Sprout Day 181 (Saturday, September 24, 2016)

We had another great day and hiked 14.8 miles to Campbell's Shelter tonight. It’s only 0.7 miles to McAfee Knob.

It was really hot and humid today and it’s been difficult to find water. A lot of the water sources are dried up or its just a nasty puddle. You take what you can get when it’s this bad but I hate when the water has a white film on the top.

We hiked to Tinkers Cliffs and waited on the sun to set and had dinner. It was a beautiful sunset so we couldn't pass up the opportunity. We had 5 miles to walk after the cliffs to get to Campbell's Shelter. We wanted to get as close to McAfee knob as we could. Our plan is to wake up around 445 and pack up and go up to McAfee knob and wait on the sunrise. It'll only be a few miles after that to get to the road where the hostel will come pick us up. I'm excited to get to the hostel and get a shower and wash my clothes.

I saw a huge black snake on trail this afternoon. There were a lot of big boulders and different cliffs on the way up here it was a great section the only thing that would've made it better would have been more water!

While hiking into the Lamberts Meadow shelter we ran into an older couple from the area. They were from the area and were going to the campsite to see a tree. When we got there we saw what they meant. A huge tree fell last Wednesday and crushed the picnic table! After talking to them they told us that the tree fell on a tent last Wednesday with a mom and daughter inside. The daughter was ok but the mom had a punctured lung, broken ribs, and a few other problems. It was definitely a huge reminder of how important it is to check the trees before we set up our tent. A dead tree is something to stay away from!

We can't wait to see Mcafee Knob in the morning, there's going to be a bunch of people up there since it's a weekend. Oh well, I'm still excited!

Tinker's Cliff at sunset

Day: 181
Miles hiked: 15.4

Total Miles hiked on the trail: 1482.4
Baby Bear: 1
Bald Eagle: 1
Bluegill: 2
Butterflies: 8
Chipmunks: 3
Cows: 24
Crawfish: 1
Deer: 20
Donkeys: 2
Grouse: 1
Horses: 15
Hummingbird: 1
Inchworm: 1
Really Big Dog: 1
Mice: 2
Moose: 2
Nest of bugs: 2
Newts: 2
Owl: 1
Rabbit: 1
Red Squirrel: 1
Skunk: 1
Snail: 1
Snake: 3
Squirrels: 12
Toads: 3
Trout: 2
Turkeys: 4
Turtles: 107
Vultures: 6
Woodpecker: 1