Day 66: The Keefer Oak and Sniffing Dogs

A Better Day

I woke up not sure what I was going to do. The desire to call for a shuttle to the nearest hostel was a tempting one. That thought stuck with me until I started walking around and packing up. It was sunny and the whole day was supposed to be like this. Morgan, you can do this. I put on my big girl boxers and committed to a full hiking day.

Starting off, the trail went down to the road before hitching back up. And boy…was it a climb. I was doing great though. I was able to keep and maintain a fast hiking pace up the mountain. I wasn’t listening to any music either. The sounds of nature is what fueled my day.

How to Embarrass Your Kid

Three quarters of the way up, I texted the family group chat to say ‘Happy Mother’s Day!” My mother immediately called me. She wanted to know how I was doing. I was doing better than yesterday, but I told her I want to find a therapist who has thru-hiked, or at least attempted to, so I can find clarity in what I’m feeling and how to best proceed. Once I have time to sit down with cell service, I’m going figure out how to accomplish that. I lost service since I was hiking up the remaining portion of the mountain during the call. 

I kept going and was glad to reach some flat parts. I got to Kelly Knob and checked to see if I had service again. I did. My phone notified me that someone texted me. It was my mother asking, “What is Fine Young Buck’s real name?” I called and as she picked up, I said, “Mom, you are not going to contact him.” “Why not?” I then proceeded to explain how fucking embarrassing that would be for me. I am 25 years old! I am too old for my parents to be calling the people I hang out with. Especially if they don’t know that person. It’s on par with my dad who called one of the hostels to say thank you for being kind to me. How is one supposed to even react to that? My mother then went the route of career paths. She wanted to talk to somebody who understands how messed up the church hierarchy can be. I know that is a struggle for her, so I relented. I made a mental note to warn Fine Young Buck that my mother wanted to talk with him.

Into the Afternoon

I continued on down the mountain this time. I stopped at Laurel Creek Shelter to eat a snack before continuing on. It was still downhill until I entered a meadow. I put on some sunglasses and walked into the sun. It felt great as the temperature wasn’t too high. The meadow section continued on for almost two miles. I was constantly scanning my legs for ticks.

Right before the last major climb of the day, I sat down by a stream and ate lunch. It was late. I don’t usually eat lunch at 1:00pm. I was losing motivation again and I once again debated calling for a shuttle. At that point, the shelter I was wanting to go to was over nine miles away. The next shelter was 3.5 miles. I didn’t want to do another twelve mile day, but that was the only way I could get myself back up. After the nearest shelter (which was half a mile downhill from the trail), that was the last water source. I was still hopeful to get to the shelter I planned on, so I did a two liter water carry.

Climbing the second mountain of the day was significantly harder than the first. I had to stop a few times to drink water. At some points, a bee or two would swarm around my head and I would run uphill to get away. That happened three times. I’m not sure if it was because I was stopping in the wrong places or if it was because I smelled. Probably both.

Keefer Oak and the Uphill

I got to this one point where I mentally noted, wow, that’s a big fucking tree. I saw that the nearby sign said it was the Keefer Oak. It’s the largest oak tree on the AT in the south. It’s also 300 years old. I stood for a moment just to take in its presence and marveled at how much history that tree has been through and seen. The whole ‘respect your elders’ isn’t one I can fully get behind if the elder is human, but I could if it was a tree. I gave a little bow before heading on.

The remaining uphill was nothing glorious. The ridgeline walk was very up and down. I passed by the sign pointing towards the first shelter and decided to continue on. I knew I would be getting into camp late, but at least I would get the miles in. The views were nice and I stopped at the first one to sit down and snack. Before long, I continued on and the trail became slanted slabs of rock. My Chacos gripped the rock well, even after nearly 700 miles on them. My left ankle and knee weren’t so happy though.

Once I was at the sign pointing out that this was the location of the Eastern Continental Divide, I put on my knee brace. The rest of the day was downhill. I still encountered slaps of rock, but I kept myself entertained by the prescribed burn that recently took place in the area. I got to one spot where seats were carved out of wood. Somebody had a sense of humor and a creative streak. Since we were in a national forest, I imagined one of the wildland firefighters, during the burn, keeping themselves occupied.

Niday Shelter

After what felt like forever, I finally made it to the Niday Shelter. I found a tent spot and then went to collect water and wash up. It was a steep downhill to the water. Afterwards, I made dinner and just inhaled it. I was ravenous. I ate some crackers, but I was really craving m and m’s. I brushed my teeth, found a good tree for a bear hang, and got that set up. I walked back to my tent and did some stretching. My muscles were tight. They still are. It’s like they never relax.

As the day came to an end, a dog from one of the overnight backpackers came into camp, sniffing around. He was sniffing strongly at the tent next to me, which made me think the dude was sleeping with his food. Anywho, the dude said in a worried voice, “Hello?” That dog jumped three feet in the air. It’s funny because the dog was a German Shephard. The guy in the tent, after I laughed, said, “Please tell me that was the dog.”