Day 35 - Sunday, July 17

Linda

The no-see-ums, and the heat made sleeping almost impossible, so it was easy to get up at 5:00. We were off at 6:00 to start the ascent on Mt. Cube. It was very steep, but we made it without much difficulty. The humidity was stifling, though. As we got to the top, it started to rain, which made going over the rock ledges very tricky. Along the way we did find some blueberries, and quickly picked all we could find. We're finally catching up to the summer vegetation, and hope to find more the further south we travel.

Needless to say, there was not view in the rain, so we went on down to the Cube Shelter. The shelter looked like it must have been an old barn, and was very cozy. It had a great trail register full of Ed Garvey comments. He is definitely the butt of a lot of irreverent hiking jokes. It's not because of a lack of respect for his accomplishments - after all, he did hike the entire trail, just as so many of us are attempting to do. It's just that he was so prim and proper about it, with his crisp Sears & Roebuck work shirts and trousers, with AT patches sewn on the sleeves. And the man carried quilted pajamas for pete's sake. I can't think of one hiker I have ever met, young or old, that would be caught dead at a lean-to wearing quilted pajamas, (or any pajamas for that matter), no matter how practical they may sound.

We sat snugly in the barn for an hour before going on toward Mr. Smarts. By the time we got to the summit, the day was hot and sunny. The trail wound through a logging area for a couple miles, which wasn't particularly attractive, and the last mile went straight up to the top. We walked at a snail's pace for what seemed like forever, then finally leveled off. I was really fighting for every bit of energy by then. Ronald told me we weren't at the summit, just a sag in the peak, and still had a half mile to go to the top. Gullible me, I believed him and was trying to pull it together again to go on, when we came to the firetower on the summit. I could have shot him for leading me on when I was so tired, but I was too relieved to bother. Turned out we had made good time after all.

We went to the top of the tower, but by then the haze had covered most of the view. We continued on down to the Mt. Smarts Shelter, which is situated on the shoulder of the mountain, facing what would have been a spectacular view on a clear day. Being so exposed, the shelter is subject to such high winds that it's held down with huge cables to keep it from blowing right off its foundation. This was also the site of "La Toilette", as the privy was named - an air conditioned, no wall variety, renowned throughout hiking circles as the privy with the finest view on the entire East Coast.

From the shelter it was 5.8 miles to where we were going, but it was all easy walking, so we aced in there by 5:45. Trapper John Shelter is one of the nicest all-around shelters we've had the pleasure to visit. It's at the site of an old cabin, and the chimney, complete with mantle and grate are still there - a homey touch, we thought. We had a leisurely dinner of AT mix, then fought off the mosquitoes and tried to go to sleep. Completed 16.7 miles for the day.

Ron

Today's mileage was over rough terrain. We left camp this morning and hiked the 2.5 miles to the base of Mt. Cube. When we reached the summit, it started to rain. The going was slow over the ledges but we made good time and made the Mt. Cube Lean-to by 10:00. We rested and hour before heading out to face the climb up over Smarts Mountain. We wondered how hard the climb would be since we had been warned that these mountains were rough. The ascent of Smarts was made easily. Our only difficulty was getting lost on the numerous logging roads.

We made it to Smarts Mountain Lean-to by 2:00 after hiking the five miles from Cube Lean-to in three hours. An hour break a Smarts gave our feet a much needed rest. Not long after we arrived, a hiker came in from Trapper John Lean-to. He seemed upset that he might have to share the lean-to. We were headed to Trapper John anyway but I didn't like his attitude.

We left Smarts Lean-to around 3:30 and headed down the relocation to Trapper John. Arrive here at around 5:30, making good time for the 5.5 mile hike. It's beginning to seem that our month of hiking is paying off. Tomorrow we are going in to Hanover and the much awaited supplies and Thayer Hall for lots of good food.

(16.7 Miles - 420 Total)