Velvet Rocks Shelter - Smart's Mountain Fire Tower
Today was a big day! We took our time getting ready and Truffles and I were the last to leave. This has been the norm since I basically moved into the Duplex, but I don't mind because he and I get to hike together most of the day.
The biggest climb of the day was Moose Mountain, and the local trail club has a lot of funny signs in the area for shelter and things. Truffles and I joked about the "Spruce Moose" sign being for the Spector Moose monster (not to be confused with the Wompus Cat).
There were lots of ups and downs all day. We ran into the rest of the boys on top of Moose Mountain and hung out for a while before beginning the super long descent. It felt like it took forever; I listened to my book and was crazy hangry. Thankfully Truffles and I were able to eat lunch at the base of the mountain before more PUDs.
Within the last couple miles, we ended up on a residential road with a super cute sign for trail magic at Bill Archer's house. We stopped in for beer and popsicles on the porch and chatted for a while with Bill's son, John.
We decided to road walk to the trailhead and I got a truckbed hitch (Truffles wanted to walk, sucker). I took a blue blaze to get to the top of Smart's Mountain. It was a lovely, gradual uphill along a stream before it turned into a hellish climb that seemingly went straight up to meet the AT. Between the end of the blue blaze and the steep climb to the tower, my legs were DEAD. I was really cranky coming into camp. Truffles and I went to bed ASAP. Hoping for a better mood tomorrow.
