Date: 2003-05-30
From: Woods' Hole nr Sugar Run

To: Pearisburg, Va.
Miles today: 10.5
Weather: broken clouds

I slept with a few layers on inside my sleeping bag last night and enjoyed a fine night's sleep on the Wood's verandah. I woke at first light - looking like an overcast day yet again - and became dozily aware that a large flying insect was buzzing nearby. A VERY large insect to judge by the low-pitched humming sound. Finally, I saw it. Before the water feeder hanging from the verandah ceiling, a hummingbird was hovering as it pushed its bill into one of the deep artificial trumpet flowers to have a drink. Compared with its long tail and its wings, outstretched at right angles as if on on a cross, its body was tiny. It would 'hang' like this for maybe 20 seconds, then shoot like a firefly back to the shelter of the woods. Lying in the warmth of my sleeping bag, it was a tremendous thing to see.Gradually, around 6.30am, I started to smell cooking from inside. Wonderful breakfast smells, not intended for us. At 7.00, Neville appeared on the porch and lashed at an old iron triangle of the kind you saw on ranches in Westerns to summon the lucky eight. At 7.30, all guests gathered on the porch for a photograph, and then we got on our way.A shelter (Doc's Knob) was only two miles away and we cooked breakfast there, as a church group from S.Carolina prepared to leave. Discovering where 'Thistle' and I were from, one of the lads said one of his 'heroes' was Scottish. Surprised, I couldn't think who this might be, but it turned out to be Eric Liddell. Great athlete and Christian missionary, so it made sense.We worked our way along the ridge of Pearis Mountain in the afternoon and then started a very steep descent to Pearisburg. It was here we saw the greatest impact of having had (I've learned later) 27 rainy days out of 31 in the month of May. Lots of section hikers and day hikers were on this track as well as ourselves, and it was exceptionally muddy. It got worse and worse the lower we went, and I was grateful for my boots and hiking poles as I saw others struggling to stay upright.Two young women were ahead of me with no sticks and only sandals on their feet. They were going surprisingly well but would surely go down any minute. I was just about to give them 600 miles worth of hiking experience and suggest they slow down, when .....Whump! It happened. Not to them. Me! As I struggled sheepishly to my feet, my entire right side caked in mud, they turned and sweetly asked if I needed help.A few minutes on and they were truly struggling. Amid gales of laughter from the pair of them, the front girl sat down on her bottom in several inches of muck. I'm not proud to say I was enjoying things better now. But as I reached the same spot, both feet shot forward from under me. I landed on my back like an upturned turtle and tobogganed down the next twelve feet of track on my backpack. As I lay looking at the forest roof, I realised the girls were right. It was funny.We made it down at last to the Pearisburg road where most of the church group were gathered. They had had great fun listening to all the misadventures up above and catching glimpses of it through the trees. I believe, shortly before I arrived, they had been treated to a spectacular fall and a stream of bad language from 'Two Speeds'.Badly needing to resupply and clean up, we have checked in at the Rendezvouz Motel, which is right on the AT and about half a mile from the Pearisburg town centre. 'Dimple Rock', 'Wrong Way' and 'Mellow Yellow' are here, as are 'Riff-Raff'.