Date: 2005-04-23
From: Va 602

To: Jim and Molly Denten Shelter
Miles today: 6.6
Weather: light rain

First, an update on the knee: Yesterday I ventured out for a walk to test the knee and to begin a more rigorous rehabilitation process. I used my hiking poles to take some of the weight off, and my knee brace to keep the joint in like while I hiked. I did about a mile, and it went fairly well. The knee complained a bit afterwards, but that was to be expected. Not a bad start.This morning I went out again, also with the poles and the brace, and did two miles. As I sit her at my computer, it is once again whining a bit, but tolerably so. If it does ok over the rest of the day, I might take it out for another walk late this afternoon. If not, I'll back off. Step at a time!My spirits are bouyed simply by the process of having "hiked" a couple of miles this morning, and psychologically it's been good for me to relive my earlier section hikes. It also helps to see the numbers going up on my total AT hike miles, as it makes me feel less badly about not being out there doing real miles quite yet. It also helps when I hear from other hikers or their families, who are following my progress and wishing me well. As noted in the Guest Book, I heard recently from Ron Haven - the provider of motel services, trail magic and limosine services in Franklin, North Carolina (Hey there, Ronnie - good to hear from you), as well as from Jake, Breakaleg's Mom, Amanda (Bubbletoes) Mom, Traction (one of the original M Company members), Skylarke (a hiking buddy from my first night on the trail up to Franklin), Keven - another one of the first night campers at Hawk Mountain Shelter, and also from one of Hopeful Hikers friends. Did I mention that the people are absolutely the best part of the whole trail experience??Yesterday was also Butterfly Moon's birthday, so I sent her a box of stuff to help her celebrate. She's been based in Erwin since Wednesday of this week, doing some slackpacking to keep up the miles, with shuttle services provided by Phoenix who's temporarily off the trail with broken bones in his foot. She said that my transcriber, Shelly Hale, was also in Erwin (probably visiting with Miss Janet who runs a famous hostel there). We had all met up at the NOC on Easter Sunday, so Shelly's three girls all remember her and provided the requisite hugs. Her boyfriend, Rich, is due in Erwin todayu, so it should be a good weekend for my old hiking partner. The Rebels Without a Cause group is still intact and will be getting into Damascus soon, if they're not there already. Youngsters can definitely move faster than old folks like me. Traction, of course, is way ahead, and will probably be the first of M Company to summit Katahdin. Well, this is starting to get depressing as I reflect on everyone else out there hiking, so I'm going to switch gears now and review my section hike of the AT from where I left off at the northern end of the Shenandoah National Park and Snickers Gap - a four day hike I made with my hiking buddy, Spook, in mid-November, 2004. In planning this hike I noted two key features. The first was that our start date of Friday, November 14, coincided with the opening day of deer hunting season. This was particularly relevant as part of the trail goes through a nature area that was open to hunting. And, while certain other parts of the trail were closed to hunters, that didn't mean that they might not be around - as boundaries aren't always clearly marked out in the woods, and poaching in public parks is not entirely unheard of. To deal with the risks of hiking during the hunting season, I acquired a blaze orange pack cover from the ATC store in Harpers Ferry and blaze orange vest and hat from Walmart. Thus attired, Spook allowed as how I should take the lead, as I was obviously better prepared that he was with simply an orange hat. He's generous that way.... In addition to the blaze orange, I also made sure to whistle a lot as we hiked, and that definitely helped to alert hunters that we were coming, and that we were not deer. The other feature of interest, at the north end of this 37 mile hike, was a ten mile section known as the infamous "roller-coaster". This is a section of ten mountains in a row where the ATC has not been able to acquire a wide enough right-of-way to allow for switch backs. As a result, the trail simply goes up and over one mountain after another, ten in a row. It's known as one of the more challenging sections of the AT, and it certainly lived up to its reputation -- but I'm getting ahead of myself.Day 1: As usual, I allowed for a relatively short day on the first day out, as we had to stash his car at Snickers Gap, and then drive south to the 4-H center where we parked my car and began hiking north. Our destination was the Jim and Molly Denten Shelter, which was described in the guide book as one of the nicest ones in this area. We got a reasonably early start, and the hike itself wasn't too bad. We went slowly, as there was no need to rush, and we both made sure we were drinking enough water to stay hydrated. After his experience in the SNP, Spook had acquired a bladder and sip tube, and this did seem to make a difference. We got to the shelter in the early afternoon, and it definitely lived up to its reputation. It is relatively new, has a beautiful deck off the main shelter, a separate, covered cooking area, a privy and -- while it was a bit too cool to be enticing for us -- even a solar shower. While we were settling in and collecting firewood for a fire, a south-bound through-hiker came through and stopped for a rest. He had just come from the post office near Front Royal and was grousing about how heavy his pack was due to the food box he had received. He didn't stay long, however, and Spook and I soon had the shelter all to ourselves again. We had dinner, made a nice campfire, and had a most relaxing and enjoyable evening. As was my habit, I set up my tent on the deck and slept quite soundly. Altogether, a good day on the trail.stay tuned,Longhaul