Date: 2006-05-27
From: Montebello, VA

To: Maupon Field SHelter
Miles today: 18.2
Weather: overcast clouds

What a difference a day makes. Some days hiking is pure labor, some days it's pure love. Those are the days I remember and know why I'm here. Today had many small wonders and the energy of smooth clean motion.After walking up the dirt road from town, Betty and I got to the trailhead after 9:00. We'd stopped at the general store and post office. Pumpkin, a smiling man in his 60s had arrived for breakfast but was not allowed in the house itself until Lois made things ready. She said he could wait on the porch, but strongly suggested he go to the store with us and then walk back to the house slowly.Once on the trail, Betty full steamed ahead while I did my usual fussing and fiddling with my pack. Even though I'm very relieved to have no broken bones I thought of the day as just another stretch of miles I had to put in. I thought back on banner days like Greyson Highlands and Dragon's Tooth and McAfee Knob and how more recent days just didn't have the same shine.Shine is mostly mental and it's a challenge to conjure it each day. I got it right today even though I didn't expect to. The weather threatened thunder storms all day and I had no expectations except to slog from one shelter to the next. I at least had the determination to do it rather than just get to Priest Shelter 4 miles in and take cover for the day. I headed up the trail with nothing in mind but beating the rain and the burden of putting in so many miles after such a late start.More out of duty than desire I stopped half a mile up the trail to take a quick view from Spy Rock. That's where the shine came in. The rock is a house sized boulder on the mountainside. It blocks everything but the sky. I approached it looking for the easy route to the top. It was more technical than I expected, a challenge that many probably turn down. I had to employ at a low level some of the skills that gave me my name. To get to the top I had to chose hand and foot placements before each move. I ditched my poles halfway up. The top of the rock is an open solo face. I could see all of the surrounding peaks and ridge lines as well as the approaching clouds. The wind was up and thunder rumbled. Satisfied that I had taken my obligatory side track, I headed down. I use a different route and started down a slabby face with a long vertical crack allowing good foot jams and side pulls. I reminded myself that I'm taking no chances. Hiking injuries are bad enough. I don't need climbing injuries. Almost to the bottom of the rock I realized my poles were still up there and I wasn't really sure where. It's a big rock. After 15 minutes of climbing and exploring I found them and headed down. As the wind got stronger the days urgency diminished. Without meaning to I'd just had a damn good time.I chugged through the next 4 miles to Priest Shelter. To save time I wasn't going to bother stopping there but some one coming up the trail from the shelter said, Hi Boulder. I was happy to see someone who knew me but didnt know him right off. Shenanigans who I last seen at Partnership Shelter a month ago. We stopped to catch up. He said that Trail Days had been great. He reported that Teddy Ruxpin had left the trail, not an easy decision for her but one she had to make. He also told me Caboose and Walkabout were down at the shelter. The trail has felt so empty for a while but it's populated once again.I walked down to the shelter to say hello and ended up hiking with Caboose and Walkabout for the next couple of hours. They have such a great attitude about the hike and never really plan or worry about distances or destinations from one day to the next. They also just seem like a great couple having a great time together. Around noon we stopped for a break. I just had trail mix but they shared some leftover cherry pie. Haven't had any for a while so was happy to help them finish it off.