Wednesday, June 11

Camping in the open near a nice spring. There is a crowd here despite the fact that it is just a clearing on the side of the trail. Animal and I are here as well as Swami, Big Ease, Duckfeet, and Gouda with his dog, Taba. I like camping with dogs. I feel very secure. Gouda and Taba can share my camp anytime. Swami, Big Ease, and Duckfeet stay up late and are louder than I would like, but Duckfeet is a cutey so she gets a pass from me.

Rhododendron Blooming


Today Animal and I talked about what we learned. It seems like we should take some life skills from hiking 765.7 miles and counting. I think I have learned to attack problems more directly, like a big climb, rather than trying to think of a way around it or try to wish it away. Animal says she has learned to be more adaptable when her initial plan fails.

Speaking of Animal, she fell down today and had trouble getting up because of her enormous pack weight. Her boyfriend is in trouble. Eleven pounds of food?

The Guillotine


Temperatures have finally dropped a little. I bet we didn't hit 90 degrees today. It should be good tenting weather tonight.

All's well.

Marble Shelter. Today - 17.2 miles, Total - 765.7 miles.

Thursday, June 12

The big news today is that Bojangles, Rodeo's hiking partner for the last month, dropped out. He said he knew it was time when little things started bothering him too much. I've been around Bo a lot over the last few weeks but haven't written about him. If I can do this without making it sound like a eulogy, I will write about Bojangles.

At 51, he was younger than the retirees out here but older than the kids. He preferred hanging out with the kids. He had more money that most of us and was generous with it. He stayed in hotels, not hostels, but always let anyone who needed a free place sleep on his floor. Every time I saw him in town he had beer cooling and he always let me drink whatever I wanted. He did get irritated with some hikers pretty easily. He admitted to having a bad temper and sometimes mentioned a stint he did in prison as a young man. He talked about it proudly, like the lyrics to a Johnny Cash song. "I killed a man in Reno just to watch him die" sort of thing. Overall though, he was good to have out here. I'm surprised and sorry to see him quit.

Found this off-trail


Animal and I talked about Bo leaving for quite a while as we hiked. We think that distance running has given us a head start on the mental challenge of thru-hiking but I don't think we are that special. For some reason we keep going while lots of others stop. Virginia lasts forever and little injuries are piling up for everyone. If anything has helped me, it is looking only at short-term goals, Waynesboro or Harpers Ferry, I ignore New England. Also, I know now that I do better with a reliable partner. I had Mike early, Jogle in North Carolina and Tennessee, Animal in the Smokeys and now in Virginia.

James River Bridge


After seeing the carnage Central Virginia has made of the thru-hiker class of 2008, I wouldn't say anyone is a sure thing to finish but I still feel good about Animal and me. We are both healthy and positive.

One more thing, we caught a ride into town with a section hiker named Luke. We ate at the only restaurant in Glasgow, VA. I had a so-so breakfast followed by a great strawberry shortcake. Just yesterday I told Animal I was craving strawberry shortcake. There it was.

All's well

Punchbowl Shelter. Today - 18.2 miles, Total - 783.9 miles


Friday, June 13

More trail magic today. Virginia and its many road crossings is spoiling me. Two 1987 thru-hikers were at the base of our big climb today with grilled cheese sandwiches, cold cokes, cookies, and apples. Thanks Renegade and Tomboy. They also gave an injured hiker a ride into town. Extra got shin splints doing back-to-back 25 mile days. I could see the bumps on his shins. He is going to a nearby hostel to ice it for a few days and hopefully will return. The steady 17-20 mile days Animal and I have been doing increasingly seem like teh right way to go.

Tree growing from rock


The 3,000+ foot climb up Bald Knob was one of the toughest in Virginia, but insects were the story today. They have been crazy since the heat wave. There is a biting blackfly that has been swarming. 100 of them circling my head and I try to ignore them. Eventually, one of them gets brave, lands and bites. I kill it and bat the rest away. They move over three feet, wait for me to stop waving my arms, and they come right back. There are tiny no-see-ums that are so tiny I never notice them until they bite me. There are a few mosquitoes, horseflies, bees, and yellow jackets but they don't bother me. The ticks bother me.

I went seven weeks with only one tick. I've had five of them this week. The last one was a deer tick I found crawling across my hand. I still have the willies from that one. I have a good campsite though. I'm in my tent hiding from the bugs. I can hear them bouncing off my rainfly.

All's well.

Hog Camp Gap. Today - 17.6 miles, Total - 801.5 miles

Saturday, June 14

I got sucked into stopping early and staying at the Dutch House Hostel today. They are tricky. They offer free lunch so I can't say no and I walk off trail to have the free food. Then I find out that I have to hike a mile downhill to get there. OK. Then it is a really good lunch and I get a free breakfast if I stay. The kicker is that they do my laundry for me. Every stitch of it. They provide a robe to wear while they do it. So I am in the Dutch House Hostel bunkhouse. It is very nice and I would recommend it to any thru-hiker. $30 is ambitious for a bunk, but I get a good mattress, clean sheets, laundry service, as well as breakfast and the lunch that brought me at first.

There are four of us in the bunkhouse. Me, Rodeo with her bad hip, Extra with his bad shins, and Barfight, who has the best name on the trail. She is very soft spoken and got the name as a sort of a joke like some big guys are nicknamed Tiny. Barfight isn't doing well and is thinking about dropping out. I gave her the best pep talk I could but usually when someone talks about dropping, they are ready to.

Extra is a very smart guy and I had a good talk with him about what brought him to the AT. He told me that he had gone through a couple personal setbacks and wanted to show that he could finish a big project. In a light tone of voice, he told me a heavy story about how his father told him he won't finish. I think he will. Even with the bad leg and the Virginia dropout rate, I think he has too much to prove to quit.

Wildlife



Quick Notes:
- Animal agreed to tale a zero day I wanted in Harpers Ferry, I agreed to take one she wanted in Pennsylvania. It looks like we will stay together at least until New England.
- I forgot to mention that Animal's has eaten her food bag down to normal size.
- My socks smell bad right out of the wash. Next week's new shoes will help.
- No health update on Donnie. I've been doing good miles and nobody has caught up with the news
- My water filter is starting to get stiff again. Rotten thing.

All's well.

Montebello, VA. Today - 10.0 miles, Total - 811.5 miles

Sunday, June 15

Sometimes I have trouble understanding how the AT planners make decisions. Today,I hiked 8.5 miles up a "U" shaped series of ridges called the Three Ridges. It was steep and long but there were a few nice views. If I had turned left instead of right I would have been on the Mau-Har Trail. The Mau-Har is only three miles and goes by swimming holes and scenic waterfalls. I stayed on the AT but it was tempting. Thinker, Brahma Bull, Sweet Potato, and Longshot were all behind me and caught up on the Mau-Har shortcut. They are all good people though and I'm glad to be camping with them.

View from Cedar Cliffs


Quick Notes:
- I thought I was out of Gypsy Moth country but I am getting hit with caterpillar poop again.
- Blackberries almost ripe!
- I love my MSR tent. I sleep better now that I can move around some.
- My boots are falling apart. Looking forward to getting new ones next week.
- Down 21 pounds according to the Dutch House scale.
- Waynesboro tomorrow.

All's well.

Maupin Field Shelter. Today - 18.2 miles, Total - 829.7 miles