Midnight on the Appalachian Trail: Dip in the Lake

So had a good breakfast at the AMC place, but even better I received a call from Mrs. Sparkle. Talked to her for quite a while, and was a great way to start the day.

Spicy Mama gave us a ride back to the trail, and we were off. Sort of. It was sprinkling, so I had to stop to adjust my pack, making sure everything was waterproof that needed to be. Spice Kit and Coconut started off, though.

So they weren't with me when I saved the kid's life. Ish. Or not really would be more accurate. As I was walking up the mountain, I came across a little boy curled up in a ball, hidden in an alcove just off the trail. He was curled up completely in his sweatshirt, and there were obvious tear stains on his face. Oh crap.

"Hey man, you okay?" The kid nodded. "What's wrong?" It took a lot of coaxing, but he eventually told me he'd ran into a tree, and a branch had hit him hard in the neck. I told him I was an old army medic, and asked him if I could check it. He acquiesced, so I looked at his neck. There was a rubbed spot, looking a lot like almost a rug burn. I was sure if had hurt, but didn't think it was dangerous.

So now I was in a quandary. Do I leave an 11 year old boy alone in the woods? He told me his family was ahead, and that they would eventually be coming back this way. Ironwill came walking by. I stayed with the boy while he hiked on to find his family. I wasn't planning on too many miles anyway.

Eventually his family came back, preceded by Buddy the dog. So off I hiked. Spice Kit and Coconut were waiting on me on top of the mountain. There was a lot of serious scrambling to get up there. It was pretty fun. I'd put my hiking poles in my backpack for the Whites, and was very glad of that decision.

We hiked together for the rest of the day, and some of the best hiking I've seen. Gorgeous. Clear one minute, covered in clouds the next, then back to clear. And when I say covered, I mean the clouds surrounded us, as in we were inside the clouds. Pretty spectacular.

We stopped at Lake of the Clouds Hut, home of the infamous "Dungeon." For whatever reason, I was fixated on staying there. It really wasn't that bad. Rosie, Naked Ninja, Dr. Zoom, and Longhaul Trucker were all doing work for stay, so staying upstairs. Spice Kit, Coconut, and I were staying in the Dungeon.

Then I saw something I did not expect to see in the mountains. A woman in a bikini. It took me a minute to register what had to have happened. She'd gone swimming in the Lake of the Clouds! I thought that was awesome. It was already around fifty degrees, and that water had to have been freezing. I had to do it.

While I was getting prepared (I wanted dry clothing immediately available, hypothermia is not on my to do list), Geared Up showed up. I was surprised, because last I knew he was two days hike ahead of me. Apparently he'd taken a few days off.

So he and Coconut followed the idiot to chronicle the icy dip. The water was beautiful, deep on one end, and ridiculously cold. But it was awesome. I swam in the Lake of the Clouds. Doesn't that sound cool?