Monday, June 16

I went full speed into Waynesboro, VA today, motivated by thunder, lightening and sprinkles. My plan for the night is to order pizza and go to bed early. Today's fast pace wore me out.

Sometimes people ask me if I am having fun out here. I always hesitate before answering. Today is a good example why. It wasn't fun pushing myself for speed on a humid day with storms threatening. It was fun beating the storm in. The fact that it was hard makes it worth doing, if not exactly fun.

When a fighter pilot lands his jet in heavy wind on a heaving air craft carrier he isn't having fun but that is a landing he will talk about later, not an easy one. The hard made the landing better, even if it wasn't fun. There are fun days out here when the weather is good and there are great views. There are also days when it is cold and rainy and I can't talk to other hikers because of the noise from the rain hitting the hood of my rain shell. Those days aren't fun but I have a feeling they will be the days I am most proud of when I look back on this. Tough days that I struggled through while always maintaining my desire to continue north. So please excuse my hesitation when I am asked the simple question "Are you having fun?" It is more complicated than it seems. My best answer is that I want to keep going.

All's well.

Waynesboro, VA. Today - 20.8 miles, Total - 850.5 miles.

Tuesday, June 17

Not much to report today. Took a day off for laundry and resupply. Visited the Waynesboro History Museum. Rested my legs and ate ice cream. Watched "Cash Cab" on the Discovery Channel. Had dinner with Buck and Fleur, two retirees from Nova Scotia. I forgot to mention in yesterday's post that I have been hiking for two months now, starting on April 16.

Since I have little else to write, I want to correct something I said earlier. April 16 is late to start the AT. I did it because I don't like cold weather and because I was a strong enough hiker to finish, despite the late start. At the time I wrote that 80 percent of thru-hikers starting in mid-April were men. As I have hiked along and caught up with more hikers, I have encountered more and more women. I guess the women weren't as aggressive with start dates as I was. I would say maybe 1/3 of the hikers around me now are women, maybe a little more. Interestingly, someone recently repeated a statistic to me showing that women complete thru-hikes at a higher rate then men. Not sure why that is.

The Celtics are wiping out the Lakers on TV. I'm going to bed.

All's well.

Waynesboro, VA. Today - 0.0 miles, Total - 850.5 miles.

Wednesday, June 18

After a day off it is always good to be hiking again. Conditions were good and it was unquestionably a FUN day. Animal and I got a late start because our shuttle from town to the trail head didn't leave until 8:00 AM. We moved well though with Rodeo along for extra company. We quickly got though 17 miles when Bojangles turned up at a road crossing with coolers full of beer and snacks. It was some high quality trail magic. Bo still had some money and time left to vacation so he loaded up his pick-up truck and came back out.

In Shenandoah, the AT crosses and re-crosses the Skyline Drive, the Park's main road. Sometimes hikers will walk on the road for a change of pace. Animal and I, purists, turn our noses up at such behavior but it is so common here that nobody else cares. When Bo pulled in, he had about ten thru-hikers in the back of the truck. He just picked them up as he drove along Skyline Drive. Normally, I don't think well of "thru-hikers" riding instead of walking but I have to say that it made for a good impromptu party. I talked baseball with Chaco and Wak, hiking with No-Amp, Spidey and Barfight. It was a great social gathering.

After that, we packed the last of the beer and food three miles to Blackrock Hut and set up camp. By the way, shelters are call huts in Shenandoah. We hung out for a bit and still got to bed early. We joke out here that 9:00 PM is thru-hiker midnight. It's hard staying up past thru-hiker midnight after a 20 mile day.

All's well.

Blackrock Hut. Today - 20.0 miles, Total - 870.5 miles.

Thursday, June 19

I like Shenandoah for all the wrong reasons. Sure there are spectacular views and scenic waterfalls and stuff, but I love it because it is so far from being wilderness. After two months of filtering water it is a real pleasure to find picnic areas every ten miles with water fountains and spigots. There are bathrooms there also so I can wash my hands and face regularly with hot running water and limitless amounts of soap. Nearly every day we walk past a restaurant with a camp store attached. I eat fresh fruit and meat and ice cream. I cross Skyline Drive ten times a day and chat with day hikers who react with wonder to the idea of walking all the way from Georgia to Maine.

I also love it because there is a lot of wilderness packed into a long narrow park. I have seen countless deer and a few wild turkey. Grouse play their game of charging out bravely with their feathers standing up to create the illusion of size, then retreating when I don't flee in fear. There are more songbirds here than I have seen anywhere else and Animal even caught a glimpse of a bear ambling away from us. Shenandoah is everything it is suppose to be.

We did 21 miles today on gently rolling terrain. We were wearing out near the end but a sudden cool afternoon thundershower gave some motivation to zip up the trail to camp. The rain stopped by the time we pitched our tents.

All's well.

Hightop Hut. Today - 21.4 miles, Total - 891.9 miles.

Friday, June 20

We did our third straight 20 miler today and even Animal is dragging some. No matter how gentle the terrain, that is still a lot of pounding on the feet. It was good to hit Big Meadow and indulge in some restaurant food, running water and flush toilets. Other hikers are calling Shenandoah "AT Light." If backpacking were always like this, more people would do it.

We had dinner with Lactose, Unicorn, and Pegasus. U & P's adopted dog, Ginny, is doing very well. I asked how her tick collar was working and they said "not well." Too bad. If it were working I would have one on each angle tomorrow. I'm pulling off two or three ticks each day.

Ken, who I went to high school with, came out to meet up, reminisce and show his family the mock wilderness. Its great to see him. We chatted easily although we haven't seen each other in 20 years. His kids are smart and he wears fatherhood well. Ken got to meet a few thru-hikers and get a taste of life on the trail.

With the high mileage we have been doing, Animal agreed right away to my suggestion that we take a zero day here. We both think we have been missing too much pretty stuff out here because we are pressing for miles. We are going to check out the visitor's center, explore some side trails, and grill hotdogs for dinner.

All's well.

Big Meadow Campground. Today - 20.4 miles, Total - 912.3 miles.

Saturday, June 21

My zero day was everything I had hoped for. Animal and I met Ken and his family for breakfast and got to talk to lots of other thru-hikers who came into the restaurant. Then Animal and I went off on our own and hiked to Dark Hollow Falls to explore and take pictures. Later we went to a ranger's presentation on bears and then to the visitors center. Animal is a champ and didn't complain at all when I lingered over the "History of Shenandoah" section. My plan to roast hotdogs on an open fire got washed out by a late afternoon thunderstorm but it turned out fine. We got back with Ken and family and found a camp restaurant that served a good bacon cheddar burger. For the first time in a while, I'm not hungry.

Ken brought his family back to civilization but before he leaves the blog, I want to address a point he brought up. Ken tells me that many Americans are not familiar with hostels as they are more common in Europe than here. I will try to describe an AT hiker hostel for any readers who aren't familiar with them. Thanks Ken, for mentioning that.

Hostels are different from hotels or bed & breakfasts in that they have a common sleeping area. On the AT that usually means a bunkhouse with a shared bathroom and maybe a microwave. Also, the price is usually much lower than at a hotel or a B&B. Beyond that, they vary widely. I have paid from $4 to $30. I have slept on cots, bunks, and once in an ornate Victorian style bed. I have slept in nice bedding and I have thrown my sleeping bag on a bare foam pad.

Sometimes a meal is included, sometimes it is sold separately, sometimes you are on your own. Sometimes the bunkhouse is climate controlled, sometimes not. Usually there is a "hiker box" where hikers can leave unwanted supplies for the next hiker. Some hostels are better kept than most hotels but I stayed in one where a resident cat struggled to keep the mouse population down. Elmer's Sunnybrook Inn in Hot Springs, NC remains my favorite. For $15 per day I got a bed with lines in the attic. I only shared the attic with one other hiker. For $6 extra I could have breakfast made in part with veggies grown in Elmer's garden. It was delicious.

One more feature worth mentioning about AT hostels is the work-for-stay option. Occasionally a hiker will agree to work in exchange for a free bunk. Most often, it is injured hikers who take this route. They can't afford to pay even a modest fee indefinitely so they clean and do manual labor in exchange for a place to rest and heal. Most hostel owners are very sympathetic to injured hikers. Cloud Nine hostel in Hiawassee, GA has an especially good reputation for that, as does Kinkora hostel in Dennis Cove, TN.

Tonight I am in a public campground. You might think I would hate the traffic and noise but I don't. It is all part of the Shenandoah experience.

All's well.

Big Meadow Campground. Today - 0.0 miles, Total - 912.3 miles.