4/27 Staying with a new friend

16 miles today, 643 miles N
Captains House

Last night was a cold cold night. Not because of the air temp but mainly because I loath to put on wet shirts. I kept my wet shirt to bed to dry it off with my body heat overnight. I did that quite successfully but at a cost of shivering as it wetted my sleeping bag. Then having to use my body heat to dry with that too. Really it isn't as bad as I make it sound, I still slept well and just had to make sure to eat a little something every time I awoke to keep the body stoked. By in the morning I was pleased to report that my shirt and sleeping bag were dry!
Over night though one reason I awoke so much was to natures call. Despite the fact that I had very little water to drink I managed to go 4 times! Arg! I made sure to drink plenty in the morning to make up for it but I am still perplexed where I was storing it before?
I woke up around 7AM to rain and decided that I would read my book and try to wait out the rain until 8:30. 8:30 came and still it was raining. I packed up and took down the tarp in the rain which was not as painful as it sounds but still not fun. What was painful was the rain ceased 15 minutes after I started hiking. Also when I broke camp I found the trail data I had lost in about a minute.
The next shelter was only 3 miles away and I had already done most of the climbing so it only took an hour or so. There was still fog in the air and when I crossed a set of power lines it looked like the wires went 100 feet and then simply disappeared into a wall of cotton. Along the way to the shelter I came across a box turtle in the trail and took some pictures of the armored fellow. At the shelter I took my time eating a hot breakfast(last nights dinner) and spreading my stuff out to dry in the breeze and sun. Johny Hand was there too waiting for the world to dry out before starting on the trail. During then Bowser caught up with me having push off from town that morning. He didn't need to dry out so he took off and I spent the rest of the day in pursuit. The bulk of the afternoon was done up on a ridgeline and I was ambling along slowly as I do after town days. Along the way I came across a astonishingly tame deer near the Allegheny Trail Junction. I swear I could have petted him. Usually I see deer mainly as tails.
It is very clear that around here one stands on the edge of earths crust. The ridge line for days has always had a slope to the right and cliff to the left. The trail runs along and frequently on top of the edge on limestone that used to lie 1000s of feet below when the land was a flat ocean.
The end of the day was supposed to be a steep decent followed by a steep climb going from on ridge to a river and back up to the next ridge line. At the river I came across a junction. Two miles ahead a bridge had gotten washed out a couple years ago and the replacement was not yet finished. As a result there was a on road bypass or if one didn't mind getting their feet wet and the water level was low one could ford the river crossing. I chose to do the later. Although I appreciate it that almost everything is bridged on the AT sometimes I think the trail is a little too built up and it is nice to have a "real" water crossing. Along the stretch of trail to the washed out bridge I came across trail magic, pops left in the river to cool and a note. On the note it mentioned that if one needed help they could cross the river and go to the grey house directly across and see Captain. As soon as I saw the name I knew I had to cross an pay a visit and say thank you and hi to the man who was so nice a few days back. The point I chose to ford was probably a bad choice as the water got very deep (hip level) suddenly 5 feet from the other bank soaking me from the waist down but I made it safely as the current wasn't very strong.
Captain was home and he welcomed me in. In the end I spent the night and we stayed up late talking about hiking, photography, and gear. I also got to pay back his kindness by fixing up a couple things on his new computer. I also took advantage of his internet access to order a hammock to shipped to me up the trail.
Thank you Captain!
I slept very restfully on his couch but I had an early morning coming up to make up for the last two short days.

4/26 Short and wet

3.0 miles today, 626 miles N
Campsite before Rice Field Shelter

Well today was almost a zero but finally after a trip to Hardy's I decided I was ready for the trail. I was always planning on going out today but it rained most of the day and I was drawn in by the urge to get my journals published and up to date. As a result I spent the morning on the phone and resupplying food. Then in the afternoon I had a bad mexican lunch (My kingdom for a taqueria). I caught up Bowser and McGyver when they were going to lunch and McGyver and I took care of getting stove fuel, sending home my winter stuff, and looked around at the Andrew Johnson History Museum in town. The museum had lots of neat items but did a very poor job of making them interesting. It was interesting to see things from the civil war era. It was obvious there is a different perspective. Dairy Queen was next. Then I updated my journals. Finally it was 6:00 and I started on my way out of town. All this while it was raining outside which I think largely contributed to procrastination about getting on the trail. We while I was out the rain didn't let up a bit. The first couple miles were not bad but I was mostly on roads or fairly flat terrain. However when the hill climbing started between my full pack and rain jacket I started stewing in my own sweat. Finally I decided if I was going to get wet anyhow I should be cooled by it an took off my rain gear. I assumed I would be able to hike until 8:30 when it normally gets dark but a thick fog rolled in causing me to take out my headlamp at 7:45. I followed the trail fairly easily. However I foolishly only brought a liter of water with me from town. When I realized tonight's planed shelter's water source was .4 miles away one way I decided to pick up water along the way. I passed a stream a while before this realization that was listed but there was a campsite with a spring ahead so I pushed on through the rapidly darkening fog. I found the campsite but there was no spring to be found. I couldn't see far in the fog so I had to search the mountain around the campsite inch by inch. After 20 minutes of no luck I gave up and headed back out to AT to get to the next shelter. Almost immediately I came across the spring for the camp site! It was on the AT and about 100 yards up the trail. I filled up and pushed on. It was then that I realized I was missing my zip-lock bag with my trail data in it. With out that I wouldn't know how far away anything was. I turned around and went looking for it back by the campsites. I spent maybe 10 minutes searching the campsite but I realized the fog was so thick that I probably wouldn't be able to spot it unless I stepped on it. I decided I would camp out here and look for it in the morning light. Meanwhile it was still pouring putting my tarp pitching to the test. I am happy to report that my tarp is deflecting the wind and rain quite well and despite the fog I was still able to find a spot where the water drained away well. I decided I don't feel like a hot dinner so I am snacking and enjoying a book I picked up from a Hiker Box, "It wasn't funny when it happened". It is a collection of short travel stories.

3/25 Town Walk

8.2 miles hiked today, 622.1 miles N
Pearisburg, VA

Today was a very short hiking day when it came to trails but a long day when it came to city walking. My load light having ran out of food minus the two tortillas and a energy bar that I had for breakfast. McGyver and my climb down from the camp site was initially disappointingly uphill hill going up and over a few 300' climbs but after that it was steep down hill. We got on the trail around 8:15 and in town by 11:00. The last 1600' foot decent took all of 30-45 minutes. Then the real hiking began. The downtown is up hill about a mile from the trail and so we had to walk that. Along the way we caught breakfast II at a Hardies. Then I checked into a hotel. Across the street a grocery and a discount market making resupplying easy. Next we went to the Goodwill across the street and I picked up a bathrobe for $3.50 to wear while doing my laundry. Back the hotel to take showers and then out to do laundry. That was a real relief as I was getting seriously gross! Then we walked the 2 miles to the hostel where McGyver was staying by ways of a Pizza Hut and Walmart. The hostel was very nice, one of the nicest thus far with plush beds and a very nice cozy space for people to lounge. We ran into some friends. Among them was Dirty Blond, Backbend, and Bowser. I hung out there maybe two hours and then headed back to my room to sort through my gear and make my phone calls. In the end I have walked about 6 miles in town. So much for my short day.

4/24 Taking it easy, sorta

14.2 miles hiked today, 613.9 miles N
Doc Knob Shelter

Last night I slept like baby. There were no shelter mice, it was warm, and the waterfall created a environment of white noise where nothing could disturb me. I got started about 9 AM and did the easy hike to Wapiti Shelter of only 6 miles. Along the way I ran into Invisible Man and we hiked the last mile together. We arrived during a drizzle and I took that as an oppertunity to take a long lunch. While rlaxing the shelter filled up with other other lunchers. McGyver arrived and I found out Bowser was taking easy for the sake of his knee and was a ways behind. Together McGyver and I pushed on and fortunatly the rain had decided to stop. Just before we left I got to meet Wingheart and Caveman who I had been reading about in the journals for the last couple weeks. They had stopped in Bland, VA and I had over taken them.
I found out from MyGyver my fears were misplaced and that the church group was very nice and not pushy at all. They had served an awesome breakfast. Oh well. Still I got to keep my schedual and take it easy so I am pretty pleased.
The section from Wapiti Shelter to Doc Knob was among the most challenging trail thus far. It was annoyingly rocky with almost no patchs of safe and easy footing for the whole 8.4 mile distance. Along the way we came across outlooks where the rock hung over the edge of the mountain hanging one over the void and putting us over top of the trees. We took great advantage of these to relax from the trail and soak in the sunny views. I especially like hanging my legs over the edge of the ledges to allow my feet to streach out.
We got to Doc Knob Shelter about an hour before dark. The shelter is located on one of those rocky slopes where a rive runs just below. As a result the ground below is wet but our water source is only 30' away in the bottom of a gap in the rocks. This is a nice change from the rather disant water sources of the last few shelters.

------------------------------
Get your service for FREE when you refer friends and family to PocketMail!

4/23 Dismal Campsite

19.6 miles hiked today, 599.7 miles N
Dismal Falls

I woke this morning with a sore left hip. This is a bit better than I was yesterday where a lot more was sore but I still resolved to take it easy and not push myself. I started out with a full load of water but again I was along the top of a ridge and as a result used all of my water before the next water stop. On the up side though I had to carry a lot of water I was nearly out of food so that didn't burden me much. The terrain was very flat at the top of the ridge line and I took it easy but still made about 3 mph.
I caught up with Invisible Man who gets hiking by 6:30AM and passed him at the next shelter where he was spending the night. Since I was so low on food I made a .4 mile detour to a small grocery where I got lunch and bought enough food to get me to Pearisburg.
I don't want to stress my joints which are still tender and so I decided to stop short of the next shelter by camping at Dismal Falls, a sight to behold and hear. I made dinner under the tarp and then the time for me to wash had arrived. I had felt gross with salt stains on all my clothes and backpack and so dirty I have dirt in my elbow pits. I took the quiet and lonely campsite as a opportunity to wash my shorts and do some very quick washing in the very cold stream.

Resupply

Here is my next mail stop.
People who want to send or coordinate care packages, if you set the first line of your comments to "Tim don't read" I will erase the comment before reading any more.

Again thank you to anyone sending or even thinking of sending a care package.

Below is the addressing information. Please send packages at least 7-10 days in advance. Also people seem to like my last name "Laurence" written on all sides of the box.

--Grasshopper

Ashley Tim Laurence/Grasshopper
Expected Arrival Date 5/15/2007
C/O Evergreen Outfitters
26 N. Broad St.
Luray, VA 22835

------------------------------
Get your service for FREE when you refer friends and family to PocketMail!

4/22 Sore but fast

24.1 miles hiked today, 581.5 miles N
Helveys Mill Shelter

This morning started out great. I awoke to an orange streaked horizon with a warm glow of light reaching up into the still dim and murky sky. The tarp positioning was perfect and it was a real pleasure to watch the sun slowly rise without having to even remove my arms from my sleeping bag. I took a few photos but I was lazy and never got any of the sun over the horizon. I napped for a little while longer and then got up and packed on the early side. I think I was out of camp by 8AM.
I think my early start was in large part possible because the weather was simply perfect. I t was maybe mid 50s. I think we have passed the point where there is that shock of having to leave a warm sleeping bag when it is time to get up. The trail along the ridgeline from the shelter was very level but rocky so I made good time. However I think I should have taken it easy as by lunch my hips and knees were sore. I think the rocks were too soon for my still stiff joints. :( I am going to make sure to keep an eye out for that in the future.
The view from the ridge was much the same as yesterday; neighboring ridgelines with lush green pastures and an occasional road tucked in between. None of the view were free of tree obstructions so I couldn't get any good photos.
As I was again on the top of a very level ridgeline the water sources were few and far between. Fortunately last night I knew this was going to happen and had treated extra water. Still it is tough to cover near 10 miles with 3 liters of water, especially on a warm day. I did good running out about 2 miles short of the next source.
When I started to descend to the side of the ridge and the water sources became much more numerous then. The first was an underground river. I was standing in a boulder field and could hear the sound of gurgling water everywhere but could see any open pools. I looked around an found a gap in the rock where I could dip a bottle and chugged a liter of water before moving to the next, I knew near, water source. It was a stream where I could more easily fill my water bladder. After that I came acrosds a large stream and I took the oppertunity to rinse out some of my clothes down stream from the trail and let them dry tied to the pack.
At Jenkins I hung out with pretty much the same bunch of hikers as I did at the shelter in the morning and we all enjoyed our much needed break. The privy out back was something to behold. A pedistal on a platform with no walls just 30 yards behind the shelter. Later I heard this was becuase of ADA. Invisable Man was saying he had heard that the reason we have been seeing all the new shelters build with ramps, wide aisles, and grabber bars was because any structure with walls and a rough was mandated to be ADA compliant, even if it is the middle of the woods accessible only by rough trail. At Jenkins the trail maintainers decided to avoid this complication by loosing the walls.
In the shelter there was a sign announcing that a local church picks people up from the next crossing, feeds them breakfast, and shuttles around as needed. I had enough food to make it to a small grocery and after Fal and Hercules I didn't feel much like being preached too so I decided to push on while everyone took a short day to wait out the breakfast.
The trail from there was very fast and easy and I made good time and covering a great distance easily. One reason was a highwater reroute that was along a old level logging roadbed. The trail normally should have gone down hill and navigated a river valley but it was closed and as I later found out one of the key bridges was washed out. I did an easy st reach that led to a steep down hill and into a road where I had to walk for about a mile to meet up with the junction of the next part of the AT.
There I saw the washed out a bridge or at least the impressive 5-8 foot talk concrete pillars it had rested on. Whatever had washed it away must have been massive. A party was going on at the ruins and they invited me to relax and join them for a pop. They turned out to be a lively bunch of locals and we talked for long while. They heard about my food situation and the story behind my trail name and gave me a whole bunch of food to augment my dwindling stock. They gave me some energy bars which were very yummy, a orange which was divine, carrots, and rice cakes. The rice cakes were a bit of surprise in that I assumed they were not going to be very good hiking food but they turned out not only to be very tasty but also packed with calories. They have around 130 calories per ounce and have a decent mix of fat to carbs. I didn't catch all of their names but two of them were Captain and Moma Hen. I hope I can see them again when I get to Pearisburg.
Since I had pushed ahead of the big crowd for the day I had the benefit of seeing a wild turkey which hadn't had a chance to be spooked by a previous hiker. It was off to the side of the trail and when it heard me lept up and flew down the side of the mountain.
The end of the day was largely disappointing because it involved a long downhill on road to get to a bridge to cross a major highway. That surface is very hard on hiking feet which are used to irregular surfaces. At the bottom of the road walk it was a short and steep climb, 30-45 minutes to get to the shelter where I have found Invisible Man, a great person to spend the night with. As it seems is the case with most of the rest of the day I was out of water so I had to make a about half mile round trip down and up 200' feet to the water source. I have learned that when the guide book doesn't venture a guess as to how far away the water is it means I don't really want to know. I had actually passed others earlier but I try my best not to drink any water down slope from a road.
It looks like it is going to be another warm night.

4/21 Great camp site

21.1 miles hiked today, 557.7 miles N.
Chestnut Knob Shelter


Today I got a late start. When I awoke I found the camp site was empty. First McGyver and then Bowser had separately gotten up, packed, and were gone before I woke up at 8:30 AM. One of them was nice enough to leave my food bag from the bear hang under my tarp. I packed up in a half and hour and started with the first stiff climb of the day. In the end it took me until lunch to catch up with them a couple shelters out.
Most of the day lacked water sources being generally on the top of the ridge line. As a result I started out with a gallon of water and ran out an hour before my next chance for refill. To make matters worse the temps are really warming up. In the end today I drunk 9 liters of water.
I caught up with Bowser and McGyver at Knot Maul Branch Shelter. We ate together and then got a move on, we had a lot of distance to cover before dark. We went down to a river and through a cow pasture before our final climb of the day. This one had actual cows in it and they were right on the trail. The cows seemed spooked by us walking through their pasture and we had to make a wide detour around them.
I have learned to really dislike rivers as they are almost always a low point and this one was no exception because we had to end our day with a 2000' climb into the shelter. About a mile short of the shelter we passed a pond, the closest reliable water source for the shelter and filled up. The pond was a blast to look at as it was packed with fish and salamanders swimming around. We marveled for a few minutes and I took some bad photos before we pushed on.
The pond was in the middle of a roughly 2-3 mile section where the mountain was mostly bald except for very nasty looking thorny brush keeping up on the trail. We did get to peek as some ranges and the one to the south that we had just come down from was stunning. It looked like a perfect straight line if peaks, just like some had poured rocks into piles every half mile or so. It was so regular it was like looking at an old map where they draw mountains as a series of inverted overlapping Vs.
When we got to the shelter it was pretty full so I elected to pitch my tarp. The shelter is a awesome looking stone one on the very top of a peak giving a good vantage point if it wasn't for the trees. I found a clearing in the trees to the east and set up my tarp to take advantage of it with the west end low and east end of the tarp near horizontal. Hopefully I will wake up in time to see the sunrise. It looks like it will be a very warm night.

4/20 Short and fun

13.4 miles hiked today, 536.6 miles N
Water source for Davis Path Shelter

Today was a bit of a short day when it comes to distance but it was a full day. I ate my leftover pizza for breakfast which may not have been a a good idea as it didn't settle great when I hit the trail a few minutes later. Hiwever it was a good hiking day starting out both not too hot but not cold enough to warrant pants. Bowser, McGyver, and I hiked out together with McGyver setting a fast pace. There wasn't to to speak of, climbing up, a lunch break, and going back down. Then we came upon the "Settlers Museum". It was odd because there was a campus of hundred year plus old buildings from an early farm with signs and tools but no one around. My guide described this as a living museum with trades people doing demonstrations. After spending about 45 minutes satisfying our curiosity by poking around we got back on the trail.

Shortly after were came across the front entrance of the museum where the people were. The was a father and daughter in period dress who did an excellent job of acquainting us with the history of the area. The father was first talking us through the displays about the origins of the population of Appalachia, Germans and Scottish. One of the more interesting things was the origin of Pennsylvania Dutch. That is actually inaccurate because the origins are in Germany. The confusion came from when they were asked where they were from. They said Deutschland which the Ellis Island staff took be "Dutch Land". The girl talked about the clothes and told us how linen was made, a very complex and laborious process to put it mildly. Then the girl took us to the one room school house nearby. She was maybe around 10 and as sharp as a tack. She talked about how children were educated and was exceptional when it came to answering all sorts of questions. On the wall of the school house there were rules for teachers posted and one I found interesting was if the woman teacher got married she lost her job. After that wonderfully educational hour and half break we got back on the trail again.
From there we went up and down easy rolling hills and through open fields. From my compass bearings and general terrain I think we were transferring from one mountain range to another. For the last few days we have had a few spells where we started out on a 3000' range, then dropping down for a distance, then back up all while heading mostly easy and never while following a ridgeline.
Today we crossed a highway before the next ridge and there was a gas station where we stopped to top off our food and get some extra calories before we made it an early night a couple miles later.
Despite the short and mostly easy day I am shot. We have a campfire going where McGyver and Bowser are roasting hot dogs they got a couple days ago.

4/19 Rain and pizza

14.5 miles hiked today, 523.2 miles N
Partnership Shelter

I woke at one of the nicest hostels thus far and ended at one of the nicest shelters. What makes the hostel nice you ask. It is not the beds or phone. It is not bathrooms or showers. It has heat! I slept warm and cozy on the floor of a small room last night.
After that I packed up and went in search of my trail data that Dana had mailed to me. It wasn't at the Troutdale Trading Post but that had recently changed hands and names so I suspected it may be at the post office. I headed down the only major street I could find and sure enough about a block later I found the the postoffice. To my delight they did have the letter with my data and a candied heart from Dana. Thank you!
I sent home my book "In A Sunburnt Land" as I had finished it (very good) and headed over to the old "Trading Post", now Jerry's, for breakfast. I got a couple biscuts with egg, cheese, and tomato which turned out very good and also a side of tater tots(hash browns). Jerry let me use their computer and I took care of a bunch of bussiness and caught up on my email. Ted, my old boss, had some questions so I gave him a buzz and it sounds like things are doing ok in my absence. Jerry's wife (sorry, I forgot your name) gave me a ride back to the trail. There fellow thru hiker .357 and his family were set up doing trail magic. Bowser and McGyver where there relaxing and I joined them. I seem to have been the bringer of rain though as the sky clouded up about 1/2 hour later. The hike from there on was easy minus the streach if an hour or so of cold hail and rain that pelted us. My rain jacket turned out to do very little so I got soaked through. :( I will have to replace that when !
I get a chance. Bowser is a nut since he wore no rain gear and was only annoyed by the sting of the hail on the back of his neck. In the end we made it to the shelter with time to spare. Oh, what a shelter! It is about 100 yards from the road and forest service guest center so it has a shower, a phone with free local calls, and as a result pizza delivery. I ordered a salad, pizza, garlic bread, and desert. They forgot to deliver the salad but the rest of the food was welcomed. I ate till I was on the edge of sick and ended up saving the rest for breakfast. The shelter is huge but there were a lot of people there so it is mostly full. About 10 or so were drinking heavly and generally being annoying but they left to go to a bar so we have peace for a little while. It is really starting to warm up around here, I think I will be able to get rid of my cold weather gear soon.

------------------------------
Refer-A-Friend to PocketMail today and a receive $50 in service or $25 in CASH!

worth 1000

They say a photo is worth a thousand words; well there are so many photos I am not adding, I wanted to write down a little extra about what he photographed on his way. Some of which he talks about in the blog, some he doesn't
Photo notes:
3/25 Great photos not included... the cabin an island; plenty of good ones of the dam. I kind of want to put all of those up, but that's just the engineer side of me.
Total for day 14 28 photos
3/26 lots of scenic views this day. I try to include the "weird" stuff to keep it interesting, not much of that today
Total for day 15 17 photos
2/27 I think Tim's camera is broken; double the normal amount of photos, and the blog wasn't a 2-part. If you want to see more of that tower/station just say so! Once again I had to fight my inner engineer who said put up 10 of them! There are about a dozen photos of that thing. Some of my favorite scenic photos are on this day. I really wanted to include one of the dead tops of the trees, but felt this post was pretty full, and it looks a lot like the first photo on the next day.
Total for day 16 41 photos
3/28 That little shutter bug! plenty of good ones again; but a lot! I assume there is no problem with putting up photos of your trail buddies?
Total for day 17 43 photos
3/29 Can you add any info on that twisted metal? looks like part of an aircraft. Forgive me for including a few signs; this one is pretty cool. There were plenty of odd photos this day, i was quite happy!
Total for day 18 31 photos
3/30 Max Patch rocks! You don't actually see much of the opened field here, but you'll get the idea on 4/5.
Total for day 19 34 photos
3/31 First Video! was it a fungus? wet squishy moss? My brother said a fish! Next time why not include an audio comment
Total for day 20 15 photos 1 movie
4/1 mixed up my days here: ignore file names from here to day 29
Total for day 21 3 photos
4/2 There were a lot of that bug, and two of the mouse. Wow, you sure could get in close
Total for day 22 31 photos
4/3 More shots of a tower... doesn't that food look good? Poor poor Timmy, they have you spoiled
Total for day 23 15 photos
4/4 Total for day 24 5 photos
4/5 Another good selection of photos this day; Looks like most of the day was walking through that frozen field, however the time stamps on the photos show only 3 hours between first frozen scene to last.
Total for day 25 26 photos
4/6 Total for day 26 3 photos
4/7 these photos speak for themselves
Total for day 27 11 photos
4/8 lots more opened field
Total for day 28 19 photos 1 movie
4/9 There is one photo for this day...
Total for day 29 1 photo

4/18 OMG Ponies!

21.2 miles hiked today, 508.7 miles N
Troutdale Baptist Church AT Hostel

Last nights worries were ill placed. Despite the banging of the roof I slept great. Bowser saw ponies by the Thomas Knob water source last night but I was too tired to look. I was pleased to find they were still there this morning. The Forest Service puts them up there to keep the grass down. They were soo cute. I took a whole bunch of photos of them. They even would eat right out of my hand. So cool! There were about 6 ponies. After that it was a overcast but very beautiful hike in the highlands. The ground was generally rolling and grassy with small rocks all over and large rocky spikes sticking up every so often. It is hard to describe but imagine a mountain range which has been buried to within 100 feet of it's tops and that is roughly what it looked like. The plant life was largely grass but there was occassionaly trees and scruby brush that added character. This gave a view that it has been written reminds people of Montana. The tempatures dropped below freezing last night and that made for fast progress in the morning as the snow was hard enough to walk on. I ran into another herd of ponies, about 15, that were feeding along the trail and horseing along. Again I spent a lot of time playing woth these and taking pics. Around noon I entered the trees for most of the rest of the day with only occasional balds giving views. Since I needed to make it to Troutdale before 6PM this was a good thing to keep me on schedual. The weather warmed to a comfy 60 and the snow started to melt. The creeks along the way were all running high on the last bits of snow and that made for more wet trail. In the end I made it on time. In Troutdale I got a shower at the hostel and had dinner at Jerry's, the site of the old Troutdale Trading Post which I was looking for. Jerry turned out to be real nice and very interested in helping out hikers. He let me use his computer and I helped him find a supplier for some the more sought after hiker supplies. Back the hostel I just discovered they have heat. Yeah!

4/17 In a daze

22 miles hiked today, 487.5 miles N
Thomas Knob Shelter

Today my cold was better though not totally gone. Still I was low energy from the start. I think it is my body recovering from town food. I spent the day in a daze. As a result I didn't observe much.
What I did see was;
Three deer in Deep Gap. The funny thing was I thought it was Deer Gap all day until I was double checking something in my guide and noticed my mistake. Can I see the future or is it coincidence? You decide.
I caught up with Bowser who was in the daze too and naping.
Along the trail two of my favorite plants, heather and moss, were in abundance which was a bright spot in my day.
As the day involved 3000 feet of elevation gain I saw more snow at the higher elevations. First it was small pockets hideing in the shade of a tree. Eventually they turned into shallow drifts along the trail slowly melting and leaving a thin layer of mud or water to slop through. At some points it would build up to the point that I would have trouble telling the trail from a creek.
The day was filled with strong winds and though I had orginally planed to camp on Briar Ridge but the wind and exposure made me push the extra mile to Thosmas Knob. It is an improvment in some ways but it is on the edge of a meadow and collects a lot of wind. Also part of its roof has worked lose and is banging every time the wind gusts, about once a minute. I can handle the wind but I hope the roof doesn't keep me up.

4/16 Stuffiness

6 miles hiked today, 465.5 miles N

Today was one of those days one rather skips. The cold I have not only didn't get better, it got worse. I feel like my nose is a faucet and my energy is zaped. I decided that in the end I would rather be sick on the trail than in town so I pushed off...at 5PM.
Before that I took care of my resupply and laundry which the rain yesterday had prevented. I also took two showers to try to clear the congestion with no luck. I did hang out with a hiker of like heart, Li. We both are ultralighters and go deep into gear and technique. He is planing on doing the AT and CDT this year to complete his triple crown (he already did the PCT), hiker lingo for completing the three major N-S trails. He had extra water treatment chemicals which he gave me. That was great since I needed to buy some after I left my iodine at Kincora. Thanks Li!
McGyver has gone missing, his pack is still in the Hostel but he is nowhere in town.
My two hour hike was tiring but nice. I am back on the trail. I am setup at a nice but accessable campsite just off the trail. It is about 5 minutes from the road and in sighte of the Virgina Creeper bike trail. However it has soft pine neddle duff for bedding. The river is just the other side of the bike trail and itKs sound fills the air except where crickets and birds manage to poke through. I am sure I will sleep well.

4/15 Zero in Damascus

0 miles hiked today, 459.5 miles N
Damascus, VA

Today I took a zero. I was going to take care of resupply but it rained pretty hard most of the day until the rain turned to snow. I spent some time reading and went out to breakfast lunch and dinner with everyone in town. Breakfast was a greasy spoon, Dairy King, and lunch and dinner were italian, Sicily's. Both were quite good. The high point was McGyver and I helping Bowser drop 5 or so pounds from his pack. I spent a long time with him telling him which straps, pockets, and buckles he could live without on his backpack. In the end it only removed about a pound from his pack but it was fun. I also made a new windscreen from a foil baking pan since my old one was developing holes.
My heel looks much better in part to the pair of Crocs which I have been lounging in town with. Snack Break told me someone had left them in the hiker box and they fit great. My cold has gotten worse though, I am hoping it near the end.
Oh I also moved from Daves place, $10 a night, to The Place which is only $4. Everyone seems to be there anyhow so it is more social.

4/14 Easy hike into town

18.3 miles hiked today, 459.5 miles N
Damascus, VA

I seem to have great luck. It rained a lot over night but it had stopped, minus drizzle, this morning. The day was mostly spent along treed in ridgeline. The trees didn't have their leaves yet though so I still could look down to the left into the wooded valley and beyond to the mountains floating in pools of mist. To the right to the lush green flats where people have set up homes and farms. It was mostly overcast with very strong winds from the east that could blow you sideways at times. The trees produced alarming creaks a groans but they didn't break while I was watching. When the trees fall into each other the rubbing of branches can produce sounds from that of a hinge needing oil to that of someone shrieking. They all keep the ears twitchy and alert.
The air was moist and refreshing like entering a cave on a hot day.

The land has emerged from last weeks snow in shades of green again. Here the season seems to have fallen back a couple weeks with the same flowers just blooming again and sprouts pushing their way through the dirt and leaves.

I caught up with Doc Johnson and we hiked together swiftly to the VA border where we stoped to take pictures of our selves with the sign. From there it was only miles left til Damascus. The sun came out and weather warmed to near 70 I stripped down to my shorts but the wind kept my wind jacket on. We made it to town around 4PM and I popped into the offiters to get my resupply box. James sent me some awesome loot; Pemmican Bars, Snickers, hygienic goods, and a letter; and my parents hooked me up with 25 of my moms ultra rich brownies. Yum.
I checking to Daves place which turned out to be a bag disappointment. I was expecting a private room with but I found a two person room with a sleeping pad on a wooden bunk. Also they were out of soap and water in the shower. At least my roommate was Bowser.
Everyone was in town but I spent most of the night on my own trying to finish my book. Hell Bender is from around here and was having a big party but the promise of fried chicken caused me to decline. :( I hear it was a big blast but I wanted something other than side dishes and beer for dinner. That is probably good as I am feeling under the weather. We all seem to have the same cold and I hoping a easy night with lots of sleep may help me recover along with being easy on the heel.

4/13 Friday the 13th

21.2 miles hiked today, 441.2 miles N
Double Springs Shelter

This entry will be somewhat short. I accidentally deleted my journal entry so I am doing this from memory.

I got a fairly early start this morning, somewhere around 8:30. My heel was a little painful but not enough to really hurt my pace. I did had to stop three times to rebandage it though.
The morning was cool so I had to keep moving to warm up but otherwise it was perfect hiking weather, high 40s to low 50s. The trail hit the earthen dam that created Watuaga Lake fairly early and after that there was a easy climb. Then back to the rolling ridge line around 4000' with no major rises or drops for the rest of the day. Bowser and I played catch most of the day. At Vandeventer I took a small lunch break and then stretched out in the sun on the rocky ridge line behind the shelter. From there I could survey the sparsely populated green flat below and soak in the sun for warmth.
After that I was heading north along the ridge line when suddenly I heard a pack of dogs barking up a storm just behind me coming up the other side of the ridge. The only thing I could think of was it a pack of wolves or foxes and there only was one of me. I turned and faced the sound and prepared to defend myself if needed. Then I saw the packof ...... adorable golden lab puppies maybe 5 months old. I went in for a close look and there appeared to be 7 golden lab pups and one black lab that was maybe 7 months old. They all saw me and started defending their territory, a random patch of woods and trail. The barked their heads off and ran back and forth trying to scare me off. They all looked very well fed, no scars or injuries, and had no collars. I watched them for a few minutes before heading north again as they descended the steep slope cutting through the trees. I assume they broke free or someone abandoned them in the woods.
After that experience I had a fairly mundane hike. At a rest stop Bowser caught up with me and we rolled into shelter together around 7 after having a long conversation about politics.
Camp was uneventful until Dr. Johnson arrived.
He was retired professor of geology who was coming back to try his second thru hike of the AT. He was a fun guy and we spent many hours talking. Around 9 it started raining but we were warm and safe in the shelter.

4/12 Limping along

10.7 miles hiked today, 420 miles N
Watauga Lake Shelter

Today started early and well. Last night SnackBreak whipped up one heck of a meal and for breakfast she made a repeat appearance! French toast and quiche enough and then some for 14 hungry hikers. After that fine breakfast I settled down and resolved to catch up on my journals. That took me a good long while but finally I finished them around noon. I looked at my foot and the heel was still raw but was improved since yesterday. I think I may have another week before it is going to be up to a hard hike and bandage free but until then I think I can cover some reasonable distance if I take it easy and pay close attention.
Meanwhile everyone else left early trying to make the easy 50 miles to Damascus quickly. I took off with Bowser at around 1 P.M. and we hiked together all day. The first part of the trail was flat but soon we found ourselves in the bottom of a gorge looking up at Laurel Falls, a wonderful sight. Then we strolled along the gorge bottom along the idilic Laurel Creek. Along the way there was evidence of one seriously busy beaver with dozens if not hundreds if trees with gnawed bases near the river. After that it was a stiff climb and then easy up and down that would charterize most of the distance between here and Damascus; gain 200', lose 200', and repeat. The day ended with a decent into lake Watauga and around it shores where the shelter was to be found. We rolled in early, about 5 and I used the extra time to make an effort to finish my book "In a Sun Burnt Land" since I have been hauling it around for the last 5 weeks. I am spending the night with the Goats, Big Gulp(whom I will now call a Goat), Ninja(ditto), and Bowser.

A hiker lingo

AT:
Short of Appalachian Trail

"White Blaze" or "Blaze":
A white strip of paint about 6 inches high that denotes the Appalachain Trail

Double Blaze:
Two blazes one above the other that indicates a juntion with another trail or turn in the current trail.

Blue Blaze:
Indicates a side trail. They usually take someone to scenic spots, shelter, or water.

Yellow Blaze:
Usually referes to a road.

Zero:
A day where one does not hike the AT for any signifigant distance.

Nero:
A day where one spends most of the time in town only hiking out a short distance at the end or in a short distance at the begining of the day.

------------------------------
Sent via PocketMail
Email Anywhere
www.pocketmail.com

Resupply

Here is my next mail stop.
People who want to send or coordinate care packages, if you set the first line of your comments to "Tim don't read" I will erase the comment before reading any more.

Again thank you to anyone sending or even thinking of sending a care package.

Below is the addressing information. Please send packages at least 7-10 days in advance. Also people seem to like my last name "Laurence" written on all sides of the box.

--Grasshopper

Ashley Tim Laurence/Grasshopper
Expected Arrival Date 4/28/2007
C/O Outdoor Trails
Botetourt Commons
28 Kingston Drive
Daleville, VA 24083

------------------------------
Sent via PocketMail
Email Anywhere
www.pocketmail.com

Your questions, my answers

Q Do you have a trail name?
A Yes, Grasshopper based on the fable of the Grasshopper and the Ants. I have been known to hike for periods without food.

Q What is working and what is not?
A Things that have worked:

Layering my sleeping bag and quilt did great in the 10s.

My V8 stove using the directions from Zen Stoves has performed great. Also I am using a keg can pot with a bail handle to great success.

I have had problems with my Lipton Noddle dishes not soaking well. Also they don't seem to be doing great things for my taste buds.

The sea to summit soap leaves I bought soap leaves have worked like a dream for me.

The ATC Data book disappointed me. It lacks a lot of important info such as elevations for most points. the Wingfoot guide is much better. I am rippping the realavant data pages out for upcomming sections.

My REI Peak UL trekng poles seemto not like the cold. I have now trashed my second pair.

Injinui(SP?) toe socks feel great but with my wide feet the extra space they add between toes causes me problems.

My Gossamer Gear Spintwwin Tarp has been surpriseingly noisy. I need to be very attentive to pitching it well an possably getting ear plugs for windy nights.

Q Why am I writting this post?
A I can see your comments on my pocketmail but I can't reply directly, I can only post.

------------------------------
Sent via PocketMail
Email Anywhere
www.pocketmail.com

4/11 Heeling

Today was relaxing. I chilled, got my old shoes back, ate, wrote email, talked on the phone, and resupplied. SnackBreak, Ninja, a couple of the Goats, and Big Gulp came in tonight which was nice. My feet are still tender but feeling little better. It rained a bit so it was nice to be out of that.
On reflection I think I am a real fan of winter hiking. I am told we experainced record lows while we were in Stan Murry but I think i stayed pleanty comfortable. I look forward to winter hiking again soon though with snow shoes next time. The world seem seren and peacful and the snow coveres everything with white and soft curves. I think I am hooked.

------------------------------
Sent via PocketMail
Email Anywhere
www.pocketmail.com

4/10 Huston, we have a shoe problem

24.3 miles hiked today, 409.3 miles N
Kincora hiker Hostle

This morning I was the last up. I got packed up and McGyver and I set off around 8:30. Last night I heard a mouse scrathing around but we seemed to be fortunate as no one complained of it molesting in the night. My shoes were still fitting poorly and as the day went on the temps got to around 60. My feet warmed and the blisteres started. The shoe rubbed a real nasty heel blister and brought me to the a stop. I cut out the back of my shoe to get pressure of off my heel but my feet were sliding out on the up hills. Still I was moving better than with the heel in. Finally, though I had enough and just took of the left shoe. My left foot is bigger so it was the only one with dire problems. I kept the socks but other than that nothing else. In the end I hiked without that shoe for 12 miles and it worked out very well until the late afternoon when I think i was just tired and started standing on things that would bruise my foot. I was surprised but the most comfortable srface to walk on was snow. Without the shoe the experiance was very differnt in that I could not look up at all and instead focused completely on the trail. I still made good speed, over 3mph. One thing I did see was Jones Falls which was stunning with icicles and sheets of ice still hanging on at spots. Later we ran into "Invisable Man" in a shelter who was cooking dinner. We elected to make miles and headed on. It was 6.3 miles to Kincora and we had almost 2 hours of light to do it in.
Next we came across a grassy gap where Bacon was streached out reading the Hobbit. There was a blue blazed trail off to the left and my guide said that it was Coon Den Falls which ment we were two miles to the road. Two miles later I come across a trail to the right signed as Coon Den Falls. It was getting dark and I was annoyed the guide was wrong before. I put on my headlight and tried to make the most of the 10 minutes of sun light I had left. It was almost completely downhill so it was very fast hiking for me. On the way I saw the tail of a White Tail Deer fleeing from the clank of trecking poles on rocks. Finally about 20 minutes after twilight I reached the road. The only problem was that there were no blazes so I must had diverted from the trail at some point to get there. I walked up the road a ways and found the trail about 50 yards away and started back up to the junction I had missed. Then I sat down and worked on my email as I waited to for McGyver who was having!
shin pains that slowed him down. I hoped I could prevent him from missing the junction in the dark. He caught up abut 15 minutes later and we headed down to the road along the trail this time. Kincora was .2 miles from the trail and McGyver had a resupply box waiting. When we got there we ran into Many Name and Renaissance Man. We were both starving and ordered two large pizza which we devored when they arrived.
I did a foot assment and here is the damage report. On the right foot I have one toe blister but one that is very common for me and causes no serious discomfot. On the left I have the same plus a small blister on the ball of my foot that was annoying but not disabling. A nasty big blister on my heel which is an issues. I going to lose my left ring toe nail as well. Finally there is tenderness and bruising on the bottom of the left foot from stepping on one too many sticks.
I am think I am going to take a zero tomorrow and let thing heal up a bit before pushing for Damascus. Also I will pick my old shoes from the post office which I had bounced forward in case this happened. That is proably one of the wisest things I have done all trip!

4/9 Thawing out

9.9 miles hiked today, 385 miles N
Apple House Shelter

After last night we elected to stay in our sleeping bags a little late not getting out until 9 am. With temps in the low teens last night I had to wake to nature's call. That gave me a tough decsion to make. My shoes were wet and wraped in a trashbag and my socks were dry. I decided to go barefoot and that worked out great. The ground was frozen solid and the snow was so cold it didn't appear to melt under foot in the few seconds I was on it. I went behind the shelter where the snow was blown clear and discovered that the wind was howling. The shelter, it turns out, was perfectly angled to complete shield us from the wind.
Anyhow back to waking up. We got up to 23 degrees but strangly we were pretty warm. The shelter was trashed in the day light with partially eaten mountain house meals all over and bits and pieces of packages. I picked up what I could ad packed it out.
McGyver had left his boots out and they were frozen which were not much fun to put on.
In adjusting my poles for hiking I discovered they were broken. The tip on one pole had snapped off last night and on the other the locking machanism broke just like on the orginal poles. I think they don't like freezing temps. I will swap them out again in a couple weeks when I decide what I want to replace them with and the temps stay above 30.
The hike out of Stan Murry was mostly downhill and trougha lot of snow. That brought us near one of the most unique shelters. It is a huge old barn that they convereted for hiker use. It is two stories with cooking space below and room above enough for at least 40-60 hikers. The only problem was the shelter was very breezy with gaps in the walls and floor. I am glad we didn't end up here as it would have been fridged. The barn was on the top of a long and wide valley which was breath taking! We spent a half hour to hour snacking, thawing McGyver's water filter, and enjoying the view. The snow seems to have really dampered most thru hikers as we saw many fewer thru-hikers than normal. Last night the was a huge night at the barn but it seems they all left the trail as I saw none of them.
On the way out of the barn I came across what I think was a mole. It was about 4 inches long with longish claws and a pointed pink nose nose. I got a couple bad photos but within 30 seconds it had burrowed out of sight. After that we went up Little Hump which was a great high view. We sat behind some rocks to duck the wind and eat a snack. The up to Big Hump witch also offered an astonishing great view. I know this has grown old but you just can't imagine how aswome the views from the top of the Humps are with the balds rolling off into the distance all ringed by a jaged outline of peaks. We spent near an hour on the top laying down to duck the wind and relaxing in the sun. Invisable Man came by and said hi before pushing off. Coming back down the northside we ran into snow but fortunatly the trail was broken and most of the snow melted. Afer that it was an easy rolling downhill into the Shelter.
There we saw Invisable Man and started setting up. As darkness set in Bacon arrive too. Then a hunter came by and we all learned a lot about turkey and deer.

4/8 Part II

After half an hour the sun set and I was worried since it was getting dark and he had no headlight. I grabed his pack and put it on my front and hiked back for him. After a few minutes I ran into him returning with the camera. We turned around and started to cover as much ground as we could before twilight. It was maybe a mile later when we came across a post with a double white blaze, the sign for a junction. McGyver checked the back of the pole and saw a blaze there too so we headed forward. Whenever a tree or post is blazed the blaze is placed on the landmark square on so it will face you when you approach it. This is important in areas such as fields or snow where the only way to devine the trail is to look at the other side of the post and see where the trail is comming from, ie where a southbounder would se the blaze. This post was back blazed to go forward and we followed. After a while of following a good trail with no blazes we decided that turn was proably miss bla!
zed and hiked the eastimated .8 back. In the end we wasted about a half hour going 1.6 though the snow and last scraps of sun light. We put on headlights found the left turn at the mislabled post and head off. We were out of water and were "luck" enough to run into it along the way as in I sinked into soft boggy ground and soaked my feet through. Oh did I mention it was that 23 degrees! We spent about 10 minutes filling up our empty water baldders and headed on. Somehow the only my feet got cold in the break. We charged through waist high drifts towards the campsite. To make progress we often tried to walk around the deeper or uphill drifts but as a result we had to contantly search the woods for the trail. We would go from blazed tree to blazed tree and judge where the trail was by the slope and where trees and plants look disturbed. After and hour or so of this suddenly I came into a blue blaze, the color of a blaze for a side trail. I looked at my data page a found the n!
ext blue blaze trail I was exspecting was the water source for the she
lter we were looking for. We turned around and after minute of searching we found Stan Murry Shelter. If I hadn't seen the blue blaze and instead found a white blaze we would have hiked right by without even knowing it the darknees was so complete snd the snow so deep.
It was 10 PM and neither of us had eaten in hours so we efficently set up camp. I pitched my tarp in the back to help conserve some of the heat as it was already 19 degrees out. McGyver added his rainfly closing one end up to. Next we made dinner. We skipped the bear hang and I crawled into the makeshift space to eat. My shoes were frozen so I couldn't unlace them. I sliped my feet into a trash bag and into my sleeping bag to thaw which they did while I ate. I took the shoes off and left them in the bag and put it in the foot of my sleeping bag. This allowed me to, A. Put my feet up on them to keep them insulated from the cold floor, B) keep them from refreezing making them impossile to put on come morning, c) keep them from soaking my sleeping bag. After that I was exhausted and quickly fell asleep to the feeling of pain in my feet as they warmed.

4/8 Blisters need three things..

14.5 miles hiked today, 375.1 miles N
Stan Murray Shelter

They need wet, friction, and heat. Prevent any one of the three and you won't get a blister. The reason I bring this up is my feet have grown and my shoes are too small. As a result there is a lot of pressure and rubbing. The snow had seen to keeping my feet wet for two days too. However my feet have been freezing as well so no blisters. Given the brutal conditions I hiked in this was one of the nice side effects. I woke at the Greasy Creek Friendly. Last night was spent watching movies and hang out with Invisable Man, Bacon, and Elsy(SP?). After getting up I took a shower, drank some instant water, checked on my shoes and socks drying from yesterday, and made the dinner I didn't eat last night.
The dinner turned out way too salty to the point of turning my stomach for a couple of hours. Glad I didn't have to deal with this in a cold shelter! I dumped out all the seasoning and cheese I could and added a block of plain ramen to dilute.
Breakfast seemed to take forever and then I had to improvise gaiters. I have mesh shoes and my feet were wet and cold all day from the snowmelting into them so barrowed some fabric and safty pins ti
o close up the mesh best I could. In then end McGyver and I got to the trail at 1PM.
The hiking was hard going pushing our way through the snow up hill towards on of the highest peaks on the trail, Mount Roan at 6200'.
The long climb warmed me considerably so I decided to remove my thermal tights. That was proably a por choice because when I got to the top I chilled quickly. The last part of the climb entered a dense pine forest with the trail winding nibbly through the low hanging snow ladden branches, each threating to dump snow down the back of a hiker who is unlucky enough to knock the branch with their backpack. The branches looked like they belonged on the cover of a travel magazine inviting someone to a wintery getaway.
At the top it was windy and chilly. We spent 10-15 minutes relaxing, taking in the clear and expansive view, and eating before I started to chill and we moved on.
Our miles were slow due to the snow and we had to really make a push to get to the next shelter before dark. I stoped for a bathroom break and McGyver kept going thinking I would catch up. I finished and started after him. Shortly I got to a turn where there was a fork and the AT made a sharp left turn. I looked in the snow and it looked like McGyver had gone straight but I couldn't be sure. I shouted his name out a few times to the wind. I decided he would notice he had missed the turn, back up and correct. I hiked slowly and gave him a chace to catch up. As I hiked I looked in the snow for evidence of his passing but the prints were always headed in the wrong direction. Then there was a secion where someone had pulled a sled through. If he had crossed there would be foot steps but I saw only clear. After about 15 minutes I popped out into Carver Gap and the blacktop road there. I decided to wait for McGyver here and sure enough about a minute later he came through but not !
from the trail, he came from the road! He had hiked the trail he was on until it dumped out into the road and yellow blazed to me. We hiked up the otherside of the gap to the top of a stunning bald where we could survey all we had come through and where we would tread soon. On the way up the trail was mostly clear and passable but the north side was completely different. Snow drifts were over our knees at many points and our post holeing slowed us way way down. At one point the drifts were over our waist and we had to crawl on hands and knees using the trecking poles in each hand to keep them above snow. Then into the gap before Jane bald and up the south face which was free of snow from sun exposure. At this time it was 7:30 and the sun was settng fast. Then McGyver realized he was missing his camera. He decided to slackpack back and look for it. I waited for him on top of Jane Bald. I put on my rain gear and started doing streches, jumping jacks, and push-ups to keep war!
m.