Breakfast at Splinter's Cabin (Starting Trail Mile 292.4, elevation 5476-3699 ft)

I was hiking by 5:30 the next morning, enjoying the cool, pleasant temperature at that hour.  I continued along Holcomb Creek among the trees, flowering bushes and wildflowers. 

I pass other hikers, still sleeping.

I put my sites on Splinter's Cabin for my mid-morning breakfast break.
 I marvel at the gigantic pine cones I see along the way.  I've seen large, long sugar pine cones, but these are long and huge in circumference as well.

Now thaat's a big pin cone!

Splinter's Cabin and Day Use Area

I finally arrive at Splinter's Cabin about 9:30 and I'm starving despite having eaten a meal bar earlier.
I make a pot of oatmeal with nuts, cinnamon,
milk and dried fruit (my own concoction).  I eat it as I read the sign about the history of the cabin.

The History of Splinter's Cabin

Huge fallen tree.

Bridge leading over Deep Creek to the cabin.

At breaks like this, I always take off my shoes and socks and don flip-flops to let my feet air out and dry my sweaty socks.  After I finish my breakfast, I hike back down to the creek to fill up with water.  I meet and visit with a couple of families taking a day hike, or just enjoying the creek and letting the kids play in the sand and splash around in the shallow parts.  This is the type of thing my brother Steve and I loved doing when we were growing up.  For some reason, day-hikers always have lots of questions and act they are meeting a rock star instead of a dirty thru hiker.

Shortly after leaving there, I climb a ridge, while Deep Creek is further and further below me.  This ridge eventually climbs out of the trees and becomes a narrow, exposed and hot trail for the rest of the day. Today and the next two days will continue to be hot and miserable.  It becomes necessary to try to find some shelter to wait out the hottest part of the day.

Passed Trail Mile 300 today!

Big lizard shares a log for my afternoon break.

The end of the day brings me to Deep Creek.  It is a pretty nice spot, not too far from the creek.  I set up my tent and make my way around rocks and bushes to the creek to filter water and wash some of the dirt off my body before dark.

When I come back up to the tent, I sit a little distance away from my tent, on a rock to look over my feet and tape up anything that needs it.  I didn't notice that there was a red ant pile right under the edge of the rock.  My sitting down really ticked off the colony and they attacked with a vengeance.  By the time I realized what was going on, I literally had ants in my pants, and suffered some pretty severe bites on my backside, back of my thighs and hips.  As I start swatting and brushing ants away, some hikers (Yard Sale among them) pass above me on the trail.  They wave and say hello as they go by.

I am so tired that I take some Benadryl for the itching, stinging and burning and try to get some sleep because I want to walk at least 20 miles tomorrow.

I've read about the emotional highs and lows of the trail,  The afternoon today was desolate, dry and hot.  There was also no interesting scenery to distract me. Topping off the day, the ant bites are the last straw and I have myself a good cry.  What started out as a beautiful morning, has ended as a hot, painful, miserable day!  However, I know there are areas of the trail ahead that I will enjoy a lot more, so I fall asleep thinking positive thought about what lies ahead.