Samwise Hikes the Appalachian Trail! - Trail Journal -
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June 10, Cornelius Creek Shelter - mile 746.1

Thru hikers live! I'm so pleased to report that I finally got passed by some other thru-hikers today, all of whom I know from weeks ago when we were still in Georgia and North Carolina. It was nice to stop and have some conversation for once, as I was starting to think I was the only one left out here. Not seriously, but it is unusual to be alone hiking when there are so many people on the trail. I just seem to be between groups at the moment, but I'm quite sure many more will start to catch (and pass) me because I'm going very very slow this week. I'm so happy that my leg does not hurt at all tonight. I had to be very stern with myself when I got here at 3PM. The next shelter is only 5 miles away and easily do-able for a normal day, but I promised myself that I would stop here today to let my leg continue to heal, and not over-do it as I was scared I did yesterday.

  Well, the hike today may have been short, but it was hard, hard, hard. I think I say it a lot, but hiking the A. T. is both the most difficult and most rewarding adventure I've ever undertaken. Of twelve miles of trail today, nearly six were on long, tough uphill stretches. Yours truly did so much huffing and puffing, I could have been mistaken for a dragon! On days like today, if I could have one wish in life, it would be to climb a hill with ease. But I don't think it was meant to be, so instead I will be slow and winded, but happy nonetheless.

The shelter tonight must be just out of sight from the parkway. I can certainly hear all the traffic, but I can't see anything other than woods. It makes for not quite a "wilderness experience" but for once, I don't really mind.

June 11, Matt's Creek Shelter - mile 763.8

Long day! But I think I got my wish answered today....I actually climbed a hill that didn't leave me wiped out for the next hour. I was amazed and pleasantly surprised...and I think I'll change my wish to "climb HILLS (plural) with ease". Hopefully today wasn't a one - time anomaly.

The last 3-4 miles today were really disturbing. The area we hiked through has been completely devastated by gypsy moths and it was like being in a desert wasteland. No trees, or rather, only dead trees, and small scrubby stuff on the ground. And the perpetual colonies of caterpillars - I found out they're gypsy moth caterpillars. YUCK! The trail every where is stained with their poop. It was also incredibly hot today, so hiking on the exposed ridge was miserable. I was glad to get down into the trees again. You don't realize how much you miss them until they're gone - isn't that always the truth?

I've just been asked here at the shelter to explain again why my trail name is Samwise, or more specifically who Samwise is and why I picked that character as my trail name. Most everyone I meet has read the Lord of the Rings trilogy, which is the story of Frodo the hobbit and several of his friends, including Samwise, his gardener. Although I'm not really a gardener, I do like gardening, so I figured that was a nice similarity. But the real reason I choose Samwise was because 1) he successfully completes a long, hard journey, 2) he packs too much, and 3) he's a bit clumsy. Just like me, basically. The first of three movies based on the Lord of the Rings is also coming out this fall, so I can conveniently refer everyone who wants to know more to the upcoming movie. Boy, Miramax should be paying me for the promotion! Or Dreamworks or whoever's producing films.