Laurel Creek Campsite

It cooled enough last night that I was able to build a fire near my hammock and heat my dinner. Mountain House dehydrated meals taste much better hot. Because I spent the night, I didn't have any trouble making absolutely sure the fire is completely out. Taking time to do that is critical on the Trail, and not doing so is why we've already had two major fires this year. If you can't put your hand in the ashes, don't leave it!

It was raining on and off all morning, so I took my time packing up and took a quick video to show the benefits of hammock camping:

• We can camp on a steep slope as long as there are trees, which means we have many more choices regarding where we camp.
• We can avoid the depression caused by numerous people tent camping on the same ground, which results in lying in a virtual bathtub if it rains.
• We aren't on the ground, so there is less likelihood of bugs and vermin getting to us.
• Forest can eat and then hang out in the hammock to digest his food and keep him out of the way while I pack up.
• Forest's hammock is the last thing in my pack and the first thing out of it when I'm ready to set up camp again. Hanging Forest's hammock, my hammock and the tarp in that sequence keeps me from having to adjust any of them once they are up.

At about 11 a.m. it stopped raining. We hiked about a tenth of a mile back to the water source, and then about half a mile back to the Trail to be on our way. Our destination for the day was a stream just a little past the Trail's intersection with Laurel Creek—about 8 miles up the trail.

Davis Farm Campsite

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Now that it's getting warmer, I'm dividing the day into hiking/sleeping segments (e.g., four 6-hour sections). That way, we can get into a regular routine of hiking, collecting water, eating and sleeping. The down throws that I sewed into a sleeping bag for me and an under quilt for Forest worked great. It went down into the 60s last night, but I was warm and comfortable. Forest seemed to like his, too, but I removed the under quilt early this morning because he was getting too warm.

At about 10:30 p.m. while we were hiking last night, we heard coyotes howling. I started laughing because I imagined they were moaning, "This rain suuuuuuuuucks!"

We stopped hiking at the Davis Farm Campsite (mile marker 576.4) at about 9:15 this morning and set up the hammocks. That's a total of about 18 miles since we were dropped off yesterday, consistent with my plan to hit about 10 miles a day. Spot went through this morning, so last night the problem was probably cloud cover and storms. We are on a steep bank, but with the hammocks, it doesn't matter. Plus, when we are set up in porch mode, we have extra protection from the rain and can look out at the view of Burke's Garden (if the clouds lift). In the following picture, I'm pointing to a tent set up down the bank; it's just like the one I sent home when I switched back to hammocks. I hope they are enjoying sleeping on the ground more than I did.

I was able to cut 12 pounds out of my backpack, so I'm down to 28 pounds (not including water). I picked up an extra Sawyer water filter and two more liter bags, so I can collect more water now. I left my MSR PocketRocket stove at home because now I can cold soak my food and Forest's food instead. All that means is that each time I stop to eat, I put the next meal and water into a ziplock bag and put it in my Titanium pot. By the time we stop to eat again, the water has rehydrated the food and it's ready to eat.   I do the same with my instant coffee/hot chocolate blend; combine everything into a 1 liter bottle when I go to sleep, and it's ready to drink when I wake up. Not only does this save the weight of the stove, but also it makes us more efficient because we don't have to set up the stove and cook each time.

It's getting warmer today; my glasses keep sliding off my face. I also have a few projects I want to get done today, like fixing the shock cords on Forest's under quilt. My head isn't quite back on the Trail yet, so I need to settle in and transition back to hiker. I'll most likely get up early in the morning and push on.

I was thinking a lot last week about the issues we have had going into hostels, stores and restaurants. In the interest of cutting weight, I had not been carrying my Canines for Service vest with me. I thought that having Forest's ID card fastened to the top of his backpack was all I needed. Looking back on it now, I realize that that may not have looked official enough. So, I have sewed Canines for Service patches on his backpack, and I plan to also attach Do Not Pet and Do Not Distract patches as soon as I get some. Hopefully, this will help eliminate some of the access issues we have had.

And last for today, I want to thank Jason Sparks at Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing again for the Badger Tenkara Scout. I have beaten this 10'6" rod to death for almost 600 miles on this hike, and it's still rewarded me with about 30 fish so far. I mainly Western style fly fish, and it's done me well. Thank you, sir.

Camped Just Past Bear Garden Hiker Hostel

Forest and I are back on the Trail. My wife dropped us off at Bear Garden Hiker Hostel (mile marker 556.3) at about 2 p.m. today. I set up our hammocks just past the hostel so we could catch a nap before we set out. The whole East Coast seems to be socked in by the tropical storm coming up from Florida, and there is a Flash Flood Watch here until 8 a.m. Wednesday. We just can't seem to get out of the rain this year, but the good news is that the temperatures are only supposed to be in the upper 70s during the day and mid 60s during the night for the rest of the week. Although the views aren't as pretty, the cloud cover provides some often-appreciated protection from the sun and heat. We just have to watch out for thunderstorms and falling trees, which can happen when the soil is so saturated. I don't have a cell signal here, and apparently Spot didn't go through either━probably because of the cloud cover and stormy conditions. There's a full moon, though, so we plan to hike late tonight.

It felt good to be home with my family, but I knew I needed to get back to the Trail and get on with it. Forest enjoyed running around in the house and stalking my son to see if he left any food unattended.  🐾🐾👀  The good news is that I put back on almost exactly the 11 pounds that I had lost since I started my hike. I was eating constantly. Here's an example of one evening "snack."  🐷🍔🍖🍗🍞🍦🍩🍪

People don't realize how hard it is to maintain weight on the Trail. The more you focus on your hike, the harder it is to keep eating. It saps your appetite, and if you aren't careful to increase your fluids and electrolytes, that decreases your appetite even more. Just last week, one woman had to be evacuated from the Trail with dehydration. In addition to keeping on top of my own food and hydration, I have to be sure that Forest is drinking enough and eating regularly as well. That's why it's so critical that we take frequent breaks for both of us to drink, replenish our water supply and eat, and why I prefer to hike at night when it's too hot during the day.

Memorial Day Weekend

Hi, everyone. It's been a wonderful week at home with the family, and it felt good to disconnect for a bit. I've been eating everything that isn't nailed down, and my vegan wife is certainly doing more than her part by buying and cooking all kinds of meat, vegetables, donuts, ice cream, etc., etc. I think all she did the first couple of days is cook and wash dishes. My mother also came over and cooked a ton of good country food. I'm definitely making up for lost time when it comes to food and sleep, and I've been chilling and playing frisbee with my son.

The Trail hasn't been far from my mind, though. While I've been home, I've been making an under quilt for Forest and a lightweight sleeping bag for myself from some down throws we found online. Right now, it looks like a duck was murdered in the house. I tried to vacuum the feathers, but the more I tried, the more they just flew around the house. Looks like we'll be seeing them for a while.

I also got to call my girls and catch up with each of them. They haven't had much time with me for far too long. My oldest is graduating tonight, and they will both be coming down for the weekend to visit. My sister is having a cookout to celebrate, so I've decided to wait until Monday to get back to the Trail. My wife will drop me off on the way to take them back home.

Now, all I have to do is get through the fireworks and airshow planned near my house over the weekend. For most people, that's an exciting time and great way to spend a holiday. I used to enjoy fireworks myself and heck, I used to be a pilot. Unfortunately, like it is for so many veterans suffering from PTSD, now it's just a rapid transport straight back to the place where my bad memories live. Even when I know the sounds are coming, they still take me by surprise and leave me shaken. The ironic thing is that the event is billed as "a spectacular, patriotic salute to our military heroes!" If they only understood the effect it has on living military personnel, maybe they'd think of a different way to commemorate our fallen.

Bear Garden Hiker Hostel; Breaking for Weather

We just picked up my resupply box at Bear Garden Hiker Hostel. The owner, a very nice lady who is proud of her business, gave us a tour and showed us her home and how she is preparing strawberry jam for the hikers. In the next breath she said, "If you stay here, the dog can't stay inside the hostel. You can sleep outside over by the chapel." This is just another example of the hypocrisy Forest and I have encountered on the Trail at almost every town. "We appreciate your service to our country and pray for you every day, but don't ask us to make any special arrangements for you or clean up after you." The sad part is that they are often not mean-spirited people...just oblivious. But I'm ready to give up on hostels.

One of the store owners asked me what Forest is for (which by law they are not allowed to ask), and I said PTSD. The shopkeeper then said, "Like I told you, no emotional support dogs are allowed." When I tried to explain that Forest is a service dog, not an emotional support animal, who is specially trained to preserve my personal space, watch my back and provide bracing and retrieval support, he just ignored me. When I tried to show him Forest's ID and the letter from Canines for Service, he just hustled me out. This just gets exhausting and makes my PTSD worse.

We got in the car and drove until we found a nice spot to hang out for a minute so I could breathe.

The rainstorms continue, and all of the streams on the Trail are flooding. Most aren't expected to crest for days, so stream crossings (which occur often on the Trail) won't be possible until late in the week. For that reason, and because I can't afford to hang out in a hotel for days, I've decided to head home with my wife today; I'll return Friday. This will give me time to rehydrate and get some more nutritious food into me. It will also give Forest a rest and some time for some real grooming. So for now, take care and thanks for reading. I'll be back soon.