Date: 2004-06-12
From: Swift Run Gap

To: Pine Field Hut
Miles today: 11.6
Weather: broken clouds

Fern Hurst is an old friend of mine, who also lives on the Upper East Side. She has done trekking in Nepal and has climbed Kilimanjaro. She is an excellent skier and keeps herself in good shape, so when she expressed an interest in hiking and sectioning up the AT with me I had no reason not to expect her to both handle it and enjoy it.But I didn¢t expect her to be a hiking animal!Yesterday the two of us drove in the pouring rain from New York to my sister¢s house in New Market, VA arriving in time for my sister¢s leg of lamb dinner. Along the way we stopped at Cabela¢s for rain pants for Fern and at Wal-Mart for a $14.99 fleece sleeping bag for me (not only cheap, but 112 pounds lighter than my down bag!) After dinner with one eye on the TV watching President Reagan¢s funeral, we did meal planning and packed our packs. Fern was still up taking with Roberta (my sister) when I hit the sack.Late this morning Roberta and her husband Bill drove us to the local outfitter for final gear purchases (plus a replacement for Wilson I ¢ my new best hiking buddy, Wilson II ). By the time we got to Swift Run Gap, and began to hike, it was pretty near 1:15 pm. I had planned that we would go 3 12 miles today considering that the first 2 miles involved a 1,100¢ ascent and this was Fern¢s first day out. We arrived at the destination Shelter an hour and a half after we started and Fern said, ¢Hey Bumpo, what do you say we keep going?¢ So, off we went and at 8:00 pm we arrived at the next Shelter having covered a total of 11 12 miles and 2,300 vertical feet covered¢and Fern was still going strong. Wow! Was I impressed! She¢s carrying 32 pounds (and my pack is at 42 pounds) which includes food for five days, as well as, a tent each. Fern ¢done good.¢ (Now we¢ll have to see how she feels tomorrow¢I hope we didn¢t overdo it on her first day out.)My plan to get on the Appalachian Trail at Swift Run Gap and head south for this section had two purposes. First, I wanted to connect back to where I left off at Waynesboro last week, and secondly, I wanted to try to intercept some of the folks I knew who would be heading north through the Shenandoahs about this time. My plan has sure worked! Less than two hours on the Trail, Fern and I ran into ¢Coyote¢ (she looked great¢she recounted how she had just recently seen a bear with a cub, and is as enthusiastic about everything as she ever was!) We had a nice chat standing in the Trail before moving on in our separate directions. Shortly after that we ran into ¢Beast¢ and ¢Gia¢ who were also both looking well. Before parting they told me I must have just missed ¢Pegasus¢ who was an hour or so ahead of them. They, too, promised to give me a call when they get to the New York area, which should be sometime next month. Fern had gone on ahead to keep from getting chilled and I heard her talking to someone on the trail who¢s voice sounded familiar. As I came around the curve, I heard ¢Meanderthal¢ saying to her,¢ Oh, I know another hiker from New York, his name is ¢¦¢ at which point I rounded the bend and Meanderthal looked up and exclaimed ¢ Bumpo!¢ After he recovered from the surprise we had a nice conversation. He is getting in 20-mile days quite regularly now without much effort, which is good since he had to stand down for a few days because of his shinsWhen we got to the Shelter it was pretty crowded and even though the skies suggested a threat of rain, we decided to set up our tents at a nearby campsite. When we returned to the Shelter to prepare tuna casserole ¢a la Bumpo¢ (Lipton butter noodles, peas, and tuna) ¢Slowpoke¢ had arrived on wobbly legs, complete with his 4-inch thick queen-size air mattress. It¢s really fun to connect up with people so quickly upon returning. Today was a great day to be back on the Trail, and having covered in one day what I thought we could do in two. Now for some sleep and to see what¢s in store for tomorrow.