Date: 2013-04-27
From: Doll Flats

To: Vango-Abby Hostel
Miles today: 15.7
Weather: clear sky

My first "monthiversary" on the Trail! And I hit 400 miles as well!Actually, the day did not go as planned . I had wanted to get up & on the Trail before daylight. After 21 miles yesterday, I optimistically thought I might be able to do 27 today to get to Kincora hostel. From there it would probably be easy to get to church, which I've missed for a couple of weeks.Well I didn't wake up till 6:00 and wasn't packed up till 7:10. There had been a very light rain overnight, so the tent was wet, but no rain the rest of the morning. The 1.5 miles down to US 19E was pretty quick, but going up the other side was a bit more complicated. Because there are so many roads, houses, &c., in this area, the Trail does an unusual number of twists & turns, ups & downs. All of that helps eliminate road walks & tries to preserve the feel of being in the wilderness.Nevertheless, after the first few miles, the Trail was quite smooth, & I felt I was making very good time ¢ in fact, I did one 2.8 mile section in one hour: phenomenal for me! At that rate, 27 was doable. I even took time to see Jones Falls, a pretty waterfall, & quite large for the area. The only hiker I saw was Karma, a woman I hadn't met before; she was moving fast too, so it took a while to catch up with her. I saw one other hiker, in the camp-site along the Elk River. There seemed to be an unusual number of unnecessary ups & downs in the section leading to the next shelter. I wanted to see Mountaineer Shelter, named for the smaller but very nice Mountaineer Waterfall next to it. I've been stopping for a big meal, each noon or early afternoon, to give me energy for the afternoon. While eating, I spoke with Blather & Straight-Beard, & another man who was staying in a tent near the shelter. Dragonfly stopped for a few minutes-- he had started from 19E after I did & was planning to get to Kincora. He was extolling the gourmet breakfast at Harbour House hostel, a place I couldn't quite make it to last night. My method of keeping up with hikers like him, by getting an earlier start & walking later, just doesn't seem to be working today. And he's not one of the young ones either!Anyway, after lunch, it was raining & I just wasn't moving so fast, so I started to look for alternatives. At about the 16-mile point on my day was the Vango-Abby Memorial hostel. Since our 20-year-old cat, Abby, died shortly before I left for this trip, the name was compelling. Vango, pronounced "van-GO", was a man who helped lots of hikers, especially Scott, the owner of the hostel, & Abby was his dog.I asked about the possibility of getting to church from this rather remote location & Scott told me he had taken some hikers to church just last week-end & would do so again. By that time, it was 4:00, so I decided to stay. I'm staying with a couple from Indiana named Wander Woman & Clark Kent & an older man named "15" for his boot size. Cleveland & Johnnie Walker stopped in but didn't stay.There is supposed to be bad weather for tomorrow, but you never know what that really means. By the time the Baptist service is over, the weather might be great!