Date: 2015-05-18
From: the Captain's 

To: camp site 675.8
Miles today: 20.2
Weather: few clouds

Where do we start with today?? It was absolutely horrible!! It started by us being woken by the sound of rain on our tent. Never a good to start the day wet. The rain stopped and we ventured outside. We ate breakfast on the back porch of "The Captain's". We thought maybe the tent would dry a bit while we ate breakfast. But, it was so humid, that didn't work. So, we packed up a wet tent. Then,we headed to the zipline to zip back across the stream to start hiking. Hiking started with an immediate climb. And climb we did. We climbed 1100 feet. The trail was wet and very, very rocky. Between the wetness of the trail and the humidity, we were soaked with sweat within the first 10 minutes. During the climb, Count went down for the count. He slipped on a rock and fell backwards as he tried to catch himself, of course he tumbled over as the weight of the backpack changes your center of gravity. He hurt his hip and his right hand. It scared both of us as with one fall, everything can change.   Count picked himself up, Lavender was shook by his fall, but we continued on. After Count took a few steps, his left hiking pole snapped. That was not good, as hiking poles are our safety poles going up and down the many needless ups and downs (nuds) on the AT. We continued hiking but took a break about 15 minutes later as we needed to compose ourselves. We had a snack and some water. Papa Al passed us and we talked with him. He was also having a hard time going as the weather and terrain were not conducive for making many miles today.   It was great to talk with Papa Al. We continued hiking and we finally had cell service. Black Diamond, the maker of our hiking poles, was contacted. There warranty covers broken poles. Count should have a new pole waiting when we arrive in Daleville on Thursday. Of course, we continued hiking after this. We were on the ridge line and there were rocks, rocks and more rocks; no soil; just rocks. We heard rumors that Virginia is easy hiking. We will put and end to that rumor - Virginia is not easy hiking.   We started down the mountain with less rocks on the trail now. We stopped for water and had lunch. What do we do on days that start out wet?? We set up the tent to let it dry. We also hung our sleeping quilts out for some fresh air. We took a long lunch as we said, it wasn't a good day. We continued down over 2000 feet. As we approached the bottom, we saw. Papa Al drinking a soda. There were two sodas along the trail. Trail Magic. Yes, we needed a moral boost. We shared a soda. It was good. We crossed the road to start the climb of 1700 feet in 2.5 miles. The trail was very, very steep and very, very long and very, very rocky. If that wasn't enough, a thunderstorm hit and we were soaked. But, we continued to climb, climb, climb only to reach the top to immediately start down. The rain had stopped and we were starting to dry out. We saw a florescent orange spotted salamander. As we were taking a picture, it started to rain again. This time it continued to rain for at least an hour. We were soaked again. By now, our boots and socks were soaked. It isn't any fun to hike in wet boots and socks let me tell you. We continued on hiking through a meadow. It had stopped raining but the grass was wet. Now our legs were itchy and wet. We did see two deer both with antlers. We finally made it across the meadow after hiking through a swampy area to find a camp site. We just wanted to set up our tent and get out of our wet boots and socks. As we were doing this, biting flies started to attack us. We hurried and got in our tent. It was hot in the tent, but we cooked dinner in the tent to avoid the flies. We also blew up our sleeping pads in the tent, which is very difficult. Now, we are ready for a good night sleep and to put this horrible day behind us. We hiked harder today and went less miles, makes for a frustrating day.