Date: 2004-03-17
From: US 60 (Buena Vista, VA - Budget Inn)

To: Punch Bowl Shelter
Miles today: 10.9
Weather: overcast clouds

Greening12 Noon - Pedlar Dam (known locally as Lynchburg Dam)Just passed my first real milestone: about .2 mi before reaching this dam I completed the 100th mile of this trek. (Yesterday I completed my first virtual state: if I had started hiking at Springer and walked the same mileage I would have crossed into NC from GA.)I started late this morning because I was feeling tired and took a couple of catnaps before finally getting going. Probably the result of yesterday's high mileage and emotional stress.The walk so far today started with a steep downhill for about a mile, followed by nearly level walking with minor undulations. From here I will climb 1500', most of it in the next 2 mi.6PM - Punch Bowl ShelterActually, the hardest part of the climb was the last half mile to the shelter, with an elevation change of 500'. I start tomorrow with something similar - always difficult before you are warmed up.When I got here the air was quite cold, so I set up my sleeping bag and crawled in it for 20 minutes just to warm up. As I was cooking dinner, the weather pattern that was threatening rain or snow all day (none fell) must have moved out, and now it is fairly comfortable. I think the weather forecast I saw in Buena Vista indicated sun for the next two days, then some more light rain. We'll see.Speaking of Buena Vista, the man who picked me up at the Trail yesterday, Mr Williamson, drove me back out. He provides a shuttle service to hikers, and charges whatever you want to pay. It turns out we have several things in common: we both lost our wives in 2002; we both just downsized from large houses with decades of possessions into much smaller accommodations; and we both - well never mind that. In any case, if anyone on the Trail comes out on US 60 and needs a ride into Buena Vista, I recommend calling Mr W at 540-570-8843 (if your cell phone works there since there are no pay phones there).Another thing about Buena Vista, everything was being sold in larger quantities than I wanted. I needed 6 oz of alcohol, but the smallest quantity it was sold in was 1 qt. I left the rest in my motel room. Trail bars came in boxes of 6 or 8. I like variety, so bought several boxes, brought about half the bars with me, and left the rest. Same story for TP, batteries, baggies, maybe more. Does that qualify as reverse Trail Magic?Today I travelled through three distinct vegetation zones. in the low-lying creek beds, the understory of small trees and bushes was just starting to put out small leaves. At middle levels, between 1500 and 2500' there was lots of green, mostly laurel but often with rhododendron mixed in. One place the rhododendron was so thick that I could see that in a few weeks the expression 'green tunnel' that I have seen in several journals would be apropriate. Though the flower buds are very much in evidence, blooming is still weeks away.At eleations above 2500' there is very little green in the understory, except for the occasional small pine. none of the trees in the upper story are showing signs of putting out leaves yet.See you on down the Trail