Today’s miles: 17
Total miles: 65.4
Camped: Boulder about a mile before Sassafras peak
What a day. Slept well, heard the popping of the campfire a few sites over for awhile. Woke up to the popping of the same campfire. People love campfires. The day started with “heartbreak ridge”. The guy I passed going the other way yesterday said it was “beyond brutal” and I would need a nap afterward. I planned the trip so I would do this section at the beginning of the day with as fresh legs as I could get. I’m glad I did. It was challenging, with about 300 stairs up. Nature’s stairmaster. I had trained a little for this by wearing my pack on the stairmaster at the gym. It was challenging and I stopped to catch my breath a few times. Maybe it seemed harder going the other way, but I didn’t need a nap. Everything is relative. What made me want to lay down and cry was the plethora of other staircases after heartbreak ridge. The guidebook made a big stink about heartbreak ridge, but it was everything after that tired me out. There came a point where the sight of a staircase made me sick inside. On the plus side, mixed in with all the stairs were lots of waterfalls and rivers and a few other hikers, all going the other way. I thought for sure I would be leapfrogging with people going east as well, but that has not been the case. I had only planned to do 10 miles today, as I thought I’d get a myocardial infarction in the morning, but since Heartbreak Ridge didn’t live up to its name, I wanted to do a little extra and go 14 miles. I planned to stop at chimney gap to camp, but wasn’t sure there were any campsites. I ran into two guys going the other way and one of them told me there were “plenty of flat spots!”. I should have trusted the elevation profile and guidebook, as there were no flat spots and I had to trudge along until I found something. I kept going up and up. After taking a look at the pocket profile, I realized I was almost at the peak of Sassafras Mountain (the highest peak in South Carolina – mile 66.4 of the trail). Crap. No wonder the hills never ended. The next designated campsite was a mile after the peak. Ahhhh. I was trudging along, doing my best to ignore the protests of my calf muscles and ankles. At one point I looked to my right into the valley and I saw a fire ring! I had just past a campsite that I hadn’t seen, because it was blocked by a huge boulder. Needless to say, I turned around and set up camp. I think I’m a little less than a mile to the peak of Sassafras which will be much more enjoyed tomorrow morning when I’m not rushing to camp. I guess there’s a monument, information boards, and pretty views. I plan to finish the trail tomorrow (Monday), although I had originally planned on Tuesday. It is bittersweet. Today was hard, but it felt good to push myself. I have just gotten into the routine of breaking down camp, taking snack/lunch breaks, treating water, making dinner, setting up camp, and pooping in the woods. Most of all, I will miss being outside. The fresh air, bird songs, and sometimes total silence is something to be cherished. I’m realizing that in order to have these rich experiences, you need to face your fears head on. Yes, being out here alone scared me at first, but I have gotten the hang of things. Things that seem scary are usually not, and I am discovering that there is always something to be learned when putting yourself in situations that may not be in your comfort zone.
