Date: 2007-11-05
From: Blackrock Hut

To: Waynesbero YMCA
Miles today: 20.0

mi. 20sleep hammockdest. Waynessbero YMCA day 116 I think I forgot to mention this, but I have decided not to honor day light saving. After all I am hiking and don't have any job to speak of, no deadlines, or places to be. I am still going to be awake from before sunup, and hiking until dark or after day. Hey if Indiana can hold out, why can't I. Last night right after I finished journaling I heard some noises in the woods. Not the gential deer or squarrel noises. More of loud crashes and breaking branches. Yep the only thing I could come up with is a bear. It sounded close, but still far enough away. I turned off my headlamp and listened. After a few minutes, seemed like forever but probibly more like 10, it went away. I was just getting to the point where I was trying to decide on whether or not to make some noise and try and scare it away. After awhile I finally fell asleep. It felt good to be hangin from trees again and not in a shelter. I think the shelter hanging is a little warer though. It blocks more wind then my tarp. I did wake up to hear some noises again. I'm glad all my food was hanging along everything else smell related. I did hear my water bladder, which was standing up on the ground next to my hammock fall. That made me jump half out of my skin. Funny thing. I had long since gotten to the point where the night time noises no longer bother me. I haven't felt like a lighthouse in awhile. That's what I call it when you hear a noise and shine your light all around in a circle to see if you see anything. Which you never do. I even like hearing things at night. It's just now that bears are more prevolant, I gotten a little jumpy again. I'm sure that will go away with time. I got up to find Old Navy, the section hiker, already packed up. We talked for awhile and he headed out. Good talking with you and goodluck with the job search. I headed out bound for town. Ne way or another I had to get there. Not enough food to wait another day. It felt strange to be 20 miles from town without extra food and headed there. It isn't an issue doing the miles, this is just a longer than average to town day. I have also just gotten into feeling good averaging 20's. I would be lieing if I said I wasn't a little hungry going in. A couple tmes I felt my energy crash. Luckily I still had some snacks. I would stop and eat a little. This would give my body time to catch up to what I was doing. I got to the shelter 12 or so miles away around 12. I had to get some water. Luckily the spring was flowing into a cutoff milk jug. Great idea who ever put it there. There was also a water jug next to it. I filled that up before leaving for the next guy. Funny enough there was a salamander swimming in the cutoff milk jug. I decided it was best to set him free in the puddle. This after I gotten my water. I was only 7 or so from town. I needed some energy. So I made the some hot choclate followed by coffee, which was my last of both. I eat the rest of my chz and pepperoni, and a package of pez. I was feeling good and decided to check in. I had the first cell phone signal since Front Royal. I got in a good conversation with mom. Then I set out for town. I had 1 3 Muskiteers candy bar, some choclate cigs left over fron Port Clintion (stale at this point), and a package of pez. On the way I passes what would have ben a great cowboy camping spot. A huge field with great views all around. Across from that a bump with radiop towers on top. More importantly beatiful tall grassy fields. Nothing to hang in, but another great cowboy camping spot. But no time to stop. I wanted to make town by dark. The trail did another one of those why things. It interested with a service road to the radio towers. The road was more of 2 ruts you needed a 4x4 to use. It followed it a ways along the top. I got into my rythem and was walking lost in thought. After awhile I didn't see any blazes. They have been far apart lately anyways. It looked like the right way to go so I just went with it. I little ways latter the trail came back and followed the road again. The Zen method paid off again. Honestly I am the first to hate road walks. This wasn't one though. I can't see any reason to take it off of this path, onto another, and them back. But I don't route the trail and am not a purist so it's all the same to me. Today I also left the SNP. It was great being there, but I'm glad to be pushing south. Back to rougher and fun trails. Something to mix it up a little. Waynessbero is said to be a really hiker friendly town. I would have to agree. Probibly the most I have seen. The trail comes out a few miles from town. Across the road is a small visiters center. It was closed, but had a list of local trail angels to call for rides. I didn't want to call the first one, they probibly get called a lot. So I closed my eyes and picked a middle one at random. I called and the guy picked me up 10 minutes later. Sorry but I can't remember his name. Great older guy though. He drove me to the outfitters on the way. It was on the way into town anyways. I had to get a warm jacket to wear. I was freezing wearing everything I had. I am fine with having to wear everything to be warm, but not to freeze and shiver. In case your wondering that was my smart wool long underwear, convertable pants, rainpants, socks, long sleve shirt, 100 wt fleece, top quilt as a poucho, rain jacket, warm hat, and gloves. All that and I was still shivering at night and in the morning out of the hammock. It really pained me but I bought a North Face down jacket. I was going to make one before I left but ran out of time. I could have made one 6 oz lighter and warmer for less cash. But whatever the price, being warm is worth it. So I am the owner of a trendy jacket saying how great 550 cheap fill down is. If I find a college bar, I'll fit right in. At home I would count the people I would see in the bar wearing north face crap, try it sometime. The over under is usually 15. I also picked up a replacement piezo lighter for my jetboil. No more lighter lighting for me. My ride then showed my where the Kroger, AYCE buffet, and library was. We arranged a time tomorrow morning for him to pick me up, he asked way before I got a chance to ask him. Then he dropped me off at the YMCA. The YMCA has a place across the street and down a little they leet hikers camp at. A nice fenced in grassy area with some trees next to the river. I though about finding a place to hang before dark, but I had other things in mind. I'll figure out that when the time comes. The YMCA also lets you shower there. I checked in and left my pack there. I was starving and had other things to do. They were open for 4 more hours. Stop 1, the library. I am planning a zero at Rusty's and will need another book. Luckily this one had old ones for sale. After some searching I found one that looked good. Cost me al of 25 cents. I took a few minutes and looked at some of the pics just added to my journal. They came out great. It's hard to tell how they are going to come out on the little screen on the camera. I am curious to see all of them when I get back. Next stop food. It was dark at this point. I walked down the road he said was the shorted route. I took this chance to catch up with a friend with a phone call. I had my doubts about the rode for awhile, but it turned out to be right. Dinner was a Chinese AYCE buffet. I was starving after walking in with only drink mixes and a little mashed potates left in the food bag. Thanks again to to VA people for not giving me a ride into town. I will have to say I had a sorry proformance. I was only able to eat 2 normal sized plates before I was stuffed. The ultimite irony is that I am way hungrier, my metabolism is higher than ever, and using more calories than ever. But my stomach is smaller than ever. Give it an hour and I will be hungry again. Next stop Kroger. I needed a resupply big time. I needed 2 days of food to make it to the next town. That would also give me a little extra. So what do I do, I buy way too much food. But hey, there is not way I will got hungry. I also scored some ben and jerry's for later. I decided not to run the gontlet of flavors. I'm going back to the ones I like the best. Anything to do with cookies. After that it was back to the YMCA, and finally a shower. But first I repacked my food in the room over looking the pool. It had a couple parnets watching swim practice, but also empty tables and a frig. I put my college beer hiding skills to work and hide my ice cream in the back of the freezer behind the ice. Post shower I decide to wait to go and setup. I may as well enjoy the warmth as long as possible. I did sit on an erg (indoor rowing machine) and watch the start of monday night football while eating ice cream. Sitting o it brought back memories, but I had no desire to use it. I will say that this is a great hiker town. While I was at the YMCA I had 2 people there ask me if I needed anything or a ride back to the trail. Great people. Once again people offering rides when I don't need them. I thanked them anyways. I got to the tenting area to find a lack of hammocking trees. There are a lot of trees, but none I could find in the dark to hang from. I thought about throwing the pad down and cowboying it. But it was raining in Pittsburg for the game and cloudy here. I decided to hang from a tree on the foot end and a park bench on the other. I setup my tarp overtop and used my trekking poles to prop up one side of it. The hammock was just off the ground with my weight in it. Good enough. I got all my stuff situated for the night and laid on y pad on the ground underneath my tarp. Just in time, it started to sprinkle. The one drawback is I am 15 feet from the portalet. The smeel is there, but chemically more than anything. Good enough for the night. I spent the rest of the evening enjoying conversations on the phone. I was adimint about not having my cell phone to start. Now I'm glad I have it. It gives me someone to talk to when I need it. I can also catch up and talk without being chained to a payphone.