cold temps and clouds socked in up to and including the barn. I sat around until almost 9:00 watching the clouds fade in and out, providing glimpses of this great valley to the east.

Finally, just after 9 I left and walked over Little Hump Mountain, a bald but completely in the clouds. Erie. But by the time I got to Hump Mountain, a bigger, higher bald, the clouds had lifted and I was treated to magnificent views in all directions. Truly an amazing start to the day. Even go a view of the famed Grandfather Mountain, an odd shaped privately own mountain in the distance.

Next, the trail descended off the ridge and passed through a private pasture. About halfway through, I ran into about 30 cows, all lying across of the trail. I carefully made my way through the cows and the cow pies as each one of the bovines carefully watched me until I was out of view. It was weird having all those cows turn their heads as I walked past.

After the cow field, the trail ascended to what was essentially another bald. Wow, what a great, great hiking day. The views were some of the best so far this trip, and my moral was higher than its been in a week.

Then, sometime after 2:00, my body decided to shut down. Too many hard miles in such a short period of time really took its toll. That and the fact that the last few miles of today were supposed to be a flat ridge walk. NOT THE CASE! Tons of ups and downs that were nowhere to be found on the profile map really sucked the energy out of me.

Good news is that Drive-By is now only 5 miles ahead of me. Bad news is that unless he takes tomorrow off, he will be quite a bit ahead of me again. There is a hostel up ahead, where he is now, and I need a short day to shower, do laundry, recharge the legs, etc… Here at the shelter is Opy and Copper Top. Just another fantastic day of hiking on the AT.

-Chomp

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