Georgia To Maine: Day 74: Happy reunions

Hiked 15.3 miles, tenting at Pass Mountain shelter.

We woke up this morning to find that after 48 hours of continuous rain, it had finally stopped. It was far from gorgeous out as it was overcast, foggy and looked like it might rain again very soon. Despite this we were all in good spirits. We got to sleep in a bit because of a low mileage day and on top of the rain finally stopping we were only four miles from an all you can eat breakfast buffet.

Morning view through the trees

Crescent Rock Overlook

Hello centipede!

The trail was rocky as it has been lately and in places it was super slick. I had a few close calls but never fear I still maintain my record of only one fall this whole trip. The fog cleared up enough that I decided it was worth the short hike off the trail up to Crescent Rock Overlook. I stopped there for a few minutes to watch the fog swirl around the nearby peaks. Over the course of the next few miles the fog lifted but the weather remained overcast and dreary. With the slick footing and rocky terrain it took much longer than expected to accomplish the four miles to the Skyland Restaurant and we arrived on very empty stomachs. The Skyland area is basically the resort for tourists to stay within the park. The dining room there is designed for the hotel guests but is open to the public as well.

9 AM photo

View from just below Skyland

The breakfast buffet did not disappoint, especially in regards to the fresh fruit. We all ate our fill there. While there we ran into Bearfoot, Rosy Eagle and Little Sass, all with the same idea. After eating we relaxed in the lobby for a good long while. In fact we spent well over two hours there between eating and relaxing. It was a cozy place and hard to motivate to go back out into the crappy weather, especially with only 11 miles to go and not even noon yet. We finally got out of there and low and behold at some point while we were inside the sun came out! The fog had completely lifted too and we were rewarded with a great view.

The first course of my breakfast!

The dining room at Skyland resort

Whoa, the weather suddenly got nice!

Skyland resort

With only 11 miles to go everyone hiked at a meandering pace. I stopped at pretty much every side trail possible to check out views. We passed over Stony Man today which at a whopping 3837 feet is the highest point on the AT in the park. Just beyond it were some great cliffs that allowed a sweeping view of the valley. Late in the hike we climbed up to Mary's Rock which was one of the best vistas we've had in a long time. There were a lot of day hikers on the trail today, I guess it is a weekend, and this overlook was a hub of them. We sat on top for a while talking to them about our trip and answering questions.

The deer are so tame here

Little Stoney Man Cliffs

Enjoying the weather and view from Little Stoney Man Cliffs

Stoney Man Overlook

After this we had our biggest descent of the day, a huge 1100 feet down in two miles (I told you the terrain is easier recently) to Thornton Gap. Just before the road was some trail magic, a bag of Yuengling beer cans! After grabbing a beer we crossed the road and found another trail magic site with a cooler of soda and snacks! I grabbed a Pepsi and some Craisins and drank the soda as I hiked the last mile to camp.

Jewell Hollow Overlook

View just after "Byrds Nest"

View from "The Pinnacle"

On top of Mary's Rock

Group photo with a view!

The shelter was one big reunion as everyone staying there hasn't seen everyone else in a while. Peaches, Tags, Jetlag, Mother Teresa, Blimey, Elf, Slim Jim, Rosy Eagle and a bunch of others are all here and the shelter talk tonight was one big catch up session.

These trees appear to be doing something inappropriate...

Big reunion at the shelter!

There was two reunions that took place tonight though and the second was way cooler. When Blimey, Elf and I arrived we found a tenting area that had three sites and began to set up. All of a sudden Elf yelled, "guys, I can't camp here, there's a dead deer next to my site". Blimey and I assumed he was joking but we went over and discovered a baby fawn laying there and after a minute or two realized it was actually still breathing. We assumed it was either sick or abandoned and decided there was not much we could do for it. All night the talk at the shelter was about the poor baby deer near our site and what to do about it. The consensus was to let nature take it's course. The three of us headed back after dinner (Elf had decided to tent there anyway) and noticed that the fawn was looking a bit stronger. As we were about to get in our tents all of a sudden a doe came out of the woods looking around and making grunting noises. As we watched the doe found the fawn, got it up walking, nursed it and then headed out with the fawn stumbling along behind. The fawn was clearly born this morning and the mother must have gotten spooked earlier in the day and came back for the fawn. Watching this reunion was definitely one of the coolest things I've seen on the entire trip and the three of us had front row seats for the entire thing!