25 June 2015

Double Springs Shelter to Abingdon Gap Shelter

Appalachian Trail, 8.3 miles

We were able to reach Jay by phone when the trail crossed 421 at Low Gap today. Thankfully, we found out that Matt is fine. Well, not exactly fine - he broke two vertebrae in his neck in a wrestling accident over the weekend, and had to have a metal rod put in to hold them together! But the surgery was successful and he’s going to be okay. He’s been in the hospital for a few days but is going home today. I texted him and his reply was pretty chipper so hopefully he is not feeling too bad.

We saw Bob Peoples today at a trailhead with a bunch of other guys wielding chainsaws and weed whips. Thursdays are trail-maintenance days for their group, and they were going at it. It is so cool the way they serve like that.

I can’t believe that tonight is our final night on the trail! We are camping with the four guys from Georgia. Three of them have hammocks, and they showed me how to hang them. I’m thinking of getting one. I’m not too crazy about the weight and bulk of a tent, so a hammock might be in my future.

I'm grateful for lots of time to relax and enjoy the quiet of the woods on days like this when we finish early. I think Tim is liking it too. Here he is, hard at work lounging and sudoku'ing. If you click the picture you can see the hammocks of our Georgia friends in the background.

Besides the four Georgia guys, there are two other people here at the shelter tonight. I yogi’d* some salt and olive oil from one of them because my dinner was so bland. Wouldn’t mind some sriracha sauce, but no one seems to have that out here. I seriously cannot quit thinking of the fish tacos I’m going to get at Hey Joe’s tomorrow.

*Yogi (verb): The art of "letting" food be offered cheerfully by strangers without actually asking them directly. Named after Yogi the Bear and his goodnatured luck in obtaining picnickers’ goodies.

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