Date: 2017-06-22
From: Dripping Rock, BRP 9.6

To: Rockfish Gap, US 250 & Blue Ridge Parkway
Miles today: 14.3
Weather: clear sky

Today we were headed to Waynesboro, VA to do our errands.  About every 10 days we go into a town.  This is our opportunity to stay overnight in indoor lodgings, get a shower, do laundry, and get groceries.  Most hikers take a day off to do this so they can get their errands done and rest.  Our schedule does not permit this.  We typically hike a substantial, but shorter than usual, number of miles and then cram in all the errands.   We started hiking at our new usual time: 6:00 AM.  Arlene, Bill, and I arrived at the van at 2:00 - just as Lizzie and Patti (the Southbound hikers) arrived in their vehicles.  From then on there was a whirlwind of activity that didn't let up till 11:30 PM.  First we went to the post office to pick up mail.  Then we found a place to eat and ate as much as we could get down.  While Arlene, Lizzie, Patti, and I ate Rennie went to the local outfitter to pick up a spare pair of hiking boots he had ordered.  When Rennie and Bill got back we all went to a little hotel for which we had coupons.  The rooms to which the coupons applied were all taken.  The owner, a nice East Indian man, was willing to make us a deal on two other rooms, but the place was a bit run down.  We decided to try Comfort Inn, for which we also had coupons.  There was only one room left there.  Rather than waste more time looking we took that room.  It was a standard size hotel room with one king size bed, a regular bathroom, and a separate room with a 3-person Jacuzzi.  The six of us started taking showers and doing laundry.  Because it had been ten days since the last town stop each one of us had a full load.  There was only one washer and one dryer.  It took us till 8 o'clock to get the laundry done. Arlene, Bill, Rennie, and I then drove to Walmart to get groceries.  By the time we finished shopping it was after 9 o'clock.  Then Rennie needed to eat (he had skipped the earlier meal).  We drove around looking for someplace that was open and finally found a Wendy's.  While Rennie and Bill ate inside, Arlene and I stayed in the van to unpack our groceries and fit them into our food bins.  Back at the hotel we gathered our clean clothes and packed them into our clothing bins in the van.  Then we settled into the room for the night.  Arlene and I got the bed; Bill, Patti, and Rennie slept on their sleeping mats with their sleeping bags on the floor; Lizzie slept on an improvised couch.  We finally turned out the lights a bit after 11:30.  What a long day!  Bill earlier joked that in town we rush around doing errands and have 17 minutes to relax at the end of the day.  Today we didn't even get the 17 minutes.  We all look forward to town days because we get showers, a treat of such great magnitude that only a hiker can fully comprehend.  But we also dread it because of the superhuman effort it takes to get everything done.  And it all has to be done.  If you skip laundry you spend many extra days wearing really stinky clothes.  If you don't buy the right groceries, you're left eating whatever food was so horrible you couldn't bring yourself to eat it before.  Only now it's ten days older and staler than it was.  Group news: Rennie has lost so much weight that he's worried about his health.  This afternoon he had us take a picture of him shirtless that he sent to his wife.  I have no idea what or how much he eats.  I've never seen him eat anything on the trail other than an apple.  He gets into camp so early each night that he's already finished eating when the rest of us arrive.  He typically eats just about everything that goes into the communal food box in addition to his own food.  He needs a whole lot more calories than the rest of us because he hikes so much faster and never takes a break.  I think he's also unhappy because he spends so much time waiting around for us doing nothing.  We don't dawdle, but we do stop at the places with good views and take pictures of flowers, snakes, etc.  And Bill, Arlene, and I usually stop to soak our feet in the cold water of a stream midday.  Rennie typically doesn't stop at all.  It must be a great frustration to him to spend so much time waiting around.  He's now talking about quitting because of us and says he's serious.  We all would hate to see him leave and are trying to encourage him to eat more.  He's also now considering taking off the six days in Pennsylvania that we've already hiked to rest up and eat.Other group news: Terri, who went home several weeks ago with knee injuries, texted Bill yesterday that she's coming back "soon", although she hasn't given us a date.  Scott, who went home with heart problems on the third day of the hike, has had his medical procedure.  He sees his doctor next week on the 26th.  Assuming all is well, his wife will drive him here on the 27th. Then he'll start hiking with us on the 28th, probably at a reduced speed and mileage.  Wildflower of the Day: wild raspberry (see photo)!  There were both blooms (very pretty) and berries.  I haven't seen any of these in years, so it was a real treat.Bird of the day: nuthatch, one of the few I've heard this whole hike.Beast of the day: cinnamon-colored toad about one inch long.  I saw hundreds of these in Maine last summer and have seen quite a few on this trip as well. Very small and cute.  When I get a good photo I'll post it and ask for help to identify it.  Beast of the week: Lizzie saw a water snake and got a good picture of it (see photo).  Historical ruins of the day: Toward the end of the hike we passed through a wooded place that was settled at one time.  There was a long stone wall similar to the stone fences in New England and a clearing with lots of gray flat stones in the ground.  On closer inspection we saw they were natural rocks meant to mark graves.  Most of them had no names or dates on them and were not shaped or embellished in any way.  Finally we came to a stone chimney and the remains of surrounding stone walls.  The place must have been abandoned for a long time: there was a fully mature tulip poplar growing right up against it. It amazes me that people actually lived in such inhospitable places.  The land is so steep and rocky that it's hard to walk over.  What hard lives these pioneers must have had!Send some good thoughts Rennie's way please.