Chance of thunderstorms...Zero in Waynesboro!
Breakfast at b&b at 9am...
Lunch at Heritage with team fortis..(spinach salads with chicken and fruit.
M80 did not get a haircut, but trooper and I bought wine In a bag for hiking through Shenandoah.
We walked down to Klines for ice cream and met "heart rock" a lady doing trail magic while her man hikes.
Same dinner as last night.
Pics: funny sign outside a local business; hiker wine; willow being good; heart rock
Happy memorial day!
Slept in till 730! It was great. Made coffee. Packed slowly. Left at 830
Walked 5 miles in 1.5 hours...called tree streets inn for my pick up...stopped by outfitters on the watt in for electrolyte tablet refill, socks and a new shirt sleeved Merino wool shirt.
Dragonfly tested as I was waiting for my ride into town (retired air force. we met her and her husband onyx in the smokies..last seen at mountain harbor b&b)
She has been slack packing her husband since she is recovering from a painful issue with her leg. She met me at the b&b, drive me to Kroger and dropped me off for lunch at the Heritage. Great place for burgers and beer on main street in Waynesboro.
During lunch, I met a nice guy and we talked each others' ears off. He is an 18th century living historian, a flint lock enthusiast, and a farmer. Later his delightful wife joined us. Nice folks everywhere.
Pillows and a mattress, here I come!
Pics: Wayne and his wife; Waynesboro marker; dinner (red wine wine not shown)
Harpers creek shelter (830.3) to Paul c. Wolfe shelter (852.3)...holy crap I walked 22 miles!
Of course I woke up at 530..this madness must stop (I'll be really excited to be able to sleep late...) I have to admit that the forest world is beautiful at 630am.
I was walking at 7...I checked on team fortis to make sure they were up and moving and on I went.
Up, up, up three ridges mountain. Then on,on,on forward.
I tried my hand at "yogi-ing" several times yesterday and today. (that is to say, "passive aggressive begging") and found I'm not very good at it. I've been craving fresh fruit...I could've drank a half gallon of cranberry juice if I'd had it. About noon today I finally succeeded. As I hiked through reeds gap (the AT Crosses over the blue ridge parkway repeatedly..this is one of those spots), a group of day hikers stopped to ask the usual questions:
Are you a thru hiker?
Where did you start?
When did you start?
How far have you hiked?
I mentioned something about how fresh fruit is such a treat...a very nice lady named Barbara offered to bring me some fruit. She said she'd met me 5 miles ahead at dripping rock crossing in 2 hours.
Now, the only problem is that I hadn't had my morning break yet. I had hiked 8.3 miles without stopping..I was tired..but I couldn't Dilly dally if I only had 2 hours to go 5 miles...so on I went, cursing myself for not planning better.
This Barbara lady was incredible. Not only did she arrive with fruit, but she met me on the trail about a mile before I reached the destination..she walked with me and kept me company which helps a lot. She brought me a nice crisp apple and a baggie of cherries! She left me sitting in the shade at cedar cliffs (842.5...nice view) to eat and relax a bit.
This is memorial day weekend, by the way, and there are a LOT of day hikers and over nighters on the trails.
I kicked my shoes off, peeled of my socks and settled down on the rocks to relax and admire the view...eating my fresh fruit..I happened to look down and noticed all the chiggers crawling around.....DANG IT..so I jumped up and wiped off my legs and ankles...
2 men and 3 little girls were having a picnic in the shade..complete with blankets...they kindly invited me over for hummus and veggies..of course I accepted. I enjoyed the girls (ages 5-10?) asking various questions about my hike and they learned what chiggers look like. Hummus and carrots: so good...oh, and a ham sandwich and corn tortilla chips.... after my augmented lunch, I laid back in the shade to relax for a minute. That's when I got busted by team fortis. I wondered why they hadn't caught up yet. Turns out m80 themed his ankle this morning right out of camp so they were a little slower than usual. I was so glad to finally see them. We walked together the rest of the way. They decided they couldn't stop 5 miles out of town and were going all the way TODAY. (27 miles..and he had a hurt ankle) he did have a good point in saying that if he stopped, he wouldn't be able to walk on in the morning..had rather rest in town. They left me at the shelter (and made fun of me for stopping) and went on....I knew is get to sleep in and only had 5 miles to go in the morning..I was happy with that.
I was also so happy to get to lie down and be off my feet..that was a long day. But I did it and survived.
No ibuprofen today, either!
Pics: me after finishing 3 ridges, view from 3 ridges
Good breakfast, then on with this hiking business!
Alan dropped me off at the base of Crabtree falls. 1.7 miles up to the top, another mile to VA 826(gravel), 0.5 miles to the AT: 3.3 approach to mile marker 821.8 then hiked to Harpers creek shelter (830.3): 11.7 miles today. Not bad since I started at 11:30 and the first 4 miles were uphill...
Nova passed by me today like I was standing still..that girl was moving! She told me later that the need for a privy was the motivation..I understood! Maybe she had too many fig Newtons...
The plan tomorrow is 22 miles to Paul c Wolfe shelter which will leave only 5 miles into town on Monday.
We'll see how it goes. That'll be my new personal record..and there's a heck of a climb up 3 ridges mountain first thing.(2300 ft climb up to 4000 ft)
Here tonight: Newton in the shelter with me (shared laundry in Daleville); rainbow braids, nova, team fortis tenting...I love sleeping by a creek..the steady noise is comforting.
No pics. I am a loser for not taking any photos of Alan and Phyllis. I realized the error of my ways soon after he dropped me off.. It's a wonder I have sense enough to keep my gear in order. Embrace the dementia.
Punch bowl shelter (790.8) to US route 60 (802.1)
3Rd day walking with team fortis (m80, trooper, willow) ..these are fast walking, entertaining folks. M80 is rear end Charlie, I'm on point, trooper is behind me, willow is between mom & dad.
All the stories and pictures of timber rattlesnakes have me a bit edgy up front. I'm already focusing as hard as possible on the trail ahead..looking for any movement or variation in the usual patterns.
One day this week (yesterday?) someone left a handwritten note ON the trail, secured by a rock, that a huge rattlesnake had been spotted at 330 pm..we came across the note at 430 pm...this did not help my snake paranoia. I can't look any harder..I just can't.
We've seen a few black snakes..they are longer than I thought they'd be (why did I even HAVE an idea of the length of this snake?) I also had the uninformed opinion that I would somehow be able to hear a snake as it slithered through the dry leaves. That black snake was absolutely silent as all 5 feet of it wiggled away....ugh.
Its much cooler today after the thunderstorms last night. A refreshing change as the past few days have been hot and humid. You know how the sweat drips of your nose, eyebrows, elbows, chin, etc..? Yeah, like that. It's been hard to drink enough. I can't carry enough water. I start the day with 3 liters in my hydration bladder and 12oz in my little nalgene. I put either a "nuun" electrolyte tablet or gatorade powder in the nalgene. When we cross a stream we "camel up": drink as much as you can hold at the source...thereby saving your hydration bladder for the long stretches without a water source. I usually fill up my 2L platypus and drink through my Sawyer filter..1-1.5L if I can hold it.
We arrived at my destination at 2 pm..about an hour earlier than anticipated. Luckily, my host could come and fetch me. It was cold and windy sitting out in the exposed parking area. My "hosts" are parents of a friend, Christine. Her parents are Alan & Phyllis. Alan gave me the nickel tour of Lexington, VA. I saw stonewall Jackson's grave & family plot at the cemetery & Robert E Lee's final resting place on the campus of VMI. Alan took me by the outfitters; while unable to provide what I needed, they were as helpful as possible, even calling other local businesses to see of they could locate what I needed.
Phyllis knows how to spoil a tired & ragged hiker: she brought a glass of red wine to me and said "soak as long you want in the jetted tub...there's bubble bath, too". I hated to disappoint...so I showered and soaked and drank the wine. Then I drank another glass before dinner. Then one more with dinner.
Dinner was equally decadent: grilled steaks, fresh corn on the cob, fresh asparagus, salad with greens from the garden, baked potato....mmmmm.
I also had to sleep in a king sized bed. I wasn't sure if I could sleep with all that space..somehow I managed. After a wonderful breakfast including homemade grape jelly, Alan took me to the post office then dropped me off to continue my hike. I didn't get to spend nearly enough time with them, so I think I may visit Lexington, VA again soon. Thank you so much, Christine! Your parents are great. I owe you.
Pics: sign in the forest; stonewall Jackson
Happy birthday Sawyer!
Awakened by a very persistent whip-poor-will at 5am...I don't know what he was trying to tell me, but I'm sure I didn't need to know about it that early.
Left camp at 730....18 miles to punch bowl shelter today.(772.6 -790.8)
Morning break at Matts creek. On the way down to Matts creek, I stopped to listen. There was this strange high pitched, constant steady tone. Was that some sort of alarm going off down near the James river? Something with a hydro electric plant? We kept walking. Lunch at johns hollow(782)..dried our our tents in the sunshine...poor Shutterbug has been eaten alive by the bugs. Apparently there were biting bugs at Bryant shelter...someone had put a note about that on the shelter journal.
That noise is the drone of cicadas! Their molts are everywhere. There are cicadas everywhere once you start looking for them.
Crossed the James river. A few guys jumped into the river off the bridge...no way..too murky to see what's under the surface..and too far down..
we arrived at our destination with daylight to spare! Cave man is here work his German shepherd, Jessie. Tallulah, easy e, gravy...many more tenting. A big thunderstorm rolled through..those are so nice when you're in the shelter.
Pics: easy e on the foot bridge over the James river; a sad memorial to a lost little boy; view from big bluff mtn
Up at 5am..Jennings creek (751.7)
Morning break at Bryant ridge shelter (755.5)
Tenting tonight at marble springs (772.6)
Bryant ridge shelter is my new favorite design: picnic table in a recessed, but accessible area. 3 levels: the covered deck, a step up to the bottom sleeping area, up a ladder to the upper sleeping area which is oriented 90° to the lower sleeping area. Whole thing is very open feeling and there are many plexiglas panels that let in tons of light.
Those fig Newtons caught up to me today! I had the sudden lower abdominal gassy bloat and cramping...I had to relieve the pressure and didn't trust anything except squatting in the woods or in the privy...(may be more than just air in there)..made for a day of very fast walking. I breezed right on though the guillotine without a photo shoot...we had to practically run the last mile ahead of a thunderstorm..made it to camp just as the bottom fell out. Many thanks to Larry and Eric, 2 trail angels that helped me set up my tent in the windy rain. They also gathered gallons of water and had a filter handy, gathered and took our trash, handed out some food treats....thanks a million guys!
Long day, I'm too tired to socialize and it's raining...I got in my tent and didn't come out.
Pics: Bryant shelter; pink trillium
