Date: 2013-06-10
From: Harper Creek Shelter

To: Campsite, Humpback Mountain
Miles today: 14.7

The rain continued on and off all night. It came down fiercely, trying to wash away the memory of some previous sin. I figured whoever was sleeping outside (Breeze & Wind) were probably getting wet. I was right. They were getting drenched. I woke up at 6, and it was coming down. I went back to sleep. I woke up again around 7:20. It was still raining, but it was much lighter. No one was moving. Herd mentality told me to go back to sleep. I did. I woke up again at 8:20. I felt really good. My knee felt much better than it had when I went to sleep, still nowhere near 100%, but the rest of me felt rejuvenated. I made breakfast of some "awesome oatmeal" that I'd found in the hiker box at Dutch Haus. It was awesome. It was probably enough for two people, but I ate it all. I considered zeroing and just trying to bust out big miles tomorrow, but in my heart of hearts I knew my knee wouldn't stand for it.Breeze & Wind came out of their respective hammock and tent. They were wet and mad. I can't say I blame them. Wind's pack fell off the lip of the shelter into the mud, its contents poured out into a puddle. He flung some stuff around and said a few choice words. I admired his self-control. The four guys seemed to be setting up shop, Sonny was packing up shop, and I was somewhere in the middle. As much as I didn't want to hike in the rain, I wanted to get to Waynesboro more. So pack up, I did. I asked the guys to keep an eye out for me as I forded the swollen creek in front of the shelter. Rock hopping was no longer an option. This required wading. I put on my Crocs and tied my boots to the back of my pack. It was much less dramatic than I expected it to be. I put on my boots and waved to the guys as I headed up the hill.There was a "no-shit" 3.2 mile climb right off the bat. Again, I'm thinking whoever said that Virginia was "easy" was being ironic. Or maybe they meant it was easy compared to say, Mount Everest. I'm not sure. The rain held off for the first hour, but then it came. Fog filled the forest and any view from the top was blocked. It was a white out. The ground was rocky and so, so wet. My toes sloshed around in my boots, water squished out of the sides. There were rock outcrops that had turned into waterfalls that you had to scale on all fours. There were ancient rock slides. The rocks were slick, and my feet kept slipping off. Thank goodness for hiking poles!Once I reached the top, I immediately started down the rocky wetness on the other side. What was the point of climbing this friggin' mountain?! I got so angry I started yelling obscenities. At the top of my lungs. It gave me no solace or sense of release. It just made me feel more defeated and powerless. I was at the mercy of the trail. And no one had told me that June was monsoon season in Virginia. I felt like I was Aquablazing, but without the fun. My stomach was growling by the time I got to Maupin Field Shelter. I had forgotten to pull out any snacks, and it had been too wet to stop and dig for them. It was a little after 1:15 when I got there. Gnats followed me into the shelter. I stripped off my shoes and wrung more dirty out of my socks. I covered my feet with a fleece to keep the gnats from biting them. I put on my rain jacket for warmth and covered my legs with my rain pants. Rain started falling hard, splattering on the picnic table in front. With no fanfare or enthusiasm, I ate crackers with cheese and summer sausage. Breeze came in about half an hour later. He was as frustrated and disgusted as I was. We had a little bitch-fest and laughed. What else could we do? As I headed out, the rest of Breeze's crew were headed in. They were feeling pretty low. The rain held out for the next 2 hrs. But even when I got down to the Blue Ridge Parkway, I had no view of the Priest or Three Ridges. Their profiles will forever be a mystery to me. Soon after I reached the "flat elevation" area, the rocks and rain came on hardcore. Big cold rain drops, loose, angular wet rocks. The path turned into a brown river. My knee hurt from all the uneven rock negotiations. There were waterfalls coming down from every rock face, and at any other point in my life I would have stopped to admire them with awe. But today I just, well, I guess I won't go thirsty. I was wet and frustrated and devoid of humor when I reached Cedar Cliffs. I was below the clouds, and the rain had slowed to a sprinkle. There was a clear view down to the farmland and forests of the Shenandoah Valley below. I saw tiny black cows on square plots of land. Silos, barns, farmhouses. Roads with toy cars moving swiftly along. Patches of blue sky with wispy clouds in the distance. I decided I needed a break. I pulled out my phone to see if I had any cellphone coverage. I had a text message from my mom, asking how I was doing. I sent a text saying that my spirits were low, the weather was bad, and my knee was no better. And then I started crying. Rain dropped on my phone, and I tried to lean over the top of it to keep it dry. My shirt was too wet, everything was too wet, to wipe any of the moisture away. I slipped the phone back into its protective sleeve, and I walked back out to the cliffs. I sat down in the one spot that wasn't a water puddle. I buried my head in my hands, and I cried. My feet were sitting in a few inches of water. I didn't care. My slumped shoulders heaved. I drew jagged, uneven gasping breaths. I felt depleted, drained, defeated. I had nothing more to give. Or at least it felt that way. I cried it out. Then I stood up, wiped my face with the front of my shirt, put on my pack and kept going. I crossed back over the BRP. There were no cars. They didn't want to be out here either. I filled my reservoir at the spring by the pullout. I checked my voicemail. Elaine had tried to call back but my phone had been off. I headed back into the woods. There was another ice chest with trail magic. I snagged a couple of instant coffee mixes and read the journal entries through their plastic sleeve. It was too wet to sign it myself. The entries celebrated the sunny weather and beautiful hike. Lucky bastards, I thought. These hikers had obviously passed by the week before. No one I'd come across in the last few days had anything positive to say about the weather or the hike. I looked at my watch and guessimated how long it would take me to reach my campsite. About 45 minutes. I started hiking. The trail went up (of course). There were piles of rocks to see and hilltops that the trail designers thought was mandatory to stand atop. I grumbled my way up. I saw a couple of side trails, but they had no explanation. I kept going up. I thought I had somehow missed the campsite. I started looking for any flat spot to pitch my tent. The trail led out to another rocky outcrop. Mountain laurel was popping everywhere. There was a view! Hallelujah! There was a view! To the east, the sky was covered in blue grey clouds with wisps of white curling up from the hillsides. Looking south, there was a ski slope, green in the summertime, with condos snaking and curling around their edges. They looked so out of place. To the west, the shone above a flat layer of clouds. Sun rays cut through and cast hazy beams down onto the valley floor below. Some of the rays caught flat surfaces of water and reflected back up sharp dots. The wind was blowing in steady gusts. I walked along the cliff edge- the trail designers' idea, not mine! and came upon a large flat grassy area. The campsite! Yeah!I quickly unpacked my tent. The body of the tent was dry, but the fly was wet. I took the fly back out to the cliffs and held it while it flapped all the moisture away. It took 20-30 seconds. Breeze, Wind, Buckles and Cheese showed up while I was setting up the tent. They were stopping for a snack break and then planning to push a few miles farther. I hung my wet clothes on the tree limbs out on the cliffs. I was hoping the wind would help to dry them. It worked somewhat, the humidity was too high for it to be as successful as I had hoped. I took my cook stuff out to the cliffs and made dinner. After the shit weather and lack of views, I wanted this sunset. I needed this sunset. From the southwest, I could see the storm clouds dropping rain on on the ridges. It was headed my way. I took all my stuff back to my tent and finished eating. I hung the bear bag and called it a night. The sunset has done wonders for my attitude. The wind is blowing like crazy. My knee is still not right, and I'm worried about it. Hopefully I can find out something tomorrow in Waynesboro.