#103 Creeper Trail Bridge#37 to Thomas Knob Shelter Day 42: ATMM 484.9 – ATMM 499.0

My body is letting me know my mistake - I power through it.

After a long and restful sleep the soothing sound of the river wakes me. The sounds of little hissing camp stoves and of Louie Armstrong’s trumpet, through Uncle Lody’s small Blue Tooth speakers, chime with the roar of the river.

While packing up I notice the guy in the hammock hasn’t moved all morning. I yelled to him to see if he was still alive. Medicine Man says he heard him snoring earlier, we leave him be.

Uncle Lody and I leave camp together. The A.T. borrows Virginia Creeper’s flat surface for a short jaunt. Other hikers and bikers are on the Creeper already. The easy walk ends as trail turns upwards. We turn with it, bidding the Virginia Creeper farewell.

On a long and rocky eighteen hundred foot climb I begin to feel that something is off. I can’t pinpoint it but there’s something wrong. In my mind? Usually. In my body? Possibly. I’m in more pain than usual. But it’s more than that. Is there something off in the vibe of the group? Maybe. I’ll be patient.

A sense of loneliness and emptiness and loss surrounds me. An aura that I find myself rejecting and embracing at the same time. I can’t shake it. I’m not sure I want to. Something isn’t right. Time will reveal it.