Sprout Day 66 (Wednesday, June 1, 2016)

We got up early today knowing we had 12 miles to complete.  We wanted to get an early start and try to beat the heat.  We went down to the Mountaintop Deli for breakfast.  Maggie and I got a sausage, egg, and cheese roll with iced coffee and a Mountain Dew, a breakfast of champions!  

We got on the trail and a few miles in we passed a really big tree.  At first we thought it was the biggest oak tree on the trail but I think we're passing that early in the day tomorrow. The tree was massive and it was a great sight to see.

Whiskers, Mountain Man, Bubbles, and Karma at the big tree

Bubbles and I on the trail

Bubbles

Split boulder

The AT goes right through that boulder!!  Bubbles on the trail.

We passed Nuclear Lake today and decide to stop and cool off.  Mountain Man, Karma, Whiskers and a local with his dog were there too.  The dog looked like a golden retriever and he was in the water waiting for someone to throw a tennis ball.  I tossed the ball a few times and no matter how far I threw it he would get it every time.  

I noticed a bunch of fish swimming around so I got my line and fly out and we used Bubbles’s trekking pole for the rod.  I caught a small and a big bluegill. It was great.  I've been wanting to catch a fish this whole trip and today was the day!  The big one was out off a rock.  It took a few tries but the fish went after the bait!

Whiskers and I at Nuclear Lake

My catch!

Later in the day Bubbles and Whiskers jumped into the lake off of the same rock.  It was a great swimming area.  If we wouldn't have been tired and wanting to get to camp I would've liked to stay there and swim for awhile.  

We got to the shelter and I found a good spot to set up camp, water was close by and it was cold.  We plan on waking up around 5 tomorrow and getting an early start. Hopefully it's not as hot because we could use a break from the heat.

Shelter today

Day:  66

Miles hiked:  11.7

Total Miles hiked on the trail:  583.9

Bears:   0
Bluegill: 2

Butterflies:  8

Chipmunks:  3

Cows:  24

Crawfish:  1

Deer:  20

Donkeys:  2

Horses:  12

Inchworm:  1

Really Big Dog:  1

Mice:  2

Nest of bugs:  2

Newts:  2

Owl:  1

Rabbit:  1

Skunk:  1

Snail:  1

Snake:  2

Squirrels:  11

Toads:  3

Trout:  2

Turkeys:  4

Turtles:  107

Vultures:  6
Woodpecker:  1