Date: 2006-06-05
From: Harper's Creek Shelter, VA

To: Paul C. Wolfe Shelter, VA
Miles today: 22.3
Weather: light rain

It¢s a good thing I'm doing a short day tomorrow and spending the night in Waynesboro, because my body needs it. Today had more stegosaurus rocks, which slow me down and rip up my feet. Usually I zone out and get into a clumsy numb hiking mode after 18 miles or so, but today it was at 13 with 9 left to go! I did find a baby mouse today and contemplated keeping it, but decided against it on a number of counts. Hope it doesn¢t get eaten by one of the many snakes I see every day.So tired,Erin*************An Update From Cabernet(Lindsay)*************Hello all, Sorry I haven't written an update in a while. There's a lot for me to catch up on. I'm sure you're most concerned (as am I) about my health. Well, where to start? My poison ivy is gone, and fortunately never amounted to much. (I've seen a couple hikers that had some terrible poison ivy, probably because it's been lining the sides of the trail recently.) My left knee got better in a few days after getting back on the trail and finally allowed me to sleep. I think the brace, icy hot and ibuprofen all helped. My sore left foot slowly got better over the course of the first week and then started to get worse again. Today was the worst it's been in a few days. What's more, my right leg seems to be undergoing the same progression. About a week ago, my right knee started hurting a bit, and just today my right foot started hurting! I seem to be falling apart. Today has been my worst day on the trail, even though the weather was perfect and the hiking was fine. I'll be honest, today I seriously considered getting off the trail. Because of that, I hiked fewer miles today (13.5 compared to the usual 15+) and I have to keep a slower pace until I get to Waynesboro. It's really frustrating to hike less than you're used to, especially when everyone you've been hiking with recently is going on ahead. It's also frustrating to hike slower than you know you're capable, simply because it hurts to go faster. I've limped, to a varying degree, every morning for the last 2 and a half weeks (because of my left foot) and I'm getting sick of it. Hiking-wise, the last 4 or 5 days have been my toughest yet. We've had a lot of tough, high climbs, usually 2000-3000 feet over a few miles. And often, we go up just to go 2000-3000 feet back down, and then back up again. I think that, combined with slightly higher mileage days is enough to wear out my recovering legs. I know I'm complaining, but I am still having a good time. The sore feet are the only things making me want to stop hiking. Tonight I'm camping at the Tye River and I enjoyed a grilled cheese with tomato and bacon thanks to Rip, Treehugger, and Ork & Bean, who hiked it all in from Montebello. Last weekend was a high point on the trail for me. We hiked to 2 of the best viewpoints on the trail so far: Dragon's Tooth and McAfee Knob. I spent several hours at Dragon's Tooth, a formation of tall rocks along a ridge, with Mouse, Donkey (Love), Hot Springs, Zoomer, Scarecrow, Cheeto & Puffy Nipples (who, thankfully, is a guy). The view was fantastic. Sunday morning we hiked a leisurely 5 miles into Catawba, VA to the Homeplace Restaurant. As we got to the road, we discovered some awesome trail magic from Don't Mind & Don't Matter, who thru-hiked in 2004. The funny thing is that they've been reading our journal and they figured Erin & I would be coming by that day, so that's partially why they put out the trail magic. Then we got to meet our trail angels later that day! Thanks Don't Mind & Don't Matter!! When we got to the Homeplace, we enjoyed an all-you-can-eat southern meal: roast beef, fried chicken, ham, mashed potatoes, cole slaw, green beans, apples with a cinnamon sugar glaze, and dessert - cherry cobbler with ice cream. We just kept eating, and they kept bringing the food. Now, everything tastes good when you've been hiking, but even the locals love this place. Many of us left there so full we felt sick. Because it took a while to digest to the point where we could hike again, we hiked only 4 more miles up to McAfee Knob to watch the sunset. It was beautiful and we had a lot of fun taking pictures. (Check out Mouse's trail journals because he put some pictures up.) Then we cowboy camped (just sleeping bags, no tents) under a rock overhang nearby and got up really early to watch the sunrise. That is by far the earliest I've gotten up on this trip: 5:30 AM. It was definitely worth it. Last week we had a stretch of hot (high 80s/low 90s), incredibly humid weather that made it near impossible to hike in the middle of the day. I never thought I'd ever sweat as much as I did in the rainforest, but I think I came pretty darn close those days. The last 3 days have been much cooler. Last night was in the high 40s and it was 50 degrees for most of this morning. It's been really dry since we got back on the trail after our 3-day break. One local told me that this May was the second driest on record and that they're 8" under average rainfall for this time of year. Apparently, all the rain that's supposed to fall in Virginia is going to New England instead. Either we're in for a drought summer down south, or we're going to get soaked very soon. That's most of the news for now. I did want to mention that during my stop in Daleville, VA I met a lot of nice people, several of whom who went out of their way to help me. A nice woman gave me a ride from the post office to the UPS store; the woman at the UPS store was incredibly helpful, and the guy at the outfitters was also really nice. Thanks! I also had a woman come up to me outside the supermarket and tell me that she really admires what I'm/we're doing. It's really nice to have help and support along the way, so thanks to the strangers that help out us hikers!! It really makes a difference. ~Lindsay