Date: 2004-09-16
From: Niday Shelter

To: Pickle Branch Shelter
Miles today: 9.9
Weather: overcast clouds

Another solo night in the shelter last PM. I have had every shelter to myself so far this section!   Arose early and headed down to VA621 and Craig Creek Valley and crossed over a very nice bridge and reentered the woods. The first part of today¢s ascent took me through various types of trees, as always. I have decided that, so far, I like the Pines the best. When you walk through a pure Pine stand it is quiet magical. There is a thick mat of pine needles underfoot to cushion the trail impact and to absorb the sound. The trees are tall and little sunlight filters to the forest floor, so that there is almost no under story, and you can see a long ways off through the Pines. In addition, the Pines auto prune themselves, so that the green needles are high above in the canopy, but the lower branches are shed from the trees so that the Pine trunks rise like pillars to the roof. The filtered sunlight, the tall pillars, and the almost reverent silence remind me of a cathedral.      Such thoughts were soon dismissed as the climb steepened and the going got tough. It was yet another ascent. I have toyed with the idea of classifying the degree of difficulty of the climbs and of the descents i.e. U1, U2, U3, and D1, D2, D3, etc, but they are what they are no matter what you call them.   Reached the top and came out on a woods road. I don¢t like these much. They are generally old abandoned logging roads, or seldom used. In Ireland we call them ¢Green Roads¢, because nature is trying to reclaim them. Once you get on one of them you tend to continue to follow it, even though the trail may suddenly veer off and go back into the woods. The trail can deviate at any time, since the trail planners like to spend as much time as possible in ¢The Wild¢ and off the road. Sometimes there is a bush or a fallen tree dragged across the road to alert the hiker to look for the double white blazes that signals the turn back into the woods. Sometimes however the road is still used and these obstructions don¢t exist. You need to be constantly vigilant for the turn off, and not start daydreaming, or you run the risk of continuing on the road and missing the trail. I believe that I have already commented on the scarcity of white paint in this particular section.      I then came to the Audie Murphy Memorial. He died in a plane crash close to this point. It is a very simple stone plinth, but I found it both sad and moving. To think that he survived all of the horrors of WW2 only to die in a commercial air crash. There were flowers and an American flag at the Memorial and a card with the soldier¢s prayer on it. Many people had placed small stones around and on the Memorial as a sign of their respect. I was very moved by the whole thing.   Finished off the crestwalk with lunch on the pinnacle, in a light rain, not enough to put on the rain gear. Then it was down off the mountain in a smooth descent to VA620 Trout Creek. The water looked so inviting that I was tempted to dive right in, but decorum, discretion, and the problem of drying off, as well as a possible impending rainstorm, all served to deter me.      So it was on here to Pickle Branch Shelter which is 1/3 mile off of the trail and the water source is down a series of steep steps to a good stream.   Did I mention that I saw a 4 ¢ 5 foot long black snake yesterday, and also got stung by a wasp just behind my right knee through my pants and below the Cho-Pat? Poor fellow must have thought that my flexing knee was going to crush him.   Saw no one today. Am now post dinner. Shelter register tells of grim details of climbing Dragons Tooth, which awaits me in the morning.   I also pulled out yet another grommet in my right boot, and the self repaired one looks like it is coming out also. We shall see.   Thought ¢       When one thing goes bad, a lot of things go bad.