Date: 2005-05-10
From: Stealth Campsite Near Audie Murphy Monument

To: Catawba Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 18.4
Weather: clear sky

I woke up this morning on the very remote-feeling ridge, camped alone in the woods. The morning was beautiful. I felt that there was no other human for miles in either direction, and maybe I was right. My bearbag (of food) was still hanging from the tree and there were quiet sounds of small animals hopping through last fall's dry leaves, creating a rustling in the woods at wake up time. My camp site was just a semi-level open spot between the trees, just big enough for my tent. It wasn't much but I slept surprisingly well. It was cool but not cold overnight. Today was to be a very challenging day with over 18 miles planned to reach Catawba Mountain Shelter. The first few miles down to Trout Creek were fairly easy and beautiful as I could look to the valley below on either side. It was typical Virginia scenery and each valley seemed to have its own personality. I wondered if the inhabitants of these valleys were acquainted with each other, or lived very separate lives with this miles-long barrier between them. One valley remained open and rural, probably still mostly farmland, and the other looked like it may have been sold in smaller tracts for country-estate type development. I heard a local man say that in some places the ridges separating valleys make natural county lines, so maybe they do in fact cause the people to be separate and live distinct lives from each other. After Trout Creek there was a long climb of two miles up to Hemlock Point. Then the really hard stuff began. Dragon's Tooth is a famous rock outcropping with large chunks of bedrock situated vertically on the ridge. The miles before its location were extremely hard hiking. As the schedule would have it, I came to this section in the heat of the day with the blaring sun directly on me. The ridge was beautiful in itself, and the views to the valley far below were awesome. I cooked lunch in the cool shade of one of these massive pieces of stone that was thrust up into the air. I had a rock table, rock umbrella, and a piece of rock to sit on while I cooked, ate, and rested. The breeze was even cool in the shadow of this massive stone. It seemed to take a long time to reach the Dragon's Tooth itself. Somehow I do not have any pictures of the actual rocks at the tooth area. Near there I met a dozen young women, one young man and three dogs. They were out celebrating their recent graduation from Veterinarian School at Virginia Tech. I envied the ease with which they hiked with no heavy packs. Near Dragon's Tooth the descent off the mountain begins, and some descent it is! Sometimes you almost can't believe the trail is actually traversing the marked route, but sure enough the 2x6 inch white blazes were painted right on the rock. The trail sometimes consisted of a six inch wide ledge down the rock face, twenty or more feet high. Hard to imagine, but you could actually navigate the trail though sometimes it took some study to see what they intended. In several places reality ruled, and there were metal rungs fitted into holes in the rock face, probably drilled in to fit the gauge of the rods. So I would climb or descend the rock face on the ladder rungs - very interesting. Since I was tired, my feet hurt, and heavy salty sweat stung my eyes, I was very careful and went slowly. I also met a lone man in the area, and we talked for a few minutes. I think his name was Greg. According to plan I was to reach Virginia 311 and hitchhike into Catawba to the Post Office to pick up my resupply box. Since they close at 5:00, I knew I would not make it since the hiking conditions were extreme and I needed to go slow for safety. I also went slow because of the tough terrain. Eventually I came to the North Mountain Trail and Virginia 624 crossing. The data book said there was a store .4 miles to the left to another part of Virginia 311, and then .1 miles down that road. I went there and got some gatorade and other snacks, and was able to buy fuel and fully resupply. I will call the Catawba P.O. and have them forward the box home. At the store Greg from up on the mountain came in and asked if I needed anything. I said I could use a ride back to the trail and he graciously provided the ride for which I was thankful. That saved me a half mile of road walking in the hot sun. I packed my purchases and filtered water at the trailhead. I got my mind set to do the six miles to the Virginia highway 311 trail crossing, and after a long repeated up and down hike I finally made it there a little after 6:00. That left two miles to the shelter. Two young college students were in the parking lot at the crossing and they described the trail ahead for me. It was a relatively easy hike to the shelter, they said, and that proved true. I arrived about 7:15 tired but upbeat. At the shelter were Skillet and Bottle, a young thru hiker couple from Texas. I had talked with them briefly in Pearisburg as they were leaving town the day I arrived. We talked quietly until nearly dark. They have been married seven months, two of them on the trail for their hike. It has been a very hard, long and tiring day, maybe one of the hardest hiking days since I began back in Georgia. But I made it to the shelter and am very pleased with the day. As I was struggling along today I would have loved to talk with Marlene. I tried to call her from the country store but was unable to get her. I tried to leave a message but am unsure whether I successfully recorded the message from the pay phone via phone card, since as I was recording a large truck pulled up and parked near the payphone and left the engine running while unloading propane gas containers. I hope I pressed all the right buttons to leave the message as I couldn't hear instructions clearly. All in all it has been a great day. The hike was hard but I saw some famous trail scenery, hiked some very tough trail and then spent an enjoyable evening chatting with Skillet and Bottle. It was a challenge but I made my way. A fulfilling day. Not much energy left for reading, so I will just try to get some sleep. Thank you Lord for your protection and strength. Goodnight Sweetheart.