Date: 2009-06-06
From: Front Royal, VA

To: Manassas Gap Shelter, VA
Miles today: 10.7
Weather: overcast clouds

Cell goodOG notesOur R&R ended this morning and we're hiking again. We called for a taxi to bring us back to the trail, then had to call a second time because it didn't come when promised. That set us back from the time we had wanted to start.We hiked into the first shelter and stopped for lunch. I wanted to show C6 the shelter because it is one of the nicest ones on the whole AT. The shelter has a front deck with benches and a nice lounge chair. Behind the shelter is a solar shower, the only problem with the shower is the barrel that is supposed to warm the water isn't in the sun.We then headed on after lunch in the hot muggy afternoon. We had a number of hills to climb and one was in an open field. We decided to stop one shelter sooner than planned. Sometimes things look doable on paper and then end up too much in real life. We're settled in after dinner and we'll try to get an early start in the morning.We were hoping for a decent tent site here and luckily found one. This shelter has two resident black snakes. I think they are about 3 feet long. According to the shelter register they seem to have the shelter to themselves most nights. The few desperate hikers that stay in it have set up their tents inside the shelter. I don't think black snakes are dangerous to humans. They do keep the shelter free of mice that are more of a nucense than anything else.I think we mentioned this a while back but I'll repeat it anyway. C6 and I have divided the camp chores between us. We set up the tent together and she takes care of putting out the sleeping bags. We get the water together, I cook most of the meals and clean up. I'm usually the one who hangs the bear bag (our food bags are hung in trees or on poles to protect them from animals; the biggest being bears).In the morning we both pack our own sleeping bags and take down the tent. We get the food down from the tree or pole and set out breakfast and lunch for the day. When we pack I put the days lunch on top for easy access at lunchtime. When we forget something we either do without or take the pack apart to find it. We try to have a daily goal so that we can plan our hiking day. We figure we are comfortable doing 15 miles per day. We prefer to stop near shelters so the distance between them play havock on our 15 mile per day schedule. We end up doing anything from 10 to 20 miles. The terrain also affects how far we go, the harder the terrain the fewer the miles, the easier the terrain the more miles.C6 notesDiscouraging day for me today. I had a hard time hiking today...there was a lot of mud, uphills, and high humidity. Not too hot, but the mud, hills, and humdity got to me. We did get a late start (started hiking around 10:30am or so), which isn't a problem. A long, steep, two (or more) mile uphill did me in. We ended up stopping 5 miles short of our intended goal for today. I got so emotional as the afternoon went on and I just couldn't go any faster.OG tells me it was okay to stop earlier than planned. We re-evaluated our plans for the next four days and will get to our destination eventually. My struggling so hard today was extremely frustrating for me. I ended up in tears, of course. I want to do so much, but then a day like today gets to me. Argh!Old Goat & Check Six