05/03/12 - Fullhardt Knob Shelter - 727.5 miles
We are one third of the way to Maine. One third. We lingered in town for a while today resupplying and eating. Once we hit the trail again it almost became a nightmare. First off, it was HOT. Sweaty and humid. Then the plague came. We could hear them buzzing and zipping all around us. Their empty carcass shells scattered about the fields and nearby trees. As I was walking, a robin trotted up the trail ahead of me. It fluttered to a nearby branch, and before I could do anything they engulfed me. Nasty black and red cicadas coming back to life and swarming out of the trees. Three hit my neck and I started running. My pack was heavy but it didn't slow me down. I was running for my life. We ran several of these gauntlets, crunching over the dead and lazy bodies of the less ambitious cicadas until finally reaching a higher elevation escaping them. We reached the shelter 5 minutes before it started hailing. Lots of hail the size of marbles. We met Sherman. It is his first night on the AT, and he reminds me so much of dad. Hilarious and talkative. I gave him one of our wine bottles so he could celebrate with us. I truly wish him the best in his journey and hope he enjoys it. This has been a great day.
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So was this the most "life threatening" day??? Does not sound like fun trying to out run cicadas only to get hit by hail. But you did live to tell about it.
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