5/25 Slacker day

7.9 hiked today, 996.5 miles N, 1177.5 miles left
Balckburn P.A.T.C. Center

Today I did a fairly pathtic day. First off I didn't leave Bear's Den until about 10 A.M. I finished hiking at 2:30 P.M..
I started by eating a pizza for breakfast. I cooked one last night so I could eat it cold today. It tasted great but I fear it was a bad choice for breakfast. True it was better than what I had planned yesterday morning. I had orginally planned on buying the Bear Den's pizza and ice cream special but then the truely special Queen Diva had saved dinner for me. I ate that much superior dinner and saved the pizza. If I had eaten the pizza I would have had the ice cream for breakfast. It sure is nice to a true hiker! :)
When I finally got out I still had to navigate more of the roller coaster though not to much more. It was rocky though and the pizza was not providing me with much quick energy. Also since I was on a high ridgeline the water sorces were few and far between. That was fine as I planed for that and carried a lot from Bear's Den but finally I was running low. I had planned to run low near a couple water source but I forgot to note that the water sorces were far off the trail. I had the option of getting it from a shelter and treating it or the Blackburn AT Center. I decided to go to Blackburn and found a nice porch to take a break at there. Just as I was going to leave Ms. Hopeful(a different hopeful), a caretaker of the center, came back from shopping. She offered me a coke which I was happy to accept. Then she told me they were having a dinner party and invited me. Finally she mentioned breakfast and I pushed right over. I decided I wasn't in a hurry and their porch looked inv!
iting. It had a faboulous view which on clear days one can see D.C.'s monuments. Since my day was so short I still was eager to do something. I helped chop wood and onions around the house/center. The wood was two nearly 3' wide and 2' tall segments of a huge tree that had recently fallen by the building. I learned how to split the log with a sledge and wedges and then chopped the smaller segments down to reasonable size with easy swings of an ax. It was nice to get an upper body workout though I got blisters on my soft palms.
Hopeful's husband, Redwing came home and he was very friendly. I also their adorable infant daughter Hikelet.
For dinner they prepared a very nice spagetti, garlic bread, and salad. It really hit the spot. People had been arriving for a holiday weekend trailwork party along with some thru hikers too. Everyone was very nice and us thru hikers make easy friends. I spent a lot of time talking with Sorefoot who told me exciting and illuminating stories of being a bike cop in D.C.. The holiday guests keep me enaged in interesting conversation until I just faded and passed out on a couch.

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more photos

sorry for the long delay everyone! I got a few more days up; I should have everything from last month done by the end of this weekend

5/24

18.3 hiked today, 988.6 miles N, 1185.4 miles left
Bear's Den Hostel

The day started early at Dick's Dome. Though it looks a little junky I think that the bucky ball shape rocks. The hiking was mostly easy though there is still a lot of posion ivy to watch out for. The combination of the week I was away plus the new lower elevations has really filled in the trees. I went from young leaves and buds straight to a fully enclosed green tunnel surrounding the trail. It was so dense that I never felt the urge to put on my sun hat. That is the first time this trip I have gone hatless for a day.
The trail entered a region known as the roller coster for it's numerous steep 400' acsents and descents. The green tunnel magnifies this with one never having much warning what is ahead. I find hiking it easy though some rocks have been thrown in to trip me up. I manged them fairly well but a few got me so my feet are sore tonight. Along the way I took the time to read my book, a autobiography of Lance Armstrong I picked up in Damascus. In the end I read for two hours while out on the trail and finished it up tonight at the hostel. It started out kind of weak but really improved. The story was very compelling so that made up for some of the stylistic weaknesses.
Something that surprised me was how my publishing my schedual helped me. I have heard many say a schedual was a source of stress but for me just so long at it stays hazy and inexact it allows me to slow down more. I always have been chasing an invisible deadline but now I can get ahead and bank miles to take time off when something interesting comes by.
So you may be wondering why I am back a Bear's Den again. It just happens to be at the right spot and the thought of pizza for dinner was very pleasent. It turned out I wouldn't get my pizza for dinner. Queen Diva had perpared a feast for dinner and saved some for me. She and Snackbreak were exspecting me for lunch but since I had taken a short day yesterday I was running late and I made them worried. Sorry. :( Instead I ate it for dinner. It was excelent Eggplant Parmasen, Bow Tie Pasta with Alfredo Sauce, and a salad. Yum!
I couldn't let go of the pizza dream though so I baked one and I will have cold pizza for breakfast.
One last thing I forgot to mention a couple days ago, when I finished building that bridge they let anyone who wanted to to paint their very own blaze on the new trail we had just built. Mine looks great.

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5/23 Don't rush

15.1 hiked today, 970.3 miles N, 1203.7 miles left
Dick's Dome Shelter

Today started badly, got worse, and then better. I woke to Snackbreak saying that she and our ride to the trailhead were leaving in 25 minutes. That gave not enough time to get ready and pack sesenably. I ate so fast I was nauseus for 2 hours and my bag was completely disorganized. I did manage to get ready in about 30 minutes but barely.
When I woke I was itching like crazy and I noticed that the welts I have dealing with for the last 3 weeks on my legs were getting worse with groupings of large welts up to the size of silver dollars starting to appear lower and lower on my leg. This had me worried because previously I thought I had posion ivy but I was getting reactions below the sock line, a place the ivy had never touched. I decided it wasn't an immedate problem but I needed a doctor to look at it. I asked Queen Diva if she knew what medical clinics were coming up. She asked why and I showed her my leg at which point she said something like "Well honey, you have chiggers". Hopeful added that clear nail polish usally cleared up the spots and so we added a drug stop the the list of morning stops.
We; Hopeful, Snackbreak, Tank, and I; piled into cars for the shuttle back to Front Royal. Along the way we passed Mount Weather. Mout Wheather is interesting in that from what I have heard is the backup of the federal government. It was built to withstand a nuke and as we passed there was long barbed wire fences surrounding it with a truck size scanner in the one entrance I saw. I think its sign read "Emergancy Operations Center" or something like that. Since Tank and Snackbreak slackpacked they left Tank's car at Ashby Gap, about 20 miles from Front Royal, for their ride back to Bear's Den. We all got into Hopeful's truck and headed to the Front Royal post office. There I retrieved a box from my grandma that was packed to the gills with cookies. Unfortunately there were far too many to carry but the others were pushing me hard to get moving so I didn't have time to do anything but grab them. If I had had time I would have spent some time eating a pound of one of the ziploc!
baggies and I would forwrded the other bag of the cookies to Harpers Ferry where I will have eaten two days of food and made space for more cookies. As it were I was stuck trying to figure out what to do with them on the trail. I asked Snackbreak to bring them back to hostel so I could pick them up tomrrow but she didn't think other hikers would let them be. Next we went to CVS and I got the nail polish for my chiggers and DEET spray to prevent them. I also needed to transfere my pictures from my memory card to a CD but they were in such a rush I again didn't have time. I kept asking them to go on ahead both at the P.O. and at the CVS and I would hitch my ride tot he trail but they waited for me keeping the pressure on to move faster. At last we got back to the trail which was a great relief but the pace kept up with quick hiking a short lunch break as they wanted to be back to Bear's Den in time for dinner. Finally I had enough and snapped. It wasn't that they were being !
mean and certainly my reaction was rude but essitally I told to go awa
y and leave my alone. Adhering to a slackpackers schedual was driving me batty and needed to get free.
After that I took a hour long break reading a book and unwound a bit. I took the rest of today much slower in part to force myself to relax and in part to avoid the posion ivy with lined the trail for many of the miles today. I look forward to getting back up on high ridges where ivy doesn't seem to thrive so much but for now I fear I am going to be facing a lot of it. At a road crossing there was some trail magic with bottled water, snacks, and Propel drink mix left by unnamed trail angels. I took a leasurly break there, drank a bottle, and ate some snacks. The hike overall today was very easy, a lot of up and down true, but none over 400' or so so I never wore down.
I orginally had planned to the hike with Tank ad Snackbreak to their car and then the next shelter, about 23 miles, but when I got here at 5:30 here I decided that I had two options, stay and have a long relaxed evening or go and have a late day to gain some milage. After my morning and since my daily average milage only needs to be 15 miles to finish on time I took the first route.
The shelters today have all be wonderful and it was tough leave each. One even had a shower though someone had broken one of the pipes. This one was simpiler but I found attractive as it was a bucky ball. Out front is a large creek that I can draw water from. I think since I am next to a large creek the birds are attracted as the air filled with their calls. It really is a great spot and I have been enjoying reading and generally relaxing after this mornig's ordeal. I have learned lessons the hard way and I hope I get a chance to appologze to the others for my fit.

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5/22 Traveling

0 hiked today, 955.2 miles N, 1218.8
Bears Den Hostel

The title pretty much sums it up. I had a long drive to jump back to Dascus, a little more to get to Kinkora, and now I had a long leap forward to get back to where I left off. I have been finding I tend to get car sick whenever I spend a long period in a car so I did the trip with a headache but it wasn't too bad. I am at Bear's Den Hostel tonight so I can coordinate hiking with Snackbreak. Also Bear's Den is a must see stop and the timing works better this way so I don't have to stop in the middle of another day and lose half a day. The hostel is a goregous stone building that is nestled in the woods amongst gardens of blooming flowers and softgrass. Queen Diva, the hostel keeper, is a cheery woman who works hard to make sure everyone is both stimulated and relaxed. I helped her pick some Arugula and Red Lettuce in return for some veggies and a salad she gave me to put on a pizza I purchased. I am hopeing my eating just a salad and a Tombstone pizza while not burden me wit!
h slow hiking tomorrow as most also have a pint of Ben & Jerry's icecream. Before everyone went to bed there was a signalong. There were binders with all the lyrics and a couple people had grabed, it seemed, some Bear's Den guitars to accompany the singing. Being self concious I didn't sing but I enjoyed watching before I retired early.

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5/21 Hardcore 2

0 hiked today, 955.2 miles N, 1218.8 Kinaora in Hampton, TN

Today started much like yesterday except that I was cold in my hammock. The temps hit the 40s which is much too cold for hammock sleeping. Tonight I am going to sleep on the porch which will keep me warmer without all that air circulating below me.
Everyone got up early, we had breakfast and piled into cars by 8AM. At the work site they had collected something new for me to carry up the mountain. Yesterday I had left my tools up on the mountain which freed me to haul a locust wood log up to a creek about 1/2 mile away. I was fairly lucky as some people had to work in teams of 4 to haul a fully assembeled segment of the bridge up to the same spot. The log weighed about 40 lbs but wasn't too uncomftable just so long as I switched shoulders every so often. A creek turned out to be my worksite for the day. I thought, throw the logs down, add the platform, nail it together, and done. In the end it took about 6 hours. We had to dig out and shape the stream bed which was rocky and hard going. Next we had to dig out the banks to allow the bridge to meet up with them nicely. The locust logs we put in the creek as supports. The hardest part was driving 3' long rebar rod through holes in the logs and deep into the rocky ground. T!
his took several minutes each with 4 of us taking shifts hammering away with a sledge hammer. We added the bridge decks that others had carried up and nailed that to the logs and finally nailed metal mesh to the top to add grip.
The bridge turned out great and bulding gives me a great respect for the enormous amount of effort that has gone into the hundreds if not thousands of little bridges I have crossed thus far.
During this biulding everyone else was busy too. In the end the others had takens yesterdays totals and extended so that we had built 3/4 of a mile of trail in 2 days.
While all this work was going on I also had my best wildlife day yet. It really helps to slow down enough to see the critters everywhere. First as Santa's Helper, Possum, and I walked up the road to the work site we heard and then saw two adorable bear cubs climbing quickly up a tree. We immedately started to look for momma but she was nowhere to be found. Still we hurried along and so I didn't get any pictures. At the work site I saw lots of life in the stream. There were 3 different kinds of salamanders in yellow, blue, and red. Most were as big as my finger but we also found one as long as my hand. Then there were the two crawfish. Finally there was a 1 foot long white worm thiner than a strand of angelhair pasta that everyone was perplexed to identify.
All in all today was a great day, I spent it in the woods with great people doing awesome work and saw lots of wildlife.

5/20 Hardcore Day 1

0 hiked today, 955.2 miles N, 1218.8 Kinaora in Hampton, TN

Today was completely devoted to hardcore. I got up and ate breakfast and then headed to the post office parking lot where everyone who is doing Hardcore meet. There we signed waviers and got into cars to start the drive to the work site. The objective of this two day project is to relocate some of the Appaclachain Trail from an old route with poor trail design to a new more environmentally sustianable trail. The old trail used to go straight up and down the mountain we were on and we are replacing it with a sloped trail that winds around the sides of the mountain. These genteler grades will both be easier on the hiker and allow more water to drain from the trail quicker reducing erroson greatly. I rode in Possum's car, a very nice lady who has retired recently to travel, and Santa's Helper, and older gentelman who was also a pleasure to spend time with. I played navigator for the drive and did a pretty good job. At the work site everyone grabbed tools and headed up the mount!
ain to a trail only visable by small red flags stuck in the leaves. Next we went to town pulling off the duff on the surface and side-hilling into the slope to form a flat tread to hike on. I found the work very tough as it showed me all the muscels that has becaome atrophied from disuse on the trail. Dispite this us hikers did a great job. With 80 people we built more than 1/4 mile of trail today in about 6 hours. We did so much work the organizers of Hardcore were scrambeling to mark more segemnts of trail to build before we finished the last ones. After that day of work we were all tired but in good spirits. Several of my buddies who I haven't seen in a long time are here; Snackbreak, Big Gulp, Walnut who is the Goat previously know as Sarah. From the worksite we went straight to dinner where they did a good job of statisfing the appetite of hungry hikers.
After that is was the goodies. Bob Peoples, a ledgend amongst the AT community and the owner of Kinkora, gave a thank you speech. Then he handed out handsome patches. That was all we were exspecting and would have been plenty but then he gave out shirts, hats, and about half a dozen cling stickers. In the end we all made off with a pretty good haul for only 6 hours work.
Then I spent another night at Kinkora but this time I hung my hammock to give a spot for someone inside. The temp is dropping again though so I suspect I will have another cold night. If that happens I think may bounce my hammock forward until the nightime temps warm up.

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5/19 Trail Days 2

0 hiked today, 955.2 miles N, 1218.8 Damsacus, VA

I spent much of today in a haze. I don't why but I have been feeling lonely in a city of thousands of hikers. It is self imposed becuase I have dozens of friends here but I don't want to see them. I think is because I am in a town. I have noticed after being in town a day or so I get headaches and feel general sluggush and iratable. I think my body has adapted to the trail and it really is hard on my system to be in such a noisy busy place. I long for the woods and the hard work but simple predictable life and clear focus.
Enough of my rant. I did do some fun things today. "The Place" hostel in town was where I stayed last time I was here and back then I was annoyed that their kitchen sink didn't have a nozzel. This time I did something about it. I picked one up at the hardware store and now it is fixed.
After that there was a big parade through the center of town. The tradition is that the hikers all group into their respective classes/years and march through the center of town. The locals proceed to try to soak the hikers with hoses, squirt guns, water ballons, buckets, etc. Us hikers are at a distinct disadvantage in that we can only carry so much water so usually we end up with us getting pretty darn soaked. I had heard about this and left all I could at the hostel so it wouldn't get soaked but in the end I stayed pretty dry. The only serious water I ran into was when someone tried to throw a bucket of water at me. I ducked just in time but I only got wet on my back from some splatter. Also during the parade Mount Roger Outfitters was tossing free hiker socks into the crowd. I got a pair of Darn Tough Vermont socks. They aren't my size but I think they may fit Dana.
The rest of the day was spent mostly wandering. I am hitting the sack early and looking forward to breaking out of this funk.

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5/18 Traildays 1

0 hiked today, 955.2 miles N, 1218.8 Damsacus, VA

Today was my first really big day at Trail Days. It started out with Wingheart making blueberry pancakes for breakfast. I got a few of these in me before Caveman and I ran off to get in line for "Hardcore". Hardcore is where a hiker can volunteer two do trail work for two days and return they get a nice patch and ride back to wherever they left off on the trail. That makes my logistics much easier and I like the idea of helping improve the trail I have been using.
I got a slot and so now I have my ride back to the trail.
Most of the rest of the day was evenly split between meeting the people who designed or make the gear I use and meeting up with people who I haven't seen in a while because they or I have gotten ahead.
Some noteworthy experiances is that Gossamera gear fixed my old backpack and Priceton Tec fixed my broken headlamp. Many other manufactures also had people out here helping people get their gear back into trail shape.
I also bought a bunch of small stuff. I got some 200 lbs rope and a small sleeping pad from Ron Bell of Mountain Laurel Designs for $5 each which is a killer deal. Another booth was selling Enertia hiker dinners for $1 each. From Gossamear get a got two super light ground cloths for $6.
Captain, the man I met just before Pearisburg, is here with a booth selling photos he takes to fund his hiking. He has a lot of very nice shots it seems like he doing OK.
I ate some of the leftover thai food for lunch today, yum.
That all was great but even better Dana got a job offer from University of Arizona! It looks like I am likely to be living in Tucsan. We a both really excited.

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5/17 Jumping back 500 miles

0 hiked today, 955.2 miles N, 1218.8 miles left
Damascus, VA

Today I got up early to meet Caveman and Wingheart for the ride to trail days. I was up til 2 last night with packing and nervous energy that towns seem to give me. The pick up was easy with us spoting each other easily by the highway. The ride down was comfy. We got to Damascus late afternoon and Caveman and I helped Wingheart set up his RV. Then I got a lift from Caveman and Lisa, his girl frind who met us along the way, to the "Tent City". It was a mile away from the town center and I had no luck setting up. First I tried to hang a hammock but the woods were packed with Poison Oak and Ivy. After a couple tries of that I decided to tarp in the grassy clearing which turned out to be just as hard. Whenever I found a spot with good drainage and started to set up I would get a couple stakes in the rock hard ground some one would come by a say "you know there is a bon fire they are going to be building there" or "people are going to throwing things from that tent in your direct!
ion tonight". Finally after this happening to me three times I was pretty angry. In a field that was mostly empty the only spot someone wouldn't bug me about was next to the porta johns which is where I ended up. After that I decided to walk around and into town to see who might meet. Everyone is here, I have seen at least 30 people I know. I went back to "The Place" the town hostel and found surprisingly they had a bunk open. I got someone else in my bunk room to put their backpack down on my spot and I walked back to my tarp and pulled up stakes and moved into the Hostel. It is a lot closer to everything and I suspect it will be a quieter place to sleep.
While out and about after that I ran into Caveman and Lisa and they gave me a lift back to Wingheart's RV where I got to cook a real meal for the first time in months. I made Thai Drunken noodles which came out OK. The ingredients had to be improvised in some cases. :( It just a pleasure to saute again! I am spending the night here at the RV because Caveman and I are going into the exhibitor's area early to sign up for Hardcore, a trail buiding project they do every year right after trail days. This year the slots are limited and we want to be sure to get one. It is fortunte I am indoors too since it is pouring outside. I would have stayed dry but it is not fun having to do so.

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5/16 Reflections on Shenandoah

13.4 hiked today, 955.2 miles N, 1218.8 miles left
Front Royal Hampton Inn

I had a easy hike into town today. It was only 13 miles of very warm hiking. While I was making breakfast I saw a deer playing around in the shelter water source. I took that as a good sign I should add iodine to my water today. The trail to town did have some serious assents and decsents, 1000' and 500', but the trail construction was so well graded that I hardly noticed them. I saw more dogwoods and columbin near the trail.
Since I have left Shenandoah National Park I thought I should write my reflections. Earlier I wrote "Shenandoah is for Drivers" and I think this was a perfect the statement. Skyline Drive is the main focus of the park and the AT a seond class resident. Rarely did the trail have that immersive natural solitude since the road polluted some much of the areas audio and visual. That being said for people who are not setting out for long hikes this is proably a perfect spot. There are hundreds of miles of trail and one can have a wounderful day hike all over. Lots of places provide stunning summits are just a 30-60 minute hike from the road. In addition there are many places have awsome outlooks where one doesn't need to even get out of their car and I hear one can spot lots of wildlife from their car too.
It was another tough hitch into Front Royal but I finally got to a shopping mall in town. There I picked up lunch and the fixings for Thai Drunken Noddles. Wingheart's RV has a kitchen and plan on taking advatage of that! I got a taxi to the post office to pick up some of my forwarded mail and then to the hotel where I am getting picked up tomrrow. Unfortunatly the hotel, Hampton Inn, cost $120 for smoking room but I sucked it up as it would cost me a lot to get a cab ride back and forth to this spot in this spead out town. My room is very nice even if it is a smoking room. I opened the boxes I picked up and again was reminded my friends rock! I got a great beer from Allison which I I have been lounging around sipping while cleaning up and packing. Thanks!

5/15 Nice Nero

19.8 hiked today, 941.8 miles N, 1232. 2miles left
Gravel Spring Hut

I got up early today which wasn't very hard to do. The wind constantly woke me up all night. After went to bed it got even stronger causing my tarp to violently crush down on me or if the wind changed direction a little causing my tarp to balloon and threaten to take off. I am frankly amazed my stakes held though the the night. The wind made me motivated to pack quickly as it was very chilling but very much slowed the packing of my tarp by whiping around and tangling the cords. The day went much mor smoothly once I got going though the wind kept me pretty cold for the first hour. For some reason today was the day of southbound section hikers. I saw at least 6 by 10AM. I got to the highway leding to Luray around noon. I needed to go to Luray to collect my mail and forward it to Front Royal. I was orginally going to resupply in Luray but I have pleanty of food to make it to Front Royal and after that I wouldn't need it for a week while at Trail Days. Hitching in was very tou!
gh but finally one of the NPS rangers picked me up and gave me a lift into town. Thank you! In town I first visted Evergreen Outfitters to get my packages and a replacement spoon for one I had lost. They were very excited to see me as I was their first thru hiking customer ever. They had opened last fall and were trying to build up a reputation and stock for the AT hiker community. They had lots of questions for me. I helped them out best I could. I hope I helped them get into the mind of the thru-hiker. They had three care packages but since I don't want to carry them to Front Royal I took them to the post office to forward. The outfitter gave me a spot to stash my pack while I took care of business. If you take a piority mail package to the post office unopened you can forward it for free. After I was done forwarding my mail I went to get lunch and to check out the Luray Caverans. The lunch was good and then on the way to caverns I realized I had left my camera with my pa!
ck back the outfitters. I decided that I didn't want to go without my
camera and didn't really want to hike the 4 mile road walk to see the caverns so I went back to the offitters to get my pack. It was surprisingly easy to get a ride back to the trail and I was back on the trail.
The next section of trail was pretty nice with easy grades and smooth surface but up and down. Along the way I came across two black rat snakes sunning themselves in the trail. They are hamless snakes and eventually I sacred the off the trail and went on. From one of the information signs I learned the pretty pink flowers I have been seeing are columbine.
My one big disaapointment of the day was getting to shelter. The trail to the shelter crosses a sampy section of trail. There are rocks you hope across to keep your feet dry. Less than 20 yards away from the shelter I slipped on a rock my left foot got soaked in sinky muck and my right leg splattered. Arg!
There are three section hikers in the shelter tonight. They all a very nice.
Tomorrow I will be heading to Front Royal for a long overdue shower and Damascus the next day for Trail Days.

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5/14 Getting a ride

20.1 hiked today, 922 miles N, 1252 miles left
Near Pinnacles Pinic Area

Today I had a fairly long day. I started out hiking with Captain Bly back to the road junction where he had parked his car. We met up with Postcard along the way and as a trio it was very pleasent hike. Great conversation and a easy pace to keep me from burning out too early. They stayed by his car and I pushed on looking forward to getting lunch at Big Medeow where there is a resturant. I got there at about noon and sat down and ordered my food. Then a man tapped me on the shoulder and asked if I could join him and his wife for lunch which I did. They, Jim and Jane, were a very nice couple from, if memory serves me, SC and where passing through the Shenandoah's on there way to a wedding. Jim had hiked part of the AT and was excited to talk about my experiances on the trail. Between he and his wife I barely managed to eat my lunch. They were a real pleasure but pursumably they had to get moving and so they left but not before kindly performing some trail magic by paying my check. Thank you! After that I gave Wingheart a call. I am planning on going to the Trail Days festival in Damascus VA, 500 miles back, and my previous ride, McGyver, had changed his mind about going. Wingheart offered to pick me up in Front Royal which was perfect because it was an easy 3 hiking days away. That will put me there the night before he will drive by on the nearby inter-state. The reast of the day was an easy hike will lots of views of the towns below. I decided to try to get to Front Royal early in the day so tonight I am camping out about halfway betweeh shelters. That trims about 6-7 miles from my remaining distance meaning I can get into Front Royal in the early afternoon. I am near a senic overlook and the trees are not providing much coverage from the wind. That wasn't a problem at 8 when I set up camp but now the wind is really howling. Inmy hammock I have a ground cloth under me to block the wind and a pad under my core. I hope I will stay warm in my ham!
mock.
I only have 34 miles left till my week of zeros for Trail Days.

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Anticipated Schedule

Hi everyone. Hope you are enjoying the blog. People want to meet me and others are just interested so I have made a schedule of when I think I may get in and out of states comming up. Below is only a "guesstimate" so don't be surprised if I am 2-3 early or late on some of these checkpoints. Enjoy.

VA:
2 more days May 24th-25th
MD:
May 26th-28th
PA:
May 29th-June 12th
NJ:
June 13th-17th
NY:
June 18th-23rd
CT:
June 24th-27th
MA:
June June 28th-July 3rd
VT:
July 4th-13th
NH:
July 14th-July 24th
MI:
July 25th-August 12th

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5/12 Shenandoahs is for drivers

26.2 hiked today, 881.3 miles N, 1292.7 miles left
Pinefield Hut

After my late hike last night I took it easy this morning. Not much happened. I sort of hiked in a annoyed daze as it seems the trail in this section pretty much shadows the road through the Shenandoahs with the road, Skyline Drive, taking the senic spots. As a result I spent much of the day listening to cars and straight piped motorcycles. I was shooting to pick up some food at Loft Mountain Camp Ground but they hadn't opened yet for the season so I ate from my two day supply. Thunderstorms rolled through in the afternoon but fortunatly they were all show and little rain. It rained just enough to make everyone get out the pack covers and rain gear but turned out to just be enough to moisten the ground.
The shelter is packed tonight but it looks like almost everyone is electing to sleep in tents or me in a hammock so the shelter is nearly empty. Invisable Man is here along with a group of people who are celibrating the end of college. They have taken finals and they will graduate next weekend. They are very friendly and it looks like have too much food. Perhaps I can help them with that in the morning. ;)

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5/11 In and out of Waynesboro

12 hiked today, 855.1 miles N, 1318.9 miles left
Calf Mountain Shelter

Last night again I slept in my hammock and again it rained. The rain fly worked like a dream but drying it off delayed my start for the day.
Caveman left early so I was on my own till I got to town. I passed the ruins of an old cabin and stone walls and that got me thinking about what this area must have looked like 100-200 years ago when the land was cleared and being worked by mostly manual labor. Later on I came across a very old cementary the tombstones had worn away into pointed spikes of rock.
When I got to the road I needed to get into town to hit the outfitters and pick up some food. I missed the turn for town so I had to backtrack about 1/2 mile and then walk down to the visitor's center where I can get a ride in to town. That turned out to be very easy as one of the clerks there was going that way herself and was happy to drop me off. I first went to the outfitters and tried on shoes for a while before giving up the hope that there are any shoes that can fit my feet well. I picked up a new stuff sack for my now smaller load of clothes and sleeping bag. Then I hit the chinese buffet in town where I just kept eating and eating for a hour. Next the grocery store for some cheese and tortillas and payphone to call home.
Finally the library to check my email, the YMCA for a shower and then a call for a ride back to the trail. On the way back the trail angel who was driving was nice enough to wait while I picked up mexican food to go. I am not sure why I keep trying mexicn food as I have been endlessly disappointed out here but this place listened carefuly and tried to make a vegi burrito that had something other than just beans in it. When my meal was up I got a shopping bag full of dinner plate sized tin foil dishes, one for the rice, one for the beans, one for the burrito, and finally a bag of chips. When I got to the trail I was running out of time and had no idea how to put all this in my pack so for the next seven miles I hiked without poles carrying the bag instead. I made very good time as the climbs were no more than a few hundred feet at a time. I got to the shelter just after dark. The Invisable Man was there and we caught up on the last few days of goings on while I unpacked. I fi!
red up my stove and put the beans and rice on it to reheat while I ate the to order but still somewhat disappointing burrito. I hope tomrrow I can make it to shelter before dark.

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5/10 Do I have to go?

17 hiked today, 843.1 miles N, 1330.9 miles left
Paul C. Wolfe Shelter

This morning Rusty made his famous pancakes. What make them so good is the following:
They are the size of dinner plates
They ae about 1/2" thick
They are porus enough to soak up syrup and butter well
They have a texture that is elastic but not rubery. A perfect cross between cake and bread.

I managed to eat two before I was stuffed. After that I wandered about killing time until noon when he would drive us up to the trail. I looked at the Hot Tub which is a galvinized steel tub mounted on top of a fire pit. It looks kindof like those drawings of canibels making soup. There was a spring feed cold tub neraby for refreshing plunges. Next to that a woodfired sauna. Rusty also has a goat and it was fun petting his goat and watching it climb its fence to chew at nearby trees.
He is adding stones to his chimmy and need some help hauling the 80lbs bricks he was using so all of us thru hikers helped him do that for a little while and then he took us out to the trail. Bowser had already been there a few days and was enjoying himself enough to stay another. McGyver also decided to stay at the last minute so it was Caveman and I going out both wishig we could stay longer.
The day turned out very nice with rolling terrain, warm weather, and clear skys. We made good time getting to shelter a little before dark.

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5/9 Stay at Rusty's

2.5 hiked today, miles N, miles left
Rusty's Hard Time Hollow

Yesterday I didn't explain my motives for the long and late hike. That was to set me up for today where I am spending the day at "Rusty's Hard Time Hollow".
It took an hour to get there and there was exactly what I was looking for, peace and relaxion. The hike down Rusty's driveway is an experiance in itself with dozens of signs, most silly, attached to any surface. The signage kept going right on into the small collecion of homemade buildings that dot the hollow.
Rusty himself is a cross between an Amish man and Santa. He maybe is 60-70 years old and stands around 5'9". He has a round belly and walks slowly but looks are not everything. When he moves he does it with consideration and power. He handles the most delicate tasks to the most diffcult with a surpriseing grace. Add to this a peppery white beard and you have Rusty.
I was greated by Caveman who showed me around. Iceman Dan, Bowser, and McGyver we all there.
The enviroment is hard to descibe so I will write more snap shots than narative but the one thing that unites these is the Hollow slogan "It don't don't matter, do what you want"
I helped and Rusty and the other hikers dig a 120' trench to install a new phone cabel. Along the way someone pickaxed into Rusty's water line and we had to wait for his 2000 gallon water tank to drain, dig up the pipe, and patch it. It was satisfying and hard work.
In the middle of that I took blissful 2 hour nap in my hammock.
Rusty has a spring house and in it's basin there are around 100 cans of pop cooling. Everyone is encouraged to help themselves. When done you throw the empties onto his driveway to be crushed by the car.
Some of the others grabed .22 rifles and did some shooting off his front porch into the large grassy area.
He has a woodfired hot tub and sauna if anyone wants to fill and light them.
All around the kitchen is all the staples of the hiker diet; Little Debbies, Ramen, Lipton Sides, etc. You are welcome to help yourself to these during your stay.

All in all staying here I find involves a great deal of sweat but with it comes a great deal of peace and bliss. I am not sure how else to explain it. It still doesn't make sense to me.
We all stayed up late talking. Rusty and the other hikers are watching a movie but I am too tired so I am hitting the sack.

A bit of warning topeople hoping to visit Rusty's, only Thru-Hikers are allowed to come in so if you haven't or aren't Thru-Hiking don't try to find it.

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Special Request

People have asked me if I have any special requests for care packages and I thought I should make a post so everyone can see what I am longing for. Below is a short list.

Small bottle or packet of something spicy to add to sometimes bland food.
Dehydrated veggies
Tomato powder (can be found as tomato soup powder)
Any Fantasic foods dry mix that can be made with oil and powdered milk
Dehydrated refried and blackbean flakes
Organic Bar brand energy bars
Bear Valley Pemican/Meal Pak Bars
Any other yummy energy bar. With energy bars watch out for yogurt and chocolate coatings as those melt into a mess in the heat.
Homemade cookies

This is an imcomplete list so feel free to send anything you think I may enjoy. Please remeber to keep it light. Max 5 day supplies is what I am looking to carry. Also pack things well as they will get banged around badly during shipping. Thank you everyone for the care packages!
--Grasshopper

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Photos

Hey everyone, I wanted to let you know that my good friend Jeff collects my photos and uploads some choice ones into the past blog entries. This happens somewhat irregularly so look back through the archives every so often.

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5/8 Always late

hiked today, 827.3 miles N, 1346.7 miles left
Maupin Shelter

The title says it all. I was last up at the Dutch Haus. I was last back to the trail. I wasn't last to the shelter but only just. It all started with my staying up late last night. I tend to be a bit restless in towns and stayed up till midnight doing nothing really. Out on the trail I have been enjoying at least 8 if not 10 hours of sleep a night. As a result the 7AM waking time for breakfast was very early. The other hikers were getting shuttled back to the trail at 8:30 and I still had packing and journaling to do. As a result I elected to stay til the 11AM shuttle and use their laptop to journal. Getting the laptop took till 9:30 and it was having connectivity problems until 10:30. That was fine as a did a lot of the work of my journals on my pocketmail but I have been trying to spellcheck it before I post it and for that I needed the internet. That didn't give me a lot of time to spell check so I delayed again and caught the 12:30 shuttle. They brought me by the post of!
fice to take care of some mail and that was an experiance in its own. As Lois explained the USPS has been trying to close that location for a while due to low usage so the town all pitches in to keep it open. There are quotas that need to be meet so locals buy PO boxes, go in to buy stamps, and ship everything priority mail to keep the quotas filled. It took a long time for me to take care of bussiness because the clerk did everything hand and slowly at that. My shuttle waited and finally at 1 I was on the trail.
The hiking was swift after that even with the 3000' climb out of the Tye River. I pased Spy Rock in the first hour and if one chooses to climb it they will be rewarded with a 360 degree view of the rolling mountains all around. The day was goregus and the view was spectacular as a result. Then up an over Priest Mountain. At Priest Mountain Shelter I read the McGyver was there earlier so I wasn't far behind. I met Speedy and we hiked together for several hours. He hadn't taken a zero since Hiawasi, about 700 miles ago. Wow! Just before Harpers Creek Shelter we came across a shortcut. Mau-Har Trail took one to our intended destination, Maupin Shelter, without going through the all the fuss of 2000' feet climbing and 7 miles of up and down rocky trail. The Harpers Creek Shelter log showed that a lot of people had taken this "cheat" as they didn't sign the log book when they passed by. After that shelter time was getting short and I had 6.2 miles to cover with 1 hour of dayligh!
t of daylight. I just barely made up the 2000' over Three Ridges Peak, about 4 miles, before I had to break out the head light and hike in the dark for the last 2 miles. As the sun set the millapeads came out in droves. It being dark and I was looking almost continually at my feet and saw dozens if not hundreds of millapeads in the trail. Finally I got to the shelter, pitched my new hammock, made dinner and saw Speedy rolling in just as I was turing in. I am very comfy in the hammock so I think I will have a good night sleep.

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5/7 Going Dutch

5.4 hiked today, 809.1 miles N, 1364.9 miles left
Dutch Haus B&B

This morning I woke up on a small island in surrounded by the Piney River. It was cold last night, I hear down to mid 30s, but I slept well. That explains why I was so cold when I rolled into camp last night. I thought it was just my exhaustion from the long hike.
Today I took it easy with a short hop to Fish Hatchery Road and then 1.2 miles to the Hatchery where I waited for a ride at 11AM to the Dutch House. Along the way I passed a shelter and noted that McGyver hadn't passed so he must have been behind me somewhere though he didn't come in here tonight so I assume he is hiking a full day and is now ahead of me at the trail.
Earl and Lois, the owners of the Dutch Haus, have been treating me very nice. They have free lunch which I partook in. They even had a vegetarian option, very tasty but I was hungry afterwords. My hammock arrived in the mail and I spent a couple hours fiddling with it getting the "hang" of setting it up. I subbed out the stock rain fly for my much larger tarp to give me more flexibility and space. I looks like it will be a very comfy place to spend the night when I get out tomorrow. I took care of resupplying with the food I mailed myself from Daleville and I should be ready for 5 more days. They have bird feeders at the Dutch house and the collection of colorful birds is truly something to behold. They have so many yellow fiches I have difficulty counting. That is in addition to vibrant blue and red birds I know not the name of. Out front there are a dozen hummingbirds buzzing by my head in search of the sugar water feeders.
The group spending the night is awesome with Caveman, Zero, and Captain Bly. Captain Bly stole the show at dinner talking about the like of a merchant marine on a 900' ship. Wow! Earlier I helped Caveman out by building a small alcohol stove from couple empty beers cans. It is nice to have an easy day after my hard day yesterday though my body seems to have recovered nicely already.

5/6 Oh, my poor pancreas

33.7 hiked today, 804.9miles N, 1369.1miles left
North Forks of Piney River

The title refers to my diet for today, high in refined sugars.
5 Chewy Granola Bars
2 cups gorp
5 Little Debbie Snacks
4 Pop Tarts
10 Cookies (breakfast)
8 tortillas
4 oz cheese
1 packet of pistachio pudding
tvp sloppy joes
1 orange
1 apple
1 Kit Cat Bar
1 Coke
1 multi-vitamin
2 Alive
Yum! The diet of the ultra healthy thru-hiker.

I got up nice and early to start what I hoped would be a 33 mile day and I got that sort of. I made it on the trail by 7AM and hiked through to 8:30.

I wanted to do this long day for many resons, so I could catch up with McGyver who as a ways ahead hiking with his family, so I could make up some lost time in Daleville, becuase I am feeling very good and think my body is mostly adapted, and finally so when I get to the Dutch Haus where I a going to resupply and nearo I can have a full day to relax.
My big climb of the day put me over Blad Mnt which was very somber. I few feet from the summit was a small memorial for Ottie Cline Powel. I anticipated this was going to be much like the Auddie memorial but instead it was to a 4 year old girl who in 1891 was lost and traveled 7 miles to the very spot of the memorial before dying. I spent the next hour with thoughts of what must of been going through her head as she wandered the woods.
After that I came upon Punchbowel Shelter which is named after the pond that is in front of the shelter. It was a perfect shallow and warm pond to poke around in and I saw a wide range of life swimming about. The thing was most pysced about was two newts, a orange dotted one and a yellow speckled one mating near the shore. So involved were they that my shadow didn't scare them off.
I enjoyed a second breakfast there and then set off and that is when my troubles started. I don't know how I did it but I ended up heading up the AT in the wrong direction. I made a note on where to go ahead when I turn off the AT onto the Punchbowl Shelter trail and I swear I followed it. Unfortunately I was off in La La Land and it was 20 minutes before I realized I was going up when I should have been going down. I ended up climbing Punchbowl Mountain twice. I ran into Bowser who set my embarrassed self straight. All in all I think I covered about 1.5 miles extra.
After that it was smooth sailing. I held a steady steady and easy pace. Along the the way the trail skirted around the steep perimeter of Pedler Lake for a couple miles which was a real treat. Later it followed Brown MountainCreek where until the 1920s a small community of freed slaves worked the land as sharecroppers. All over I could see the ruminates of the stone walls they built as the cleared the land. I tried to envision the fields, sheds, and homes that must have filled this fairly narrow river valley. Now is wooded over and, minus the walls, shows very little of its past. At the shelter along the creek I ate some pistachio Pudding for lunch, yum! Then I packed up 3 liters of water for the next 10-12 water handicapped miles. Of course I was at a river an so I had to carry the water up hill 2600' feet.
During the climb I once again cross the boundary between spring and late winter with flowers in bloom. Down below the trail was dotted with Purple and White Iris. Above the world is green a budding with only smaller flowers blooming.
At US 60 two through hikers from 2004, Two Nickels, left a stocked cooler by the trail. I took a short break and enjoyed a Kit Cat Bar, orange, apple, and Coke before the last 2000' feet of my climb. It was very nice to come across some trail magic as there has been very little this far north.
Along the trail I ran into a couple groups, one of SOBO section hikers and another of boy scouts who told me McGyver was not far ahead. He and his family had their car parked at HogCamp Gap but when I got there they were gone already.
At that point I was getting tired and I decided that I should stop at the next good water source. That was almost 5 miles away and though it was a struggle it was beautiful. I went over some scenic balds and in the wooded areas the ferns were starting to sprout. They are a mesmerizing plants to watch bloom, they emerge a tight ball of leaves that unfurl over a few days unrolling from their stems progressively out to their tips.
When I got here to Piney Creek I was exhausted. The creek is west shaded valley and I was quite cold until I got into my sleeping bag. I did well setting up a bear hang, getting water, and pitching my tarp but when it came to making dinner I was a wreck. It took 5 matches to get my stove started the 5th one being one of my "In case of emergency water proof matches". Then I clumsily dumped water all over my stove while filling my pot an had to dump the stove out, refill it, and use one more match to get dinner cooking. Despite that fiasco I am very comfy in my sleeping bag looking forward to a restful day tomorrow.

5/5 More mist

21.6 miles hiked today, 772.7 miles N
Johns Hollow Shelter

Today will have a short entry. For some reason I and all my shelter-mates find we don't have much to write about. The day was shrouded in mist or at least in the higher elevations where I spent most of my time. As a result I again focused more on what was near the trail.
Rhododendum are blooming beg time now forming purple/pink balls of flowers along parts of the trail. There seems to be a very defined line below which flowers are in bloom and above which they are not, about 2000'.
A couple of landmarks along the way. There was a FAA radar installation; massive and deserted but with evidence of people previously. There was a room with light on a window open and a picnic table where I imagined people eat at in the summer. However when I saw it was misty and there were no cars or people to be seen. Shortly after that I went under the "Guillotine" where a large rock is suspended just above hiker's heads as they come by.
I was originally planning on doing a 30 mile day but when I rolled into the shelter it was drizzling and rather than risking rain for my next 8.8 miles decided to make an early night and stay here, that was at 4:15. Since then I have gotten to watch the boy scouts who are sharing the campsite and hangout with Invisible Man, Zero, and Bowser. The scouts are being very noisy. I hope they quiet down soon so I can get a nights sleep and early start tomorrow.

5/4 Flowers in the mist

25.6 miles hiked today, 751.1 miles N
Cornelius Creek Shelter

I spent the day mostly in mist. The trail ran along the Blue Ridge Parkway, a road with scenic turnoffs every few miles. I cross the road at several of these and it was always scary because I couldn't see father than 50'. The cars were moving very fast and so they almost appeared at the same time I could hear them. The outlooks were all fogged up so no one was stopping along the way.
The result of this viewless day was I focused largely on the flowers which were blooming abundance. There was rohdodendum, lily, trillium, mountain laurel, and trees with white buds which I think are dogwood.
I am feeling much stronger after my two day rest and longer days are getting much easier. I think that 25 miles is now a sustainable distance as I don't feel at all stressed at the end of it. Bowser seems to be the same as he kept up with pace just fine.
Now that I have eaten a days food my pack is fitting my load a lot better. I think the first days out of towns will just be rough with this pack being filled to the gills but after that it is a real dream.