The Chuckle What?
Well, it’s 8:30 in the evening at the Roaring Fork campsite at mile 257.2 on the AT, and I did a little over 15 miles today (April 13). This morning, I woke up at the Standing Bear Farm Hostel, and after I got my stuff together, I headed over to the main house, where the proprietor lives. I’d waited until about 8 o'clock to go over to pay my bill, but as I approached, the house still seemed dark. I went in and rang the bell, and the woman, Maria, opened the door, still wearing her bathrobe, and looked at me kind of bewildered that I would be ringing the bell so early. You know, most hikers tend to head out pretty early in the morning, so I was confused by her reaction.
Anyway, the way it works at Standing Bear is that when you check in, they give you a mini clipboard with a piece of paper on it, and you're supposed to record all your expenses on it, including whatever you take from the resupply room. So you write down things like “Ramen, 75 cents” or “large candy bar, $1.50.” And then if you get anything that you’re going to eat there — not resupply stuff that you’ll take with you — like a pizza, they have to write it down on your clipboard. It's this very weird code, but basically, you always need to have your clipboard with you. I had added everything up, and it came to roughly $92 dollars, so I gave her a hundred, just to give a tip, I guess. She told me the extra eight dollars would go toward their “flush toilet fund.” I was more than happy to contribute to that, because at Standing Bear, you only have access to port-a-johns. And they aren't very pleasant.
I hit the trail shortly after eight and immediately had a steep ascent for about the first four miles. We were in a little bit of a valley and obviously had to regain elevation. I made it to the top of Snowbird Mountain, where there was a very nice bald. Way back when, people would chop down all the vegetation on the top of the mountains so there was just grass that their cattle could graze on, so a lot of the mountains around here are now “balds.” On top of Snowbird, there’s this Jetsons-era-looking structure that I learned upon further examination is an FAA communications point. There were various signs all around, with stern language telling you not to touch anything.
While I was up there, I ran into a guy named Beans whom I've met before, and we struck up a conversation. He told me that he’s part of a foursome on the trail and that they call themselves the “Chuckle Fux.” [Wife note: 😳] I'd heard about the Chuckle Fux, so it was fun to meet one of them in person.
About six or seven miles further down the trail was Max Patch, which is a very popular part of the Appalachian Trail. It's an even bigger bald, and it has these beautiful 360-degree views. There's no real vegetation on the top, so it's just a nice big field. I stopped to have a snack and enjoy the views, and Praying Mantis came along. We've been keeping a very similar schedule lately. He hung around to have a snack, too, and then we hiked the rest of the way up together.
It was about more two miles into Roaring Fork shelter, and by the time we arrived, the Chuckle Fux had already set up shop there and were laughing and carrying on. I had heard a story that some guy named Giggles had gone into town and bought ten McDonald's double cheeseburgers as his resupply for dinners. Apparently, he’s a member of the Chuckle Fux. I ended up talking to him for a bit and asked how the cheeseburgers had held up, and he said, “You know, for three days, they were great.” So, go figure. [Wife note: Apparently, he ate all ten burgers in those first three days.]
Now I'm in my tent, and earlier, I explained how I’d made the mistake of hanging it on the bear cable and more or less making Swiss cheese out of it.I was able to patch a few of the holes with some Gorilla tape I brought, and it looks like I should be able to patch the rest, too, once I get some more tape. I think I can do that when I get to Hot Springs. But that's about it for now. I expect to do another 15 or so miles tomorrow.
