Date: 2012-05-02
From: Jenkins Shelter

To: Helveys Mill Shelter
Miles today: 14.2
Weather: light rain

Last night at around 2:00am we had some excitement at the shelter! There was a bear sniffing around camp and we had to chase it away back into the woods but other than that I slept good. At around 5:30am I was woken once again but this time it was by thunder off in the distance. I had set my alarm to wake me up at that time but I decided to wait and see if it was going to storm before I started packing up my gear. I think everyone else did the same because I could see that everyone was awake but just sitting around. The storm did pass by on the other side of the mountain and we all continued to pack up our gear. I was on the trail by 7:15am and headed back up the other side of the valley back to the ridge of the mountain. The trail followed an old logging road, just off the ridge for a few miles and then dropped down the other side of the mountain to Laurel Creek. I ran into Dakota Dan at camp site by the creek with a picnic table and the coals in the fire ring were still smoking so some one must have spent the night there. I took a break at the camp site then continued on back up to the ridge line of another mountain. The trail went up a bunch of easy switch backs and soon I was back on the ridge line and started pounding out the miles because I wanted to do as many miles as I could before it got hot out. I soon ran into Runner at one of the views. He was taking a break so I talked with him for a while and continued on.I got to a stone road and the trail followed it for a little while and it soon turned into a paved road and I then found myself in a small housing development. I turned my phone on and saw a text from Big Sky. It turned out that she was not feeling good all day and decided to split a room with a thru hiking couple Trash Bag and Codger in Bland Va. She was back on the trail this morning and was wanting me to stop at the next shelter so she could catch up. I was only about an half an hour from that shelter and it was only 11:00am so that mean that I would have to sit around and do nothing for the rest of the day. I decided that I would go to the shelter and decide if I wanted to move on and meet her in Pearisburg or wait for her. I got to the shelter at around 11:40am and when I got there there was a black bear checking out the privy and it took off running down the mountain soon after I arrived.I stayed there for an hour or two and decided that I would stay and wait for Big Sky. I got out my sleeping pad and took a nap until Runner showed up. He was very tired from the heat and lack of water so he decided to stay too. I went down the long trail to the water source and filled up every container I could because tomorrow the next water source is at the next shelter 10 miles up the trail. I decided to do my journal now at 4:00pm because I have nothing else to do and so far it is just Runner and I and a section hiker, King Bee. I guess everyone from our group is on their way now except I think Medicine Man and Bird Man may have continued on past this shelter...I will have to wait and see. I will let you know what happens this evening in tomorrow entry since its an early good night tonight from me.