Friday, July 12th, 2024, 0610-1730
Window Mountain Lake Camp to Dutch Creek Camp, mm 130.7
24 miles, Gain: 5220′, Loss: 5170′, elevation 6585′
Alex set off at 5 am, just as he said he would. He was really averse to hiking in the heat and had vowed for very early starts…it made sense. His early start at least got me moving. It still took me an hour to do my routine. By then, the Strawbridges were long gone too. I marveled at how Georgie got moving so early each day…what 17 year old is so motivated? I never once heard her complaining about it either. She was an inspiration for us all.
The trail had the profile of a stegosaurus back this day. Up and down sharply. I set off into an immediate climb to the shoulder of a ridge, then went right back down into another valley. This happened something like 3 more times. All along, a giant rock wall to the west towered above. I guess I was happy I didn’t have to negotiate the ridge.
I caught up to Alex mid morning and then we took an early lunch break. I made it 12 miles, halfway for the day. I’d only managed to go 8.5 miles by 10 am, so the miles were coming very slowly across the rugged terrain. I pressed on alone, leaving Alex to his reading nap. I passed by a field crew with giant tents set up, looking like a rather permanent installation. It seems like they might be doing trail maintenance. I didn’t see anyone home, unfortunately.
I finally caught up to the Strawbridges just past the tents. I joined them for a short break and Michelle caught up too. She was really killing it, this being her first thru hike. She’s from Ontario and a teacher, so this hike fit well with her schedule. By the end of the day, this was her longest distance hiked in a day. She’d decided to try to keep pace with our group through Section B, since a pre-planned trail magic event was scheduled for when we arrived Boulton Creek. Apparently we represented the bubble this year and the lady that helps deliver resupply boxes to the campground was planning an extra special treat for us. We’d even coordinated with her (Nicole Sharpe) to hold the event on our campsite. It was a good motivator to get through the section.
We shortly came to an old ATV road that was the main route, but everyone was keen to observe that the valley road was nearby, shorter and flatter than the ATV road. We easily opted to trade one road for another. We walked it for the rest of the afternoon but saw no vehicles, not even the ice cream truck that the Strawbridges swore had gone by them the day before. Pssssht, what a bunch of blue-blazers! LOL.
It was hot, so I was glad to come to several stream crossings big enough to take a dip in. Vince was reluctant to follow our lead, but Georgie and I finally convinced him. He screamed like a baby from the ice cold numbing water but admitted it felt good afterward. It was so funny watching his antics in the water. The GDT rejoined our road, which turned into a steep, rutted, and jumbled mess. It wasn’t great for hiking either, but better than nothing. We came to the campsite, noting that it was one of the later times we’d arrived…after 5 pm (the Strawbridges hadn’t been a part of my death marches on Barnaby ridge and into Coleman).
We grabbed the best sites under the trees and had an early dinner in the nice cooking area in the meadow. There were again food lockers and a pit toilet, along with the perfect spring running nearby. There were such nice amenities at so many of these campsites! And these weren’t even the sites we had to book. Alex and Woody rolled in later, setting up in the meadow. Ricky-Bobby and Helena never showed, but we’d expected them to fall behind. They’d planned to get to Boulton Creek a day after us and seemed to be sticking with that plan. We heard rumbles of thunder and then just as I was ready to go in my tent, a quick rain shower passed by. It was gone pretty quickly but was enough to get my tent wet on the outside. It was nice to fall asleep to.