Fueled by Thoughts of Spaghetti
- Cassandra Smith
- Jun 23, 2023
- 2 min read
Day 4
Sometime around midnight we woke up to raindrops hitting our foreheads. We got out of the quilt and turned ourselves around so we were better protected by the tarp and fell back asleep cuddled up against the cold. When I woke again around 6 am the wind had completely changed direction and the quilt was covered in a thin layer of snow. I woke Henry up and we brushed the majority of it off, adjusted the umbrellas to help shield us from the snow and got a couple more hours sleep.
It was cold and blustery with no sun in sight when we finally got going. We both had on every layer possible and hiked off to continue over the ridge. We warmed up pretty quickly, although the ridge had little elevation gain and loss, the rocks were numerous and the footing was made worse with the dusting of snow from this morning. Knowing Dad was picking us up this evening was a huge motivator in taking as little breaks as possible today.
The miles went by slowly on the treacherous ridge but we eventually came to a small grassy patch out of the wind and in direct sunlight. We took the opportunity to do all the chores we'd skipped out on this morning because we were just too dang cold. Ate some snacks, brushed our teeth, braided our hair. Laid out the quilt and tarp to dry some.
After we descended the ridge we had a 5 mile road walk into Loysburg since the bridge over Yellow Creek is out. Our feet were aching by the time we were done and we still had 6 miles to go until the parking lot we'd be picked up in. The climb out of Loysburg was incredibly steep. My calves and Achilles tendons felt like they were going to rip in half. After the terrible climb though, the trail was much kinder to us.
Henry and I oooh'd and ahhh'd over beautiful mountain streams and springs. This section was beautiful, with big Hemlocks and easy trail. We were both so tired but fueled by a little weed, some snacks, and the knowledge that my grandma was making us a spaghetti dinner tonight fueled us to go on. Night fell and we still had over a mile to go, I knew Dad was probably worried because I didn't have service to text him and let him know what time we'd be arriving. A porcupine surprised us at the edge of a creek, Henry almost stepped on him before seeing him!
Finally at the parking lot, we watched the giant moon rise over the trees and a few minutes later, Dad pulled in. We were so grateful to see him, threw our packs in the bed of the truck and climbed in. He cranked the heat for us and drove us the 15 minutes to Pap and Gagoo's house. We devoured plates of spaghetti and garlic bread, sharing a cherry coke that we had talked about for miles. An exhausted shower and then we were in bed.
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