Date: 2004-06-02
From: Confluence of Matts Creek and James River

To: Punchbowl Shelter
Miles today: 11.9
Weather: scattered clouds

Today started an extremely screwed up day. Sometime in the wee hours of the morning, a train on the other side of the river woke me up, and when youre sleeping outside and it wakes you up from just a few hundred yards away, it sounds like it's coming right into your tent.I got back to sleep, got a few more hours, and was on the trail by 7, well-enough rested. After a leisurely stroll down the river thinking nothing could go wrong, the first thing went wrong. Missing the hard left that the trail makes as it doubles back on itself to cross on the James River Footbridge, I continued to go straight on some side trail and come out at the train-bridge (trestle) half a mile later. I weighed the inconvenience of going a mile out of my way to get back on the proper path against the inconvenience of running from a surprise train and decided convenience was the better part of valor. Looking and listening carefully in both directions, I hastily made my way across the trestle.Making my way to the highway, I figured hitching into town would be a breeze, since I had Glasgow to the left and Big Island to the right, and I would simultaneously try to thumb in to both, therefore doubling my odds of getting taken SOMEWHERE. What I didn't realize is that US 501/VA 130 is a hitchhiking black hole. Finally, after about 40 minutes, I and a young couple also hiking the trail got picked up by a generous woman. The bad part was that she could only take us a mile, to the point where 501 and 130 split. So we got out and walked over the bridge and started thumbing again.When hitchhiking, I tend to walk rather than stay in one place. There are four reasons: 1. I'm restless. It bugs me to just stand still when I want to get somewhere 2. I figure if someone sees me walking rather than standing around being a bum, they might be more likely to pick me up. 3. I might pass some intersections that increase the traffic going my way and increase my odds of getting a ride 4. Worst case scenario, I don't get a ride and have to walk it in, so I might as well get started now. The one drawback is, you're taking a chance of losing a seat if there are people behind you, because they will get picked up before you.Well, for the second time on this hike, the drawback happened. I got screwed. I hadn't gone a 100 yards when the couple behind me got picked up by someone who had already picked up the Hobbits and their packs. Needless to say, I was ticked, because 1. those guys (the young couple) knew I had been waiting much longer than they had and 2. I ended up walking the last four miles of road into Big Island in the mid-morning sun, hot, very thirsty, and extremely agitated that no one who passed picked me up, and that young couple just sat there dumbly staring at me looking like "whaddaya want us to do about it?" Maybe I shouldn't hold a grudge because it was my own fault, but they sure were more than happy to take advantage. I do have to give respect to the guy who stopped. After picking up four people with four packs, he was willing to give it a go with five people and five packs. And respect to one of the hobbits, who offered to squish herself into an uncomfortable position over the gear shifter.After the long, hot, thirsty, cranky road walk into Islander Restaurant, my mood was improved by the best ham and cheese omelet I think I may have ever had. Love that southern cooking. The young couple from before was there, and if they saw me, avoided looking my way. After a leisurely breakfast and a re-supply at the adjacent food market, I ran into Hawk and Dove. They were coming in for an early lunch, so after giving myself barely adequate time to digest, I ordered me a nice big juicy mushroom swiss burger, and passed some more time.After everyone was fed and re-supplied and packed, Lonesome Dove took pity on me as I was trying to hitch out and stood next to the road with me (although she wasn't planning on going back just then), to improve my odds, since hot chicks always get picked up quicker : ) By the time someone came by 5 or 10 minutes later, Hawk and Lonesome Dove had gotten everything together and rode back to the trail with me.The climb up to Bluff Mt proved to be a real butt-buster ins spots, especially the climb up to Fullers Rocks (1490 feet over 2.2 miles). Looking back and down, one could see the dirty brown James River, and much of the trail, or at least the break in the trees where we knew the trail should be. On the way up, I ran into Scholar and Pooja Blue, slack-packing, and therefore going in the other direction. I was sweating bullets despite being in shorts and no shirt, going uphill in the late spring sun, and yet Pooja was in long pants, long sleeves, scarf, sunglasses and GLOVES (supposedly to protect her hands when she falls). I thought this was odd.The rest of the hike went fairly uneventful, except for a stop at the Ottie Cline Powell memorial (see picture). Lonesome Dove joked that she should bring her nephew and dress him up in clothes of the period and scare hikers. Hawk and I both thought this was a good idea.