Date: 2018-06-24
From: LambertÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs Meadow Shelter

To: Daleville, Virginia
Miles today: 9.4
Weather: broken clouds

Our shelter became a very popular place last night. Two other thru-hikers sheltered with us and several weekend tent-ers showed up. We¢re pretty certain this is because we were at the only water source for several miles either direction. One thru-hiker pitched his tent behind the bear boxes up by us. The weekenders had to go down a hill and across the stream. There were lots of trees to hide behind down there, but if one of them wanted to use the privy(they all do)it was a steep climb back up. I was awakened at 5:28am by a very loud crack from a breaking tree. That sound was followed by psssssshhhhhh-BOOM! A tree had fallen over by the tents. I popped up like a Jack-in-the-Box to make sure nobody was injured. By the grace of God everybody was safe, wide awake now, but safe. Our trail was rough today. Lots of climbs and lots of rocks. Hugs led us out of camp and I took the lead on the first big up. Again the ups were just straight up. We were ridge hiking but the ridges were sawtooth.  We exerted a lot of energy on the very first up, so I started looking for a place to break. I found a little cubbyhole in the trees with 3 boulders about butt high. We rested 10 minutes or so then put our packs back on.  We hiked about 20ft up and right there was a couple of big boulders with a great view. I can¢t believe we took a break in that little carved out space in the trees when we could have had that view. Today¢s photo is of Hugs enjoying it for a moment. Coming down from the top there were nice switchbacks. Hugs had the lead. At one point I looked up and she gave me the shhh sign and pointed. Over to our left was a beautiful young doe. She was more standoff-ish than some of the others, but she didn¢t run away. She let us enjoy her for a good while before we moved on. We sort of separated after the deer. I took the lead again. We must have been coming to another UP. I¢ve been pretty strong on the UPs lately. Sometimes I even surprise myself! When I reached the summit of the next UP things leveled out a bit. I decided to take advantage of the great terrain by walking fast. That¢s when I nearly stepped right on top of a box turtle! It wasn¢t very big, and his shell just blended in with the trail. I recognized it at the very last second.  After the usual photo session I moved him off the trail. The rest of the trail was a ridge, but very rocky and up and down like a roller coaster. I know there is an area they actually call ¢the roller coaster¢. It could  apply here too. Even though my feet were very sore from the rocks, the views were amazing! I had several views of a beautiful river. I walked by a few more berry bushes, and had nice breezes all day.  Before I knew it I popped out onto a highway in Daleville Virginia. Wooohoo! I went straight to the gas station and guzzled a root beer! Hugs and Big Kahuna got a soda too. Then we walked to a local BBQ place called Three Li¢l Pigs. We definitely ate like three little pigs, and since we are thru-hikers we got free banana pudding for dessert!  Right now my laundry is done. I¢m freshly bathed, feeling fat and happy at the Holiday Inn Express! Don¢t worry, I¢ll be back out there tomorrow.  Blue Raccoon¢s guest book question of the day:  Patti B Galesburg IllinoisMelissa.... You are doing so good! And well you have lost even more weight...hopefully you're back in your rear-end is healing with the falls you've taken. Congrats on your latest family member!! Hike on "Rocky" raccoon! ;-)Hi Patti! Thanks for the well wishes! My derri re is no longer in pain. My back is much improved. It always hurts anyway, but is definitely better. I¢m glad you mentioned weight loss. I¢ve been meaning to address this. It does look like I¢ve lost a fair amount of weight, but it¢s really only 3 or 4 pounds. That being said, my body shape and muscle tone have changed a lot! I¢m soon to have buns of steel!  Until Next Time Blue Raccoon (2018)Ps. Teresa, the peach top came from JC Penney. Where¢s your faith?