Date: 2004-06-24
From: Bobblet's Gap Shelter

To: Skinny Dipping
Miles today: 18.3

Last night I slept okay because the new sleeping bag kept me warm. I did, however, have to wear long underwear while sleeping. This morning, I was able to hit the trail with dry shoes and socks because yesterday, I had worn sandals during the rain. My adjustments seem to be working.While hiking during the early morning, beams of sunlight projected through the branches of a tree and illuminated the trail; the dramatic scene looked almost like it was lit by theatrical lighting.My clothes and especially my shirt were still damp from having hiked yesterday in the rain. During a rest stop, I took off the shirt and placed it in the sun, which had finally burned off the mist. While the shirt was drying, Shivers showed up and we chatted. In the middle of our conversation, I felt a sharp pain on my back. For as long as I can remember, there has been a small mole on my back near a shoulder blade. A horsefly had landed on the mole and bit the thing.The trail hit a rural road and I crossed a bridge. Looking below, I spied a deep and wide pool of water in a large stream. Shivers and I hiked to the pool of water and went for a swim. Nobody was around so we skinny dipped. Shivers was so psyched to cool off that he dove under the water with his glasses on; they fell off and sunk to the bottom. He had to swim underwater and find them.I air dried myself near a large, sun baked boulder. While this was happening, I looked up through the trees toward a parking lot. An elderly woman was staring down at me with a disapproving expression. Our eyes met. She walked away and I grabbed my pants. Afterwards, she and her husband showed up on the other side of the stream. I apologized to them and said that we didn¢t realize that they had arrived in the parking lot. Her husband said that he did not mind, adding that he used to swim like that in previous years. The woman acknowledged my apology by waving her cigarette in a dismissive manner.The weather was nice today and so was the swim. But I did experience a sensation of melancholy. Zip Off and Kato had left messages in trail registers informing hikers of their departure from the trail in Virginia. Kato was going back home and Zip Off was heading up to New Jersey to hike another section of the Appalachian Trail. He had already hiked on the section of trail which lay ahead of me.At first, I felt bad about not being able to say goodbye to them. Later, I recalled my last impression of them. They had been staying at the tiered motel back in Pearisburg. On the morning they planned to resume hiking, it was raining hard. Kato's car bumper had just been dented by a minor accident. Their spirits were low and they debated whether or not to drive their vehicles to the trailheads and resume hiking, or wait until the weather improved on the following day. When the rain let up, they decided to resume hiking. I stood in the doorway of my room and watched them walk across the wet parking lot to their vehicles. When he opened the door to his vehicle, Zip Off looked at me and smiled. He raised his arms and clenched his fists in a defiant expression of determination to hit the trail in spite of the terrible weather. In retrospect, I decided that it was better to have that moment preserved in my mind as the final image of them.The swim was refreshing, but when the hike resumed, I was soon drenched from sweat. There were two difficult ascents during the afternoon. The second ascent led me up Floyd Mountain, which consisted of five mile of almost continuous uphill hiking.I reached Cornelius Creek Shelter late in the day. Camping here was Shivers, Susan, Messy Garage and his nephew. Later, two southbound section hikers rolled in. I will sleep tonight in the shelter. Hopefully, my new sleeping bag will keep me warm.