Date: 2004-09-14
From: Warspur Shelter

To: Sarver Hollow Shelter
Miles today: 12.2
Weather: light rain

What a day! Very tough but lots of great stuff.   Awoke in the still of the night to get an early start. Tried to start off in the dark just before dawn. Not such a great idea in a very dark and misty morning in which one of the first tasks was to walk across a single log bridge elevated over a stream, balancing on a single log in the dark and slippery misty predawn is a lot tougher than I thought, but I did manage to slowly inch my way across with my arms outstretched and the temporally useless hiking poles dangling from my wrists.   Started out well and was soon at USFS156 in Johns Creek Valley. After that it was a long slog up Rocky Gap, 1000¢ of elevation in less than two miles. I was realy suffering because I was pushing to get a good start on what I knew would be a long and difficult day. Sooner or later ¢The Miles¢ begin to figure into every AT hikers thoughts. I arrived at VA606 Rocky Gap in a miasma of sweat and heat and Lo and Behold! ¢ TRAIL MAGIC ¢ a cooler of soda and snacks left by Dave. Once again just as things are getting difficult something happens to restore my faith in the trail. I munched on the goodies and spent far too much time on this unscheduled stop. I even took a moon pie with me which I am now happily devouring, post dinner, as I write this entry.      Then it was a ridge walk along the crest ¢ not too rocky ¢ and, just before the misty obstructed view from Kelly Knob, I met a two SOBO¢s, a lady and a young girl. They said that hurricane Ivan [The Terrible] is expected in this area this weekend and that it is going to be ¢Realy Bad¢ for several days. Hopefully I will be in Catawba before it strikes.   I soon passed Laurel Creek Shelter and gradually descended the mountain into Sinking Creek Valley ¢ which is filled with meadows ¢ I love Meadows, and these were particularly great. By this stage it had turned into a bright and sunny day and I had a leisurely lunch on the top of one of the meadows with the full valley spread out before me. Just Beautiful. After reluctantly leaving my beautiful meadows I began the last ascent of the day up Sinking Creek Mountain. Just at the start of the ascent is the Keffer Oak, thought to be over 300 years old. I was a little disappointed to see that the style that carries the trail is nailed to the side of this magnificent tree, and that High Tension wires make getting a good photo of it difficult. Then I realized that it is in spite of all of these difficulties that the oak still survives, and was sending me a message that real nature can still be found despite the work, and needs, of men.      Then the major climb started. This was easily the most difficult in this section so far. It is 1000¢ over approx one mile. Very, very, very tough ¢ not rocky ¢ just very steep at the end of a long day. There were also a lot of wind fallen trees and branches on the trail, remnants of hurricane Francis, I suppose.   Finally I made it to the ridge headed on here to the shelter. On the ridge I met another SOBO truhiker named Piss in the Wind. He told me that Francis was pretty scary with 45MPH winds whipping over the ridge that he was on at the time. And they say that Ivan will be even worse!   Along this ridge there are numerous stone Cairns, most quiet large, and many carefully arranged with the lower stones organized and carefully fitted together. They are far too numerous to be trail markers, to say nothing of their complexity. They are also too many to be old charcoal burners. It looks like all of the loose rocks on the ridge have been piled up into these Cairns. The entries in the shelter log attribute them to aliens ¢ where are you now Blister Bill? Could they be burial mounds marking a very old burial site?   Finally came to the sign for the shelter ¢ it claimed that the shelter was only 0.25 miles off the trail, but it was much longer than that. It did however seem like it was 0.25 miles straight down! It is going to be a long climb out of here tomorrow.   Again I am the only one in the shelter and the entries in the shelter logbook have been sparse of late. I did however see entries from Bear Behind, Pipesmoker, and Pucca with her dog Zack, also from Zinc, all of them in good spirits and still heading north.   It is interesting how attached I have become to all of these hikers, even thought I have known them for such a short time, it seems that they have all entered that personal lexicon of friends and interesting characters that I so clearly and vividly remember and will, I am sure, never forget.   Good signal here. Spoke with KT, all is well.   This is a new [2001] shelter with an enclosed table and wooden floor, great for bare feet! Clear evening now, the wind is still, small white puffy clouds, a chattering bird complaining about something. All is well.Thought ¢    Happiness can be found by realizing your true capabilities and living within them