Category: 2018 Appalachian Trail

We got up closer to our normal time at 7:20. It had rained quite a bit in the evening, but cleared up over night. It was overcast now but rain didn’t look imminent. In other words, good hiking weather. Gnome said he was tired and didn’t think he had a 17 mile day in him. Yesterday’s early rise was taking its toll on us.

In order for us to have a chance to make it to Devils Backbone Brewery tomorrow night, we had to make at least 17 today. Bunny and Gnome decide that a leisurely stroll was on the agenda for the morning. It took us almost 3 hours to make it to Hog Camp Gap where we were supposed to make it yesterday. I knew Bunny was worried about her kids and she usually slows way down when she’s preoccupied with them. By noon, I was getting peeved with our lack of speed. I heard Bunny say she just wanted to slow down and enjoy the trail. I lost it. I said I was taking off and walking by myself since I couldn’t stand 1 mph hiking. I didn’t know she was talking to Gnome. I had forgotten he told me he was not feeling up to today.

We ended up letting Gnome fall behind and told him we would meet him at the next water source in 3 miles. When we got to the creek, we were both out of water and tired beyond belief. We just sat in the middle of the trail to eat and drink. Rampage, who hikes 25-30 miles per day in crocs (she claims they are off-road design) came by for water. So did Half Moon who is walking with Savage, Po, and Spartacus. They both told us they had passed Gnome about 1/2 mile back and he was dragging.

We waited until he caught up before we started to pack up. He told us he was stopping at the next shelter in 5 miles. We said we head there and wait if it wasn’t too late. I was still wanting to get as close to 17 miles in as we could.

At Seely-Woodworth Shelter, we waited for close to a half hour and Gnome still didn’t show up. Even though the clouds were darkening up, we decided to push on another 6.5 miles to the next shelter. Within two miles, it was raining.

With umbrellas donned, we kept moving. When we got up to Spy Rock, Savage and their group had set up camp because they didn’t want to get caught in another downpour today. We climbed to the top to check out the view and got an eye full of the storm headed our way. We still had almost 4 miles to go. We might get in before dark, but not before rain.

Rampage passed us like we were standing still. Mainly because we were standing still talking to Savage and playing with Spartacus. We didn’t get to Priest Shelter until nearly 8. We had been walking in the rain most of the way, but we caught a break while we set up camp. The shelter was full, but plentiful camping was available. We managed to get all done and in bed before the rain started.

EFG

We got on the trail by 6. You read that right—on the trail by 6. Not up by 6. We were hiking just before 6. We planned to get up early, but we had no idea Stickers and Lady Bug set the alarm for 4 f&$@ing 30. I had a hard time getting Bunny to get up, especially when she checked her phone for the time. The one thing this morning showed us, (hell, every day has shown us) is that it doesn’t matter if we set up a tent or sleep in a shelter, cook breakfast or eat a cold breakfast, whatever combination we choose doesn’t matter—it takes us an hour and a half to get ready.

Patches also got up, but she didn’t head out with us. Her morning routine is closer to two hours at a minimum. We crossed our first road in 1/2 mile and good things were already waiting—there was a trash can. Any reduction in pack weight is a good thing. There was a camper parked there and I jokingly said they should be up giving us magic and accidentally slammed the trash can lid. I swear it was an accident. Just then a woman pops out of the trailer and asks if we are thru-hikers. She said to wait. I thought she was off for a gun. I innocently stepped behind Gnome. He’s the oldest and has lived a full life. Moon Beam returned with Snickers for all of us. We talked with her and Big Cypress about their thru-hike a few years ago. They also have a son close to Bunny’s son in age so we talked about the struggles of 20 year olds.

We talked for about 20 minutes before heading on. It was already boiling out. So much for beating the heat. It didn’t take 10 minutes of walking before we were covered in sweat, and, swarms of annoying bugs. As I often do while hiking, I decided to have a talk with god. I asked him what in the hell he was thinking when he created all these irritating pests. God did something I didn’t expect him to stoop to; he threw Noah under the bus.

God claimed in addition to punishing the human race with the great flood, he had expected Noah to clean up a few of his messes from early days. It was Noah who collected: 2 fleas, 2 gnats, 2 no see-ums, 2 sand fleas, 2 house flies, 2 black flies, 2 mosquitoes, 2 wasps, 2 yellow jackets, 2 deer flies, 2 ticks, 2 deer ticks, 2 midges, 2 sweat bees, 2 of every annoying flying pest that I was complaining about. He never thought Noah would be so thorough. I pointed out that he was supposed to be all knowing and all seeing just like Oz but he shrugged his shoulder and claimed that even he makes mistakes—take the duckbilled platypus for instance, or Donald Trump. Shit happens.

I got to thinking and He was right. OF COURSE I AM RIGHT. Stay out of this now, this is my blog and I’ve got a point to make here. SORRY, CARRY ON. Noah deserves a special place in hell. We didn’t excuse the Nazis that claimed to only be following orders as Noah will claim. And that’s why Catholics invented purgatory.

While all this discussion and debate was going on, Bunny and I quietly passed the 800 mile point of the trail. Just 1290 miles left. I started doing a little math in my head and started to worry about completing the trail before Baxter closes. We are supposed to meet our friend Rich in PA to hike together for a few weeks. We have a “met cute” story with Rich and his wife, Laura, that few living can claim—we met in Dachau Concentration Camp. No, really, we were touring the camp last year and started talking about hiking.

We also wanted to make it to the southern end of the 100 mile wilderness in Maine by late August to hike with our friends, Peter and Marcia, who we met in Scotland several years ago. Before we started hiking, they were the only people we knew who actually thru-hiked the trail. They did it back in the late 70s before trail names were even in use and before all this light weight gear was around. Warren Doyle even went to their wedding (trust me, to trail geeks this is big stuff). They were known by the names “Peter” and “Marcia” when they hiked. Weren’t you listening? I said they hiked before trail names were in use.

The plan (always subject to change) was to meet at Brown Mountain Shelter for lunch, a nap, and a possible creek soaking before climbing the 2,300’ up Bald Knob. We passed the remnants of an old freed slave community along the creek banks. The community disbanded when the former slaves decided to “sell out” to the forest service. I’m almost certain their terms of sharecropping were more than fair and didn’t play into their decision to head further north.

Today, the plan held. We five of us met for lunch at Brown Mountain Shelter. Savage, Po, and Spartacus were also there. After they took off, we all spread out in the shelter to nap. It was a tease. We only slept for an hour before the alarm went off. Bunny and I were still 3 hours shy from our normal night. I don’t think we will try this early rise thing again any time soon.

As we were leaving, Patches came dragging in. She does worse in the heat than we do. We talked with her for a bit before going to catch up with Gnome. The climb was brutal. Not because it was steep, but because it was so hot, buggy, and we were tired. My brain kept polling the rest of the body to see if anyone else wanted to stop. The lungs said yes. The heart said yes. The feet said yes, but they made the mistake of asking the ass what it thought. The ass spoke and the everyone said let’s move on a little further to get away from the smell. This just goes to show it doesn’t take a leader to keep things moving up, just an asshole.

It took us nearly 4 hours to climb to the top of the mountain. At the top, a storm came rolling in with very dark skies, indeed. With the threat of lightening, Bunny voted to shorten the day and head down a side trail to the nearest shelter. Gnome agreed. Honestly, I didn’t want to set up a tent in the rain so I was on board. Since Cow Camp Gap Shelter was over a half mile off the trail, there was a very good chance it would be empty since thru-hikers rarely hike that much extra since they’ve already got almost 2200 miles on their plate.

There was only one person at the shelter, Rocket Man. He’s an 18 year old solo hiker and he was glad to see us. He didn’t like staying in shelters alone if possible. He is going somewhat light—he sent home his stove, sleeping bag, rain gear, and boots to save weight. He sleeps in a trench coat he picked up from a Good Will. From what I could see of his bear canister, he lives predominantly on candy since he’s gone no cook.

A bit later, Po, Spenders, his dog Murdock, Tang, and a British guy showed up to use the table to cook supper. These guys carry two skillets and lots of fresh foods to cook. Their packs weigh over 50# each. Their reasoning is that since they are going to be on the trail for over 6 months, they might as well enjoy the food. Tonight they had steak and cheese curry. I offered them some of our mashed potatoes since they seemed to be deprived of high density carbs. They politely refused, but I could hear their stomachs growling in envy.

EFG

Happy Mother’s Day to both of our moms and to all the mothers out there, not just limited to our own. There’s lots of mothers we know of. I’ll also throw in Bunny on the list to be remembered because in the over 9 years we have been together, not one time have both kids remembered to wish her Happy Mothers Day or a Happy Birthday.

At 7:15, while we were all still in bed asleep, the kid that was supposed to shuttle Grandma Shorty and Plod Along (and told them he had to be at work at 7 and couldn’t miss—he didn’t tell them until 9:30 last night) came in and asked us if we were going to take the 7 or 8 shuttle back to the trail. Since it was already past 7, I thought this was a stupid question. The bigger issue was that we had not been informed, until now, that if we wanted a free shuttle, we had to be ready by 8. Grandma Shorty and Plod Along were already ticked and cancelled another night’s stay because of this. Stanimal has a problem in Glasgow.

We hurriedly packed, ate breakfast, and made last minute porcelain stops before loading up at 8:15. I complained to the woman about the short notice and she eased up on the 8 departure time a few minutes. Gnome and us headed out in the first car and got the kid to let us pick up some Gatorade at the Dollar General on the way out of town. Lady Bug and Stickers were in the second car and arrived as we were heading up the trail. It was only 2 miles to Johns Hollow Shelter where we all met up for a short break.

There were bees swarming all around the shelter and it was miserably hot. While we were unsuccessfully trying to chill out, another hiker named Needles came in. We, unsuccessfully, tried to guess how she got her name with guesses ranging from heroine addiction to diabetes. She told us it was much simpler—she liked to knit and carried her knitting needles with her.

The shelter was at the bottom of a 2300’ climb. No breeze, steep climb, and hot temps are not the ideal start to a day. Also with the high heat, we had the worst swarming insects we have encountered to date. I don’t know how bugs can fly full speed right into your ears, but that one of their favorite aerial tricks. We all stopped at first summit in shade to snack, enjoy a cool breeze, and make mother day calls while we all had signals.

Today was a first as we spent all day walking together. Usually, we break up to walk and meet up later. I guess misery loves company. We took lots of stops to try to cool off. We all ran out of water before we made it to the shelter. At one point, Gnome fell a little behind. He was still in sight of Bunny, though. He came to a switchback that Bunny had just passed and a rattlesnake was completely across the trail. It must have been moving fast for her to miss it in passing or she just stepped over it thinking it was a stick. When Gnome got to it, it bumped his boot with its head to let him know it was there. Gnome touched it with his pole to try to get him to move off the trail. That really pissed it off and it coiled up and rattled. Gnome got a nice video and one hell of an adrenaline rush.

I knew back in the Smokies that as bad as the snow and cold were, there would come a point where I would want those conditions again. Today was that day. You can warm up in the cold by walking faster. Yes, it makes camping harder, but the cold keeps the insects away. Now we have temps in the 90s with constant swarming insects. I also see large patches of poison ivy all around and I’m afraid I will accidentally touch some. I’m already covered in insect bites and my tolerance for noise around my ears is not great. I have to hike with my buff covering my ears to keep the insects out, but this makes me a lot hotter. I start praying for an unexpected hard freeze tonight.

Even though we only had 10 miles to go today and we got a relatively early start hiking today, there were already lots of hikers in and around Punchbowl Shelter when we arrived. The shelter was already full. We picked up spots to set up our tents and proceeded to get everything done so we could get to bed. We decided to try getting up early tomorrow and hiking until it got really hot and then resting until it cooled back off. This was the most crowded shelter we have stayed at to date, but no Patches

I got almost 10 liters of water out of the spring to refill our bladders and have enough for supper and breakfast. With the Gatorade I got this morning, I had another water container so I could have a new treat—iced tea! I’d rather have some propel or some other drink with electrolytes, but there weren’t any to be found in Glasgow.

After my bad luck hanging bear bags in the dark, I usually hang the line first thing when I get to camp. That’s what I did tonight. Bunny and I had bought enough food to get us to Waynesboro in 6 days counting on a possible couple of meals at Devils Backbone Brewery on Wednesday night. We tried to buy less than usual since we always end up with extra at the next resupply (its extremely tough to judge amounts with daily fluctuations in taste and amounts varying). When I tried to pull up the bag, I pulled down the limb—maybe we still have too much.

With the large number people at the shelter, we were surprised when everyone got into bed before dark. The heat had taken its toll on everyone, just not the old and weak. We took our vitamin I with a Benadryl kicker to help us sleep. When I woke up for my first external tent visit, I saw a red light passing down the trail. I’m not sure of the time but it had to be past 10. No doubt, Patches has caught up with us once again.

EFG

We woke up before 7 because of the heat. This is not good that it’s already hot so early. I went to get more water and Gnome was already packed up. He told me Grandma Shorty and Plod Along had just passed us and had run into the biggest copperhead they had ever seen. Plod Along was still shaking from the experience when Gnome had seen them. We went back up the trail to see if we could find the snake, but it was already gone. Damn our luck.

As soon as we climbed out of camp up to the ridge, Bunny was able to get a phone signal to arrange for a shuttle to pick us up at 12:30. Since that was settled, we needed to make some good time down to the James River for our pickup. I led the way moving pretty fast with everyone on my tail. I rounded a switchback and saw something black moving in the trail. I slammed on the brakes just in time to keep from stepping on a diamondback rattlesnake. Bunny pushed me a bit to get me moving. I couldn’t move; I was in the middle of at least 40 snakes. They were everywhere I looked. 5 in front of me, at least 10 to each side, 3 hanging in the trees above me, and one at my feet.

Once my adrenaline surge stopped, I realized, to my relief, the only one that was real was the one at my feet. We backed up, took pictures, and then tried to clear the trail. I wanted to just scare him off the trail but didn’t want him to know it was me—I started tossing small rocks. Fortunately, the snake just thought this was an annoyance and decided to move off the trail. We could safely pass him once he was a foot off of the trail and was stretched out. As long as he wasn’t coiled up, I felt safe.

To recap, a copperhead and rattlesnake have both been sighted today. Check the rattlesnake off of my list, forever. The rest of the day I was a bit tense. I was seeing snakes everywhere. Not 20 minutes later, we ran across another real snake in the trail. Only this time, it was a good snake. A black snake almost 6 feet long that likes to eat poisonous snakes. I felt safe again.

The green tunnel was beginning to take form. We passed a rhododendron dense stretch of trail. Although they are beautiful, they are not nearly as fragrant as the wild azaleas are. In order for us to make our shuttle pickup time, we would have to walk almost 2.5 mph. Damn the snakes, full steam ahead.

The only living thing we saw in the trail until we got to the James River was a salamander. He was acting a bit dazed even though it was plenty warm out. The final mile and a half of trail runs parallel to the river where we could catch glimpses of the longest footbridge we encounter on the entire trail—over 1000’ in length.

We arrived at the shuttle at 12:29. I honestly believe she would have left us if we had been one minute late. Grandma Shorty and Plod Along were sharing the shuttle to Stanimals with us.

The rest of the day was sweltering. We packed in a meal, laundry, and resupply in the afternoon so we could hit the trail again in the morning. Stanimals was nice, but not too communicative with us. We did appreciate the AC and massage chair. Stickers and Lady Bug showed up later in the day, but Patches never did. We assumed that she hitched a ride into town and stayed at the free pavilion for hikers.

EFG

Savage, Po, and their dog, Spartacus, stayed on the deck of the shelter last night. Spartacus is a Great Pyrenees/Australian Shepherd mix (I’m assuming Pyrenees mother because an Australian mother would probably have exploded during the mating process—it’s easier to think of a doggy step ladder). Spartacus is a certified therapy dog for Savage because she was injured in the military and has 6 vertebrae fused together; it’s pretty amazing that she is even able to be out here. The Australian Shepherd is a perfect addition to the Pyrenees line; it’s gives more energy to the dog yet still has the laid back sweetness of the Pyr. The most interesting feature is he has one ear from each breed, so he always looks half attentive.

The six of us (Stickers, Lady Bug, Patches, and Gnome) all agreed to meet at Marble Springs this evening with the goal of making it to Glasgow by Saturday to resupply and stay in town for a night. Gnome took off with us while Stickers and Lady Bug were getting packed. As usual, Patches was the first up. The most amazing thing happened today, though. She was also out about 5 minutes ahead of us.

We got to do the other 4,000’ of climbing that we had avoided yesterday. Gnome has sharp eyes like Bunny’s son, and he spots animals, reptiles, and plants all along the trail that we miss. He saw a box turtle a few feet off of the trail and showed us how to determine the sex of the turtle.

The six of us all met up again for a break at Cornelius Creek Shelter. Even though Stickers and Lady Bug started out an hour after we did, they covered the 5 miles to the shelter to arrive while we were still resting. It was relaxing and fun to have the whole tramily together during the day.

The three of us (Gnome hikes our pace) took off while the others were eating. About another mile of the trail was Black Rock Overlook which we decided to stop at. As far as the eye could see was only wilderness. It still bewilders me that we have such an extensive wilderness along our most developed eastern coast. I’ve always thought we had to head west to get away from civilization.

Once again, the FAA trusts us much more than the Smokey National Park does. We were able to walk within a few feet of one of the air tracking radar installations on the east coast. I’m glad we are well past child bearing years because any sperm or eggs we contain were surely fried by the radiation.

We passed under the USA answer to Norway’s Kjeragbolten—a Rock balanced between two cliffs. Granted, in the Norway version, it’s over a 3,000’ fall to the fjord below, while we choose to walk under ours and call it “The Guillotine”. If it fell, I think “The Crusher” might be a better name.

We passed another shelter in the late afternoon: Thunder Hill Shelter. We met a couple of old guys that had hiked the AT a couple years ago and were walking all 470+ miles of the Blue Ridge Parkway this year. After all the road walking we did on the Camino de Santiago last year, this did not sound the least bit appealling to us.

Since it was almost 5 when we set out from the shelter, we had our doubts that anyone else would catch up with us at Marble Spring. We still had 7 miles to go and would be lucky if we made it before dark. So far, we haven’t had to pull a “Daniel Johnson” and set our tent up in the middle of the trail, but you never know what will happen.

Even after all the climbing we did earlier in the day, we still had another major climb (for us, at least, after having already climbed 4,000’). It was only 700’ but at the end of a 17 mile day. This turned out to be a PUD in my opinion as there weren’t any new views we hadn’t already seen and we could have just walked around the face of the mountain to get to where we were headed.

We set up camp at dusk. There were already a couple of weekenders set up when we arrived. Bunny got water while I set up the tent and hung the bear bags. She then inflated the pads and made the beds while I cooked. As soon as I took off my boots, I felt my ankles getting attacked by chiggers. We were fed and in bed by 9:30. No one else showed up.

EFG

I was talking with Hawk (one of the two late-comers) who is an ultralight hiker. He was telling me about a guy who decided to make a water bottle multiuse by peeing in it at night and drinking from it by day. This must have saved him 1/10th of an ounce. Other than being gross, the worst part was that he was just rinsing the bottle out in the same water source everyone else is drinking from. Maybe now Bunny won’t get so upset with me getting up multiple times a night if I just ask to borrow her Nalgene bottle instead.

Since we sheltered so high, we decided to walk back up for some sunset pictures last night. When we got to the ridge, we discovered two more tents and deer walking all around. After the pictures, we went back to the shelter to settle in and two deer just walked right by us.

I was a little worried about my bear bag hang last night until I got up and saw two bags just sitting on the ground. The people camped on the ridge didn’t tie their bags well and they fell to the ground during the night. Nothing inside was disturbed. When they came down to eat, they complained about the deer walking up to, and around their tents all night, keeping them awake.

The day started with a quick and easy 3 mile walk down to a road crossing, but this is where our plans took a major change. There was a sign on the side of the road which pulled me in stronger than any black hole ever could—cheeseburgers, French fries, biscuits and gravy, and shakes at a campground just a mile and a half ahead with free shuttles for hikers. I urged Bunny to call, but she didn’t have any signal.

I was losing hope but Gnome suggested we hitch. The biggest problem with this idea was the lack of traffic. I was giving up hope and ready to push on after 15 minutes without a car. We finally saw a car going in the wrong direction so I just sat down. Bunny put out her thumb, anyway, and the car stopped. Women have it so much easier than men with hitching (and just about everything else in life—except for sexual harassment, I’ll give you that one).

Walt apologized for having a dirty car and inoperable back doors, but we all piled in thanking him profusely. He dropped us off at the campground and we got a picture with him before he drove off. We should have checked if the store was open before he left because it was closed. There was a septic station next to the store for trailers to unload before hitting the road. A guy with a tractor pulled up to dump a few hundred gallons of “honey” and said he’d go find her when he got done.

Ultimately, we got great burgers, a family-sized order of fries, cokes, shakes, and a few food items to go. The whole ordeal had taken us a little over two hours before she took us back to the trail. Now we had overfilled stomachs, heavier packs, and almost 5,000’ of climbing and 14 miles of trail ahead of us. Motivation levels were dropping quickly.

Nearing the top of the first 1000’ climb, the clouds really started getting dark and threatening. We still had almost a mile to the first shelter where we could seek refuge. Bunny and I got out our umbrellas and Gnome put on his rain gear. With just 1/4 mile to go it started to sprinkle on us. As soon as we arrived at the shelter, the skies opened up. There were already 6 people there anticipating the storm.

We decided to wait out the rain at Bryant Ridge Shelter. It was only 2, so we could easily make another 6 miles once the rains stopped. The longer we waited, the worse it got. We got torrential rain, thunder and lightening, and hail. Everyone else in the shelter was certain it would be clear by 4. The three of us had a powwow and decided to call it a day and take a nap before supper.

The storm stopped at 4, everyone else left and a few others arrived and went on. At 5, another round of storms started. We thanked our full bellies for keeping us in place. Ultimately, 14 more people joined us in the shelter this evening, including Stickers, Lady Bug, and Patches. If we had pushed on, they wouldn’t have caught up for another day.

Stickers and Lady Bug had been a day delayed starting back because Stickers’ dad had a minor heart attack and had an emergency quadruple bypass. He was doing fine and told them to head back to the trail. Unless they had secretly become heart surgeons, there was nothing they could do to help. This was on Monday, so they didn’t get back on trail until yesterday and were pushing hard to catch us.

Patches didn’t have anything as dramatic happen to her. As we thought, she had been diverted to the Three Little Pigs for food in the hopes that she wouldn’t overstock on trail food. It didn’t work. She still bought a lot of food, got a really late start, and had a very heavy pack which made her go slow. She only went a few miles on Tuesday. Surprisingly, she didn’t go for the campground burgers today or we wouldn’t have seen her for a few more days.

Stickers and Lady Bug gave us the news that Vagabond Jack had to get off trail because of a hernia. Also, Dirty R and Grape Stomper pulled the plug as well because her knee just wasn’t holding up. 3 more of our friends that have been with us since mid-February are gone. Patches will be leaving soon for a wedding and she won’t catch up with us before she finishes in New York. Stickers and Lady Bug are getting stronger and faster every day; it won’t be long before we’ll lose another trail family as they leave us behind.

EFG

Since we paid for a hotel, we decided to make the most of it. Check out time was 11 and we got out a comfortable 15 minutes early. I wanted to stop for one last town pizza on the way to the trail, but Gnome and Bunny vetoed that idea. Their reasoning was that we had two more road crossings in the first three miles so, surely, there will be a restaurant at one of them.

Nothing at the first crossing, so our hopes were pinned on the road to Troutville. With a name like Troutville, you’d expect it to be really good to entice people to face the risk of a fishy smelling town, or, as in this case, to have nothing. I had to adjust my stomach to the fact that we were not getting another town meal and get it to settle for tuna on a wrap. All I got, other than a disappointed stomach was the knowledge that we crossed the 1/3 mark for the entire trail—yes, 730 miles down, 1460 miles to go. Or, in the vernacular of Mizman, take all the effort we have spent from February 12 to now and do it just twice more and we’ll be done.

We met a nice sobo day hiker by the name of Big D (Dallas). He was a 73 year old who made it a point to hike 10 miles or more at least 3 times a week. He was in remarkable shape. We stopped and talked with him for almost 20 minutes about the trail ahead, politics, cars, the good ole days, almost anything to avoid the climb ahead. Eventually, we had to move on.

Even though we had only been off for one day, there was a noticeable difference in the trail environment. Leaves were starting to appear in the trees, grass was framing the trail, rhododendrons were budding, and there were several small flowers opening up on the forest floor.

We stopped at Fullhardt Knob Shelter for a quick lunch break. There were already a half dozen other hikers there when we arrived with the only one we knew being New York. Little Foot was a 20year old VMI (Virginia Military Institute) student who was taking a year off to hike the trail. Since he was the same age as Bunny’s son, we had a discussion with him about the merits of the military and what he hoped to do as a VMI graduate.

Bunny’s son has not made a final decision on joining the military. We found out from talking with everyone that they weren’t entirely against his joining, but they wanted him to slow down and think it out thoroughly. He had been swayed by the recruiter to join as a paratrooper since he wouldn’t get the signing bonus for special forces until he successfully completed the training (which has a 7% success rate). We had tried to encourage him to take a position which would get him a marketable skill outside of the military, like a drone pilot (since Amazon will be testing same day drone delivery very soon, this will be one of the fastest growing fields in the future). Sam was persuaded by the instant $20K signing bonus of the paratrooper. None of us want him in a grunt combat position so we are glad the family stopped him. Now he has found out his medical and test results are good for two years, and Sam has never been one to squander a long grace period by making a quick decision; we expect it will be some time before he decides what to do.

The afternoon gave us our first opportunity to rain test our new umbrellas. We are now believers. These will always be a part of our basic equipment from here on. We were able to keep completely dry yet not die from heat. Usually, if we don rain gear, we end up sweating just as much as if we had just walked in the rain. We stayed cool, comfortable, and dry. Most importantly, for me, I kept the rain off of my glasses. The warm rain brought out lots of salamanders and frogs to the trail.

Wilson Creek Shelter saw the end of the rain for us. When we arrived, there were already 7 other hikers there, but no Lady Bug or Stickers. We weren’t really expecting Patches to show up because we expected her to fall prey to the allure of Three Pigs Barbecue. She had left us at the trail head to resupply and food proves to be a weak point for her.

Little Foot told us he was getting up early because he had to meet his parents on Friday at the James River crossing. To save time, he decided to cook in the shelter and not hang a bear bag. We decided that we didn’t have to be real careful with our bag since the bears would go for the easiest source first. We did sleep at the other end of the shelter to be safe.

We have heard of people seeing bears just after we leave. We are getting sick and tired of our terrible bear luck. We have even heard of a hiker sleeping alone in a shelter to awake with a bear asleep at the other end. He did manage to pack up quickly and quietly to get away. We’ve also heard of rattlesnake, cottonmouth, and copperhead snake sightings and we’ve got nothing. I don’t know why we can’t catch a break.

EFG

First off, I want to wish my brother a very happy birthday. I tried to call him today, but cell reception at the beach in Florida is not always the best. When it comes to financial stability and planning, my brother and I are polar opposites. Today is his 63rd birthday and he is drawing two pensions and social security. My financial situation is closer to that of an 18 year old hiking the trail.

This zero day is no different than any other zero day. We showered, did laundry, ate, and resupplied. We went back to Two Pigs for another round and free banana pudding. They tried to pretend they were closed when we walked up, but too many people were too hungry to stay under the tables and wanted to eat. To cut them a little slack, we ordered hamburgers. There were squeals of joy from the kitchen.

There is also an outfitter in town so we popped in to buy some fuel, meals, a sleeping bag liner, and a sleeping pad strap to hold our pads together. Bunny thinks this will give us more room to spread out at night—we can use the unused space on our partner’s pad. I’m pretty sure this means I will be sleeping on the tent floor once I get pushed off my pad. Happy wife, happy life (and cold nights).

We had given up on Patches joining us in town. Miagi and Wood Chuck told us they had camped with her the night before last in Campbell Shelter. We just figured that she blew on through town to save some money. At 5, we got a text from her asking where we were staying. She had stretched what we did since seeing her at Four Pines into three days. Her schedule always expands to the amount of food she is carrying.

Gnome was in the room next to ours, but the last thing he had said to us when he checked in was “I’m going to take off all my clothes and relax in comfort for the next day.” In other words, we were afraid to knock on his door unannounced. Patches decided to not risk it and spend the night with us.

After she showered, I texted Gnome and we all went out for Mexican for supper. The plan is for the four of us to meet up with Stickers and Lady Bug tomorrow night at Wilson Creek Shelter about 11 miles ahead. For the first time since Bunny had to head home when her dad was in the hospital, we will all be together again (minus Postcard, Pit Boss, and Play by Play who are too far ahead now for us to catch up with). Patches has decided to go back to Damascus for trail days, so this will be one of the last times we get to hike with her.

EFG

After more than a week on the trail without a day off, we could think of only one thing: hotel! Someday on the trail, I want a zero day where I only have to sleep. The daily toll of hiking just wears us down even though we’re not even hiking 100 miles/week yet. Today, we were just focused on making it to town ASAP.

Farm All was up and out before we even thought of getting up. Murphy, Iron Man, Pilgrim and the two girls (no, we haven’t gotten their names yet) were just a few minutes ahead of us getting out. That just left 3 weekenders that came in well after hiker midnight—it must have been 9:30 before they got in. I could hear them laughing and drinking until almost 11. They camped down by everyone else which was better for us in the shelter. When they headed out, they brought a big bag of trash and tried to put it in the bear box. We told them they had to carry out their trash. They seemed rather put out to have to carry their empty beer cans. I made a note to keep an eye out for a trash bag by the trail as we were walking.

It was an easy 9 miles to Daleville. There were several scenic overlooks, but they just didn’t have the drama to them after McAfee Knob. Yes, we had great views; Virginia is beautiful, but what have you done for me lately. It just didn’t hold a candle to our expectations of Three Pigs Barbecue with their free banana pudding for thru-hikers.

There were lots of interesting rock formations on the ridge walk into town. We stopped for lunch overlooking Roanoke, VA with it’s airport and the Carvin Cove Reservoir, but we were hot, tired, and ready for showers and greasy town food. Can anyone see a theme here? Town and food were all we cared about.

After one more overlook, Gnome started out and said he smelled something funky in the air. Normally, if I’m out front and someone says they smell something funky, I will take ownership. I have a perfect body…for converting anything I put into it, into methane. I think I should creat a vehicle that would run off of a gas collection probe shoved up the drivers rectum. To refuel, all you have to do is eat McDonalds once every other day.

There was a little debate when we got to town—get a hotel, or eat first. We saw a bunch of hikers headed to Three Pigs. Debate settled. After we all left, we saw the owner out front painting over the third pig. From this day forward, Two Pigs in Daleville will be the first hiker stop.

In the end, we just stayed at the Howard Johnson’s because it was the closest hotel to the trail. It was conveniently located across from a Mexican restaurant, so we were good to go. Behold the power of porcelain.

EFG