Woke up about 7 to a temperate day. Had three packs of oatmeal and a poptart for breakfast. Started hiking in a rather nondescript forest with the AT looking just like any old hiking path.
After putting in 16 of our 18 miles for the day, we happened to find ourselves with an incredible opportunity: we could go to town and meet a local AT trail building legend named Bob Peoples. After Willie and I caught a ride into town via Bob, we bought a pint of ice cream each, two tallboys each, and a Little Caesars pizza to split. Perhaps not surprisingly, the pizza was terrible. Pretty much the most uninspired pizza ever. But to make the situation better, while eating pizza, we chatted with Bob who told us a lot about how the trails are built, what the process entails, some information about edible plants, and other little facts. For example, he told us why the stairs have 'nasties' (crooked, gnarled, ankle breaking rocks) placed around their edges. The reason being to discourage shortcuts that lead to eventual erosion.
After leaving with a warm good bye and an adnonishment to be careful, we departed into the failing light. Entered the Pond National Wilderness. This area has a sizable river running through it providing views of waterfalls, gurgling sounds, and plentiful shore camping. We opted to tent camp on shore and finish the tallboys before heading to sleep. Stopped at 418.4.
I met a couple section hikers in va once who had backtracked like 50 miles just to spend a day working with bob peoples. He must be quite the legend out on the trail.
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