Date: 2016-05-19
From: Narrows, VA

To: Rice Field Shelter
Miles today: 7.3
Weather: light rain

I woke around 7 am after a very restful night in the MacArthur. The rain had stopped but it was still overcast. I went out to the breakfast area and Alan and a hiker, Crazy Ivan were there. Alan fixes a big breakfast of eggs, sausage, biscuits and gravy, and fresh fruit if you would like. I chose just to warm up some leftover pizza from last night. "I knew there was something wrong with you when I met you", smiled Alan through his huge mustache. An EgyptAir flight had gone missing over the Mediterranean Sea and cable news was full of non-stop coverage of the event, even though there was no real information yet. Crazy Ivan had come in after me and was ready to take off early and slack pack for the day and come back to the MacArthur that night. Slack packing is when you leave all your stuff and day hike a section of the trail with just a light knapsack, and then get a ride back to where you left your stuff. Alan would pick up Crazy Ivan later in the day and bring him back to the MacArthur. I planned on taking off later in the morning and Alan said whenever I was ready to go he could give me s ride back to the trail. We left around 10:30 am and the clouds were starting to lift. When we got to the trail, Uncle Spider and Reptar were being dropped off by a woman who ran a hostel. We said our goodbyes and started down the trail. After the rain yesterday the trail was muddy and slippery and the first thing I did was slip and wipe out. So much for clean clothes! The trail wound steeply down a hillside and through dense forest. The hillside felt almost sub tropical with dense foliage. At the bottom of the hill the trail runs through a field, crosses a road and past a sign announcing the Pearisburg cemetery. The cemetery contains graves from the late 1800's. We continue to wind our way further down to a busy road and a highway bridge crossing the New River. The noise from passing trucks and busses is astounding after you've been hiking in the relative quiet of the forest. We pass a Celanese plant that reportedly makes cigarette filters and is a major employer for the Pearisburg area. The trail then headed up a hillside back into the forest and the noise of the highway quickly starts to recede. I thought we were just about away from the city until the trail skirts past the Pearisburg landfill and the smell and sounds of it disturb the senses. The trail takes us up 1700 feet as we can see Pearisburg receding in the distance. It's always interesting climbing out of a town and realizing you were just in that town and part of it for 24 hours or so. Hopefully you made new friends there and almost certainly you were helped out by someone in that town as you continue your journey north. There will be many towns like that through the months and miles.At the top, Rice Field Shelter sits in front of a large grassy field. It's a beautiful view and a sign announced the Virginia/West Virginia border. The view into West Virginia farms and mountains is spectacular and I decide to stay there for the night even though it's only 4:30 pm and has been a short day. The clouds have lifted and it looks like we'll actually be able to see a sunset tonight. Several hikers are at the shelter resting and deciding to go on or not. Gently and Scarface are from Tasmania, and they decide to go on. Another group of hikers including Vera, Lambo, Suki, and Whatever Works also decided to go on. Black Moon has decided to stay, it's only his second day back on the trail. Jeeves had been working on a fire unsuccessfully so I helped him with it. A few minutes later Pocahontas and her friend show up and planned to stay. They actually got trail magic down on Pocahontas road (Good karma for Pocahontas!) down below, including a Guinness beer, and with that her friend got her trail name, Guinness, as she drank her beer in front of us. It was Guinness' first night on the AT and she was just hiking with her friend for the day. A few minutes after, Slinger showed up. We all cooked our dinners and swapped trail stories. As sunset approached we all went out to the ridge and got set to take sunset pictures. Sunsets have been rare for me on the AT as you are usually in the trees or it has been cloudy. We got a few good pictures, but nothing like a good Kansas sunset.As it got dark we all bear bagged our food and enjoyed the fire. After it died down we settled into the shelter. Slinger was a hammock guy so it was just Pocahontas, Guinness, Black Moon, Jeeves, and I in the shelter. It was a good day to be back on the trail, highlighted by a sunset and a new state.