Date: 2003-07-08
From: Graymoor Friary

To: Shenandoah Tenting Area 
Miles today: 17.5

No hotel tonight. No "real" food. No shower. I was all hike today. Until the heat made me think about not hiking. Well, it just made me think more about taking breaks and drinking water. The terrain wasn't that tough today, just a lot of small ups and downs, but it was very humid today. I was soaked with sweat all of today. My shorts were dry only on the bottom 1". My arms and legs were dripping, as well as my face. I'm sure I am a stinky, sticky mess! Worse than usual!The story for today is the heat and humidity, and mosquitos.   I have a lot of little, red, itchy bumps on my arms. A lot of them are probably from last night, but I got my share of bites again today. I'm using DEET, but usually don't put any on until I've been hiking for a while, and by that time, I'm dripping wet with sweat. It's a nice combination to smear around: sweat and DEET. Yum!The AT in New York has been beautiful! I like NY a lot, despite the heat and bugs. Today, even though it was a hard day due to weather, there were some very pretty places along the trail. At one point the trail followed an old mine railway. There were several places where the trail was raised above the surrounding area via stone bridge. It was very cool! Some of the terrain was similar to what I've seen, but had variations, such as, when climbing a mountain, the trail was narrow, with grass lining the sides. In another place, the barberry bushes were so close to the trail, I had to use my poles to keep the prickly arms from scratching me.Today I saw more deer, plus one adult turkey and about 6 babies. The adult moved away from the trail first, and I thought it was neat to see that one, but then I kept hearing rustling of the leaves. That's when I saw the young 'uns. They were cute, following mom over logs and through the grass. I also saw more deer, and another black snake.After a road crossing, where a spigot was available for water, Hotdog, Splash and Cobra followed me north on the trail into the woods. The blinding effect of going from sunlight to dark shade made me walk right by it, but Hotdog saw the pile of full soda cans next to the trail and we all stopped for a beverage. Thanks to fellow thruhikers Puff Puff and Snappy, I got a cool root beer today! Thank you!At this tenting area, Big Paw was here when we arrived, talking to Greg, a frequent day-hiker in this area. He said he'd read some of my journal, so recognized my trail name. He was very nice, and very helpful with trail issues, such as water sources. He even offered to run any of us into town or bring anything back to us, as the shelter about 1.4mi north of here is on a road. We had all decided to stay here, so thanked him, but refused the possible Magic. Splash and Cobra came along and decided to stay as well. This tenting area has a well and a privy, and a now-boarded-up building, with two picnic tables under a roof. The tenting area looks like a manicured lawn, and should make for some good sleeping tonight. I had heard there was a chance of thunderstorms tonight, but the sky is cloudless right now. I'll go without my tent fly, but keep it nearby. Just in case.Today, we went over the 1400 mile mark! Yippee! I am more into the miles left, rather than the miles done. I'm not sure why. I think it's just a matter of dealing with the smaller number. I still enjoy the hundred-mile marks though. And it's still amazing to me that I have hiked that far in one trip. ...That I've hiked THIS far in one trip.It's also fun being around the same people for several nights in a row. The conversations can pick up where they left off instead of always starting with "How'd you get your trail name" , "Where are you from", or "What day did you start". I have met a lot of great people because I'm doing this. I hope that I remain in contact with many of them. At least I will always have the memories of this adventure and the people I've met. It's been wonderful so far, and I'm looking forward to tomorrow. And then to tomorrow. And tomorrow.