April 2, 2000

Flint Mountain Shelter, NC · 17 Miles Hiked Today · 303 of 2167 Miles Hiked Total

Well, the road turned out not to be so quiet and the rain started in the night. I decided, after having rain drip in my bivy, that I need the poles I left home to save weight. So I didn't get the best sleep and got up early to get on with it. It was a rough trail at the beginning with a lot of climbing. After that it was flat following ridges. Of course, with the rain it could have been better. The coolest thing was coming across two graves of Confederate soldiers on top of Big Butt. One of the soldiers was 13 when he died.

Right now Dan (fastest hiker I've seen), Brian, Tony and myself are in the shelter while Chef and others are in tents. Chef is rocking to K.I.S.S. (Detroit, Rock City!) in his tent, he's quit the character. He's the one who was nearly kidnapped by drunken Indians in Fontana and accosted by a registered sex offender in Robbinsville.

Yesterday I forgot to mention a cool sign of spring. I was walking along and kept hearing what sounded like rain, but when I stopped, it stopped. I looked around and saw what looked like dirt and bark pieces raining down. After closer inspection I realized it was millions of tiny brown grasshoppers jumping in the dead leaves as I walked by. There have also been a lot of butterflies.

Usual meals in case you're curious:

• Breakfast: H2O, 4 granola bars (twice the amount started with; I'm hungry!)
• Morning snack: Peanuts and M&Ms or G.O.R.P of some kind, H2O
• Lunch: H2O, beef jerky, peanut butter or sausage and cheese on a bagel, powerbar or candy bar, hard candy.
• Afternoon snack: same as morning snack
• Dinner: Kool Aid, beef jerky, mac and cheese or spaghetti, or potatoes or some kind of tuna/chicken helper or beans and rice, and hard candy.
• Anything anyone will give for free and as much as possible when in town. I have probably lost 5 pounds already and want to eat any food I see.