Date: 2003-04-29
From: Camping, 1/3 of a mile from VA 623

To: Helveys Mill Shelter
Miles today: 17.9
Weather: light rain

Well, today started out with an early shower, just as our packs were being loaded. So off we went on semi-empty stomachs. We stopped at the Jenkins Shelter 4 miles away and had ¢brunch¢ and drank lots of water (supposed to be sunny today). As I was hiking along after brunch, I stopped short as a 6 foot black snake slithered across the trail¢¦I took a few pictures, then moseyed on my way. The next couple miles had about 12 creek crossings. A challenge to keep our feet dry, but we did it! After we crossed Laurel Creek by VA 615, we got some trail magic supplied by the local Methodist Church. A cooler of ice with juice bottles and V8 cans, also a garbage can (important to hikers, we love getting rid of trash.) Very cool. The next section, en route to Bland, VA, was very pretty. A nice belt of green between mountains, nice views here. Also, the trail was easier (lots of gentle grades and switchbacks) than we expected. Finally, we were approaching Bland, when we got to a Ziplock on a tree. It said it was a memory of ¢Soleman¢ (Ted Anderson) who died before his thru started. All I saw to identify who it was from was WYOF@hotmail.com. There was a weather report and other news tidbits, there was soda at one time, now only a garbage bag of empties. I thought this was pretty cool and wished I could have met this person. But we had to push on; we walked the trail (now a dirt road) down to the road crossing to Bastion/Bland, VA (routes¢US 21/52). And we were just shortening up our hiking poles when a van pulled up from the direction of Bland. A guy stuck his head out of the van and said, ¢Are you Wench and Hotdog?¢ We said, ¢Yes¢ and wondered who he was. He pulled past us and we noticed his license plate was ¢WYOF¢ and he was the trail magic guy!! Cool!! It turns out he knew Soleman (Ted Anderson), from the hospital he worked at in WV/Bluefield. Ted was a ¢visiting¢ or ¢traveling¢ respiratory therapist there and worked with him. WYOF is really George Fisher and he was with his dog Gina (she wouldn¢t bite a flea¢¦). She¢s a sweet old dog; I gave her lots of pets and scratches. Anyway, after talking a bit and giving us each cold drink, he drove us to Bland and dropped us off for groceries and drinks. Cool! He asked if we have seen Jan, but she is behind us. He wanted to meet her. George went back to the trail crossing, found ¢Fly¢ and ¢Smoothie¢, gave them drinks, put more hiker goodies out, then came back to bring us back to the trail. What a great guy! We told him we were carrying Ted¢s American flag, so we got it out so he could take a picture. Then we showed him our ¢Ted towels¢ and he got pictures of them, too. Of course, we both took his picture, too, because he was a friend of Ted¢s and a hell of a trail angel. Great meeting you, George! Thanks for everything! We hiked down the road and over a route 77 bridge, then into the woods. We looked for ¢Fly¢ and ¢Smoothie¢ but didn¢t see them so we hiked to the shelter (up a steep, steep mountain..)We thought Fly and Smoothie would be there, but they weren¢t, we must have missed them. Oh well, the shelter is full and lots of tents are set up, so we set our tents up, ate lots of cookies, and went to bed. Another long day is over.Note: Timing is everything and today our timing was perfect. Glad to have met you, George! Ted, you have good friends! George, I will keep in touch. Note: George is an amateur radio operator too (WYOF).