Smiles Over Miles on the Pinhoti: Days 4–6

Day 4: Stealth at 45.4 to Porter’s Gap

Soundtrack: Wakin on a Pretty Day – Kurt Vile

I struggled to fall asleep last night. There was a medium-sized, four-legged friend snooping around camp right as I was getting cozied up in my quilt. After that, I kept hearing a truck revving in the distance every few minutes throughout the evening. And for some reason, my thighs felt really warm. Sleep wasn’t coming easily. But once I finally fell asleep sometime after 12:30am, I slept hard.

Breakfast Honeybun

My view brushing my teeth this morning; a friend/coworker made me this ultralight ditty bag, and it makes me smile every time I use it!

Sparks and I started on the forest service road just next to our campsite and were so deep in conversation, we missed our entrance back to the trail. I’m honestly surprised this doesn’t happen more often. We decided to keep hiking along the road for a while since it would parallel the trail for more than six miles.

A couple miles in, we came across a truck stuck in the mud in the middle of the road. I was ahead of Sparks at this point, and looked behind me to make sure she was somewhat close. I guess I felt a little apprehensive approaching the truck, being a woman hiking a dirt road in the middle of who-knows-where Alabama.

Inside the truck was a couple who said they’d been stuck overnight. Both of their phones had died, so they couldn’t call for help. I wondered if this was the truck I heard in the distance last night.

The man asked if he could use my phone, but realized he didn’t have anyone’s number memorized. I offered to plug his phone into my portable battery so he could get enough juice to call someone he knew. While we waited for his phone to turn on, Cinderella, Outlaw, and Patch arrived and stopped for a snack break while we chatted with the couple. We ended up swapping to Cinderella’s charger and a different cord of mine that would work faster.

Once the stuck truck couple got a hold of someone who could tow them out, we hiked on. I hopped back on the trail, and shortly after, came upon one of the most expansive views of the Pinhoti yet.

The ridgeline walks were sunny and hot in the midst of a 14+ mile water carry. Thankfully, the trail eventually descended through a shaded pine forest that led us to Dry Creek, which ironically was very much *not* dry. The five of us ate lunch in the shade, refilled our water bottles a few times, and soaked our feet in the running water.

No free feet pics for you

I’m struck today by how easily, how gentle conversation flows among my friends. There’s no urgency to rush through what we want to say; there’s a lot more intentional listening than in my daily life. Conversations move slowly, lazily, stretching over hours or days as we remember little details or see a new perspective.

There’s also a refreshing openness. No pretense, no such thing as TMI. I don’t only get to appreciate my friends for all their layered humanness, they also reflect light back to me, showing me who I am at my core. I feel my purest, most honest and vulnerable self with these people I met in the mountains last year.

Anyway, about a mile from Porter’s Gap, Patch called Next Step Hostel to pick us up. This hostel is run by former thru-hikers who insist their home is a service to Pinhoti hikers, rather than a business.

Pretty much right after dinner at La Posada, Cinderella and I each took one of the outdoor shower stalls, donned some loaner clothes, and checked out the yard. I caught up with a friend on the phone for a while, then joined Outlaw, Cinderella, and Specs around the fire with my Ben & Jerry’s ice cream.

Next Step Hostel was incredible — the owners even let us use a truck to drive around town and resupply! We decided to do that in the morning before getting back on trail.

I headed up to bed on the earlier side and am typing this journal entry with one eye closed. 🙂

Day 5: Porter’s Gap to Tentsite at 73.9

Soundtrack: Don Juan, Op. 20 – Richard Strauss

Because we ate a late breakfast and had to resupply, we didn’t hit the trail until shortly after 1pm today. Honestly, that’s a lot later than I would’ve liked. I’d forgotten how many chores need to get done in town. Unless you’re zeroing, town days aren’t really restful in my opinion. 

Quick update on the lost Kula Cloth situation: I decided drip drying wasn’t doing it for me, so I picked up a cute yellow bandana when I was resupplying. And because my friend and her husband were asking, let’s clarify some things:

• No, I do not wear the bandana around my head; I tie it to a loop on the outside of my backpack until I need it.
• NO(!), I do not pee directly on the bandana. It’s for ~dabbing~ after I pee off trail somewhere.
• Yes, I will rinse it once a day (it’ll dry while I hike).

Patch decided to take a rest day, and in his place, a young hiker named Specs joined our shuttle back to trail.

Once I was hiking again, I just put on some music and let go of whatever frustration I was harboring about getting a late start. I *get* to play in the mountains with my friends for three weeks. That’s the most important thing.

Our hike today consisted of a somewhat longer climb than we’d hiked on the Pinhoti up to that point, which led to a lovely ridge walk. Then we soaked up the stunning golden hour light on a dirt road that led to our camp for the night.

Cinderella ft. her (apple)Sauce Sack

As Sparks and I set up our tents, we heard a strange sound from nearby that we hadn’t heard before. I was wondering if it was some mysterious turkey call I wasn’t familiar with when I remembered wild boars live down here.

I immediately googled everything I needed to know about those little piggies, all the while thinking about how my mom would react to reading this very paragraph (hi mom).

Once the rest of the crew rolled in and started a fire, we felt a bit more comfortable and didn’t hear the boar again until it gave one final huff after hiker midnight.

Photo by Specs

Day 6: Tentsite at 73.9 to Blue Mountain Shelter

Soundtrack: Rumours – Fleetwood Mac

Tent neighbs!!

This morning, I was really tuned into the colors and sounds around me as I hiked. The trees seemed excessively vibrant as they swayed in the morning light, and the sounds of bird calls mingled with an old AT playlist I’d put on. At my first break of the day, a butterfly landed on my hand and Outlaw wondered if they ever get stuck in spider webs. I remembered how it felt to hike through the Hundred Mile Wilderness last year.

As the sun rose higher in the sky and I started overheating, the forest stopped feeling so magical.

Today’s hike through Cheaha State Park felt like a solid day on the Appalachian Trail: rocky, a decent amount of climbing, lots of steep PUDs (pointless ups and downs). It felt good to hike hard.

I’ve been noticing how strong and energized I feel in relation to the mileage our group moves in a day. I have to keep reminding myself that this is a fun trip, and I don’t need to be pushing 25+ mile days to finish on time. This isn’t the end of the Appalachian Trail. And there’s absolutely no need to prove my own endurance to myself. But I think if I was hiking alone, I might put in more miles a day on average, and I likely wouldn’t stop in as many towns.

The best part of this experience, though, is that I get to deepen my relationships with trail friends in the process. I also don’t get scared of branches cracking around me at night like I might if I was alone 🙂 

However hot and sweaty I felt hiking through Cheaha, I knew there would be a camp store with ice cream near the end of the day. So I didn’t feel grumpy.

Only a few miles away from ice cream at this point!

At the store, I picked up three postcards, a protein drink, and an ice cream bar. Sparks, Outlaw, and Specs arrived not too long after, and then we hiked to our first shelter of the trail.

Store kitty!

I was pretty drained after a solid day of hiking and socializing when I got to camp, so I quickly made some “trail pad thai” (chili ramen with peanut butter) at the shelter’s picnic table with Outlaw, Cinderella, and Specs, then retreated to my tent for some introvert time and sleep.