AT Day 13

2014/4/13 Mile 179.6

Day 13 of hiking on the 13th. Bad omen? Got all packed up and headed out around 9 to go back to Fontana Dam. Made it there by noon and picked up where I left off. Hard to say goodbye to Mom and the grandparents after such a great week of visiting.

Headed uphill for about 3 miles before the rolling ups and downs started. Having two hiking poles of the correct length really made my life easier. It was a fairly uneventful hike but I did see two snakes. First one was on the trail and quite small, I snapped a picture. The other was at least an inch diameter but up on the hill a bit so it wasn't too worrisome.

Got to Molly's something shelter and there were two people there. One was a ridge runner who, once he checked my permit, encouraged me to go on to the next shelter. It was only around 1700 and with the threat of rain coming the next day I figured the 2.5 miles was a good investment. That would put me at about 13 for the day which is not bad for starting late.

I almost immediately regretted that decision after hitting the first downhill. My right ACL went up in flames which seriously concerned me given the amount of time off I had taken. In hopes that it had something to do with my stride I started trying different movements to see if I could eliminate whatever motion was causing the pain. After about a mile of painful experimentation I hit paydirt. It seems if I focus on rotating my right foot inward when I step I can keep from irritating the ACL. Hopefully this method is a permanent solution.

About 10 folks at something field shelter. It was stone with a fireplace and metal roof just like Molly's. Really impressed with the versatility of the new filter system. I think I'm going to like it.

Chatted with everyone on and off through the evening. Lots of different folks but everyone seemed really nice. Miss having the old gang with me but at least I'm back on the trail.