Day 49 - Sunday, July 31

Linda

Got an early 6:40 start on a hot humid morning. Most of the time was spent walking on roads, but before that we hit a relocation over Warner Mt. that added a mile and a half and went on a roller coaster ride over the ridge. What a killer! None of the climbs were really bad, but all of them together wore us out. Went on over June Mt. which wasn't too bad - then the roads started. Hot, dry pavement walking. There was a pipe spring on Jug End Road just before crossing the Everett Range, and after 5.5 miles on roads, it looked very inviting. We stopped at a campsite there for lunch. We both took advantage of the spring and washed off some of the crud. I even washed my hair. It felt good to be at least semi-clean. The trail up Jug End Mt. was very steep and rocky, so we were pretty hot by the time we got to the top. The trail followed the ridge up and down over Mt. Bushnell, and Mt. Udine, then up to a picnic ground before the climb to Everett.

Ronald had gotten terribly dehydrated, so he just collapsed at a picnic table while I went down the road to find a spring which was supposed to be only 100 yards away. Ha! It turned out to be over a quarter mile. Ronald finally went down with me. We met a family from New York who were just out for the day and chatted with them for a bit. They had shared some Kool-aid with us while we talked, but as they were leaving they left us all their extra food. We must have looked pretty pathetic, and I guess they thought we needed it more than they did. Their kindness was truly appreciated. Three Northbounders, Don Bing, Bob Barker (yes, that's really his name - no relation to the Bob Barker of Miss America fame) and Ellsworth Griffin, a through hiker we had been hearing about, arrived at the picnic ground about then. The five of us feasted on the ham, cheese, cake, pie, chips, bananas and nectarines, left us by our New York friends.

After much good food and conversation, we went our separate ways. We were really enjoying having the company of other through hikers more frequently now. It was quite a contrast from the solitude of Maine. It's great to sit down and exchange stories, information and experiences with other people who truly understand what the AT is like. We're not hiking with any other Southbounders now that we've gotten ahead of Mike, but we're meeting Northbounders almost every day. By now they've had time to get this far north, because most of them started in Georgia in April or May.

The rest of the climbing up and down wasn't too bad. We had planned to camp on the top of Race Mt. but heard there was a chance of thundershowers, so figured that wouldn't be such a good idea. We had been passing members of the UConn group strung out over the trail this afternoon. This was the famous (or infamous) group from the University of Connecticut led by Mr. AT himself - Warren Doyle. We asked members of the group if Warren was hiking with them this time out and they all said yes, he was coming along behind. We really wanted to meet this guy. His group was so neatly attired in clean T-shirts and gym shorts. They all had matching packs and instead of walking sticks, they carried ski poles. It was all so - well - clean. Of course, they also had a support team supplying them along the way, too, so it was easier to travel light and stay neat and tidy.

We set up the tarp down a bit from the top of Race Mt. and waited until dark to catch Warren as he came down the trail, but he never came by. He'll probably jet by us with his headlight on after we're asleep. Hiked 20.9 miles today.

Ron

Left early this morning a after a night of fighting mosquitoes and trying to sleep on a bump. The air was thick with fog. After a bit of road walking we tackled the Warner Mountain relocation. The walking wasn't hard but constant ups and downs over numerous ridges was tiring. We rested a few minutes on the ridge of June Mountain and snacked to regain some energy. Then on to more road walking. For six miles we crossed a valley with mostly hot open flat walking. We got water at one of the first houses we passed. Several houses had swimming pools, they looked inviting to us.

At Jug End we stopped for lunch and rested in the cool trees. We washed ourselves off with water from a piped spring. Linda even took time washed her hair. The trail climbed a pretty impressive wall called Jug End. The views from the top were obscured by the haze. The rest of the hike along the ridge to the picnic ground on Everett was dry and hot. By the time we arrived, I was quite dehydrated. I manage to revive after some rest and water. On the ridge before Everett, we met a father and his kids out for a day hike. When they arrived back at the picnic grounds, they offered us the rest of their Kool-Aid and potato chips. They ended up giving us all the leftovers from their meal. A few minutes later three more through hikers came along and we had a feast.

We left the picnic grounds and finished the climb up Everett. Then we headed for Mt. Race where we hoped to spend the night and get some pretty sunset pictures. We had heard a forecast for a chance of rain, so we are camped about a half mile from the top. Later we met a group from the University of Connecticut. We were informed that Warren Doyle was a part of the group and was back down the trail. Doyle held the record for the fastest travel of the AT. He had not passed us before we made camp so we may see him tomorrow.

(20.4 Miles - 655.4 Total)