Date: 2009-02-21
From: Crawfish Valley (2700') 

To: Chestnut Ridge (3700') Entry#2
Miles today: 14.0

Crawfish Valley to Chestnut RidgeSaturday, February 21, 2009Entry two of twoFraser FirSection HikerGeorgia to MaineThe trail maintainer that I met a few minutes ago advised me that my first big climb of today was actually Guillion Mountain and not Tilson Gap. Point being, I was wondering if Tilson Gap was yet to come. After crossing the highway and ascending, I knew that Tilson Gap had to be behind me.Reason being, from the forest, I looked down upon the North Fork of the Holston River and aligned it with my strip map and stared at the elevation profile map as well. I descended to the North Fork of the Holston and watched a few ducks swim and play in the water. An older lady drove by and I waved. A few minutes later, she passed again.I pulled out my water filter and some food to eat. I ensured that my tubing lines and my pump filter were not frozen before I started to pump cold water from the beauty of the Holston.A young man drove by in his pick up and waved. Then, he stopped and we talked for about fifteen minutes or so. He asked me if I was headed to Maine and I told him Pearisburg, for now.The young man was an avid bear hunter and explained the topography of these hills from here to Pearisburg. He included such statements as ¢you will go up this hill and then you¢ll go down this hill, and then you will go up this other hill¢¦¢He gave me the ¢shakedown¢ on the trek to Pearisburg and reminded me that He was ten or so degrees colder than Pearisburg and to expect colder weather than any forecast that I may have gotten from the surrounding towns.His truck was loaded to the maximum with firewood. It was amazing to see the truck move along with such grace and occupy such a large load. My friend was so very kind. It really is the people that you meet that make an everlasting difference. I can recall back in 2004 when I got my vehicle stuck in the mud (on someone¢s property) in Wesser, North Carolina. Not only did I spit up the grass with my rear tires, I tried to use large rocks as wedges to free my free spinning wheels.A nice old man tried to pull me out of the mud and realized that we needed a four wheel drive. He went and got his nephew? A few short minutes later this dude shows up and not only pulls me out, kicked mud inside of my car and all over the place. It was a riot. The point being, kindness sure does go a long way. I have met some of the kindest, nicest people in these Mountains we call Appalachia. The rest of my trek today involved minor ups and downs until late afternoon. Around three p.m., I was still shy of Chestnut Ridge. I started to realize that maybe just maybe I am not in shape for the timeline that I have placed on myself. I planned to sleep on top of Chestnut Mountain tonight and that is still several miles away. I mentally prepare myself for adding two additional days to my hike. I want to relish each and every moment of this experience. I have been wanting to do this for quite some time and I do not want the outside noise, if you will, to affect my immediate experience on the trail.I have invested so much time in my past trail experiences worrying about what might happen tomorrow. Let¢s just enjoy the moment for what it is because we cannot repeat it if we wanted to. I am o.k. with a twelve mile day. It happens.This area of Virginia is as beautiful as I expected. I am in awe of this state and what the trail has to offer here. The topography is not easy, but beautiful nonetheless.After a pep talk to myself and prayer, I ran into three hikers who were sectioning back to the Picnic Table Area in Ceres. They told me that Chestnut was packed in snow and that snow showers were coming this evening. We talked for a little while. They were doing the day sectioning thing that I did for so long. I live too far away to do that now. Brenda from Rendezvous dropped them off at the top. (I was surprised that the road would not be closed)They were from Raleigh and were headed home that evening. The guys informed me that I had made it to the base of Chestnut Ridge. I looked at my watch and it was 4:00 p.m.hmmmm¢¦. Snow showers coming and seven miles to the next shelter. It is four o clock and the next shelter is two thousand feet upwards. Decisions-----decisions¢¦