Date: 2019-05-31
From: Helveys Mill Shelter (VA)

To: Jenny Knob Shelter (VA)
Miles today: 9.7

There were a lot of people in the shelter area last night, but everything quickly got quiet when the rain started around 9pm. When I got up in the morning, it was cloudy and there was still rain coming down from the trees when the wind blew. However, it was not actively raining.I counted 13 tents and 1 hammock besides the 4 of us who had stayed in the shelter. We had less than 10 miles to hike, so SC and I were not exactly racing to get out of the shelter, and yet we still managed to be 2 of the first people to leave camp. The others slowly passed us over the next couple of hours. Today¢s hike was mostly along a heavily forested ridge. We hiked more quickly than usual because of the flat trail and lack of views to stop and appreciate. I was kind of disappointed in this because I could tell that with the rain last night there were some fog and clouds that would have enhanced the views. What we did see was the 600 mile marker for those who had started in Georgia. Also, red efts!  According to the AWOL guide, they are immature red-spotted salamanders. They live on land during the eft stage and are bright orange. They are unbelievably cute and move slowly. We¢ve seen a couple in the last few days, but today must have been the right weather for them because I saw 3!We got to our destination for the day around 2pm and a bunch of the people from the last shelter were there having lunch.  Once they pushed on for their destinations, SC and I moved in to settle into the shelter. After all, I had cell service most of the day as well as last night. I had been watching the weather and knew a storm was about to blow in. There was another hiker who was also planning on staying in the shelter, and we had shared a shelter with him last night as well. He¢s a nice young man who that morning had carried up 2(!) gallons of water from the water source at Helveys Mill (a very long and steep hike) for others to use. He¢s a thru hiker, but is going slow right now because he¢s had some foot pain. Another couple of guys were also in the shelter, but just to wait out the first storm. Once it let up, they started hiking again. We had a second storm, and one person stopped at the shelter just to get water. She was planning on going to a hostel at the next road crossing, so she wasn¢t worried about going out into the rain. After the second storm, the sun came out and it was beautiful. We made dinner and it was starting to get late. We would hear voices on the trail, but they weren¢t coming down to the shelter. About 7pm I began to think Spike, SC, the nice guy, and I would be the only ones there for the night. It was not to be. Around 7:30, 3 guys and 2 girls showed up. With the exception of one guy who was quiet and set up his tent, the others were loud and started making dinner and drinking. One assured me they were not obnoxious drunks, they were obnoxious without alcohol and they didn¢t get any worse with beer. I will say they were entertaining!  However, I was tired and ready for bed. Around 9:30, I put in my earplugs, put my sleeping bag over my eyes, and I was out.P.S. Today a couple of fighter planes flew very low and close to us. Unfortunately, I couldn¢t see them because of the tree cover. SC was hiking ahead of me at the time, so when I caught up to her I asked how she liked the fighter planes. ¢Is that what that was? I thought it might be some sort of weird thunder.¢ She was hiking at the time with another woman who didn¢t know what it was either. Anyway, ¢Highway to the Danger Zone¢ was in my head for the rest of the hike.