My Trails

5/23/12 – 542 miles
I’m at a road crossing near Atkins, VA. I needed a motel in the worst way. My laundry had almost two weeks of sweat and grime incrusted in it, I was beginning to smell like a Billy goat, and I’ve had a head cold and cough that beckoned a rest. The motel is no Holiday Inn but a lot better than tenting in the rain. I will take a zero tomorrow and hopefully heal.

Today as I was blowing a snot rocket I realized how far the crowd I hike with has moved from civility. There may be several hikers preparing a meal at a picnic table and someone has his leg on the table performing surgery on his foot.

5/22/12 – 531 miles
I got another early start today and walked 10 miles by 11:00 am. I really like the trail in Virginia so far, the grades are more gentle and there are long rolling sections through beautiful treed areas. The AT still likes to take you to the top of several mountains along the way, there’s just no getting away from that.

It started to rain early in the afternoon and I heard the crack of lightning just as I assended the highest peak. Thankfully, no more rumbles met me but the rain picked up in intensity and continued throughout the afternoon. At about 4:30, I came to Partnership Shelter, bagging another 20 mile day. I feel pretty good concidering the mileage.

This shelter is unique. You can order pizza from the Mt. Rogers Visitors Center 100 yards away and have it delivered. A lady named poco-e-poco, I’ve hiked with off and on split a pizza with me and we devoured almost all of it. I’m saving a couple of slices for breakfast tomorrow. Yum!

5/21 – 511 miles
I woke early to get a head start on the day. The outside of my tent was soaked with dew so I packed everything wet and headed out. The Grayson Highlands are a unique area, if you didn’t know better you would think you were in Wyoming. All the trees were cut years ago and ranchers moved herds of cattle in to graze. Now the forest service uses controlled burning and wild grazing ponies to keep it open.

It was a nice walk across the park but several boulder fields made for sore feet and knees. I take it easy when the footing is sketchy. There were only a few hikers on the trail today. Most of the crowd is just coming out of Damascus and several miles behind. There will be, however, several fast hiking young people that will catch me soon.

I only walked 15 miles today. I wanted to stop early and read my book. That didn’t happen though, two hikers stopped here and we all sat around and talked for awhile, then someone wanted to build a campfire. Now it is almost time for sleep. Tomorrow I may walk 20 miles to a shelter where you can order pizza. What an incentive!

5/20/12 – 495 miles
I’ve stopped for the night at a campsite just north of Thomas Knob Shelter. I’m very close to the Grayson Highland State Park, famous for wild ponies and meadows of picturesque landscape. There are only two of us camped here. I’ve been leapfrog hiking with a young guy named Seminole . When we got here there were ponies all through the campground and you can walk right up to them and pet them. They try to lick the salt off your arms and legs. One of the ponies bit my pack when I took it off and I had to chase it away. I got some good pictures of them. I just hope they don’t come in the night and start chewing on my tent!

I’m embarrassed to tell this story but…
When I left Damascus one thing I forgot to resupply was toilet paper. I kept kicking myself all the way up the trail, pondering which leaves would make the best service when nature called. None of them looked adequate and I dreaded the thought so much that my system shut down, delaying the inevitable by one day. You’be heard the saying s*it happens, but thankfully trail magic happened first and the parking lot across from a popular trail had a restroom with extra rolls of toilet paper.

5/19/12 – 483 miles
I left Damascus at 10:00 and continued my journey north. My pack was heavy with all the food and extra items I’m carrying. I need 5 days to reach Atkins, the next resupply, almost 70 miles and a brutal climb up Whitetop Mountain into the Grayson Highlands.

The trail was familiar to me. This was the same place where I hiked last year, walking for two days and then returning to town on my bike along the Virginia Creeper Trail. The climb out of town didn’t seem as hard this year as last. It might be that I’m in better shape but I hiked right past the shelter I stopped at last year and climbed another 7 miles to the next shelter.

I have a couple of luxury items I’m carrying this stretch. I bought a book to read, I picked up a bottle of hand sanitizer, and Chicken Feathers gave me his bleach for water purification. I also had Karen send me my rain hood for my jacket. The rain hat was not working too well.

I dropped the hat – my friend and companion – in the hikers box. I’m sorry Wilson, I’m sorry Wilson, I’m sorry…