Date: 2007-06-04
From: Interchange at Troutville

To: Mile 666: Sarver Hollow
Miles today: 0.0

It was a dark and foreboding day. Young Eagle, the famous wizard and hiker, awoke to the feeling of impending doom.   It was the day that he would battle the Beast. Not just any beast but THE Beast. He put on his wizard robe and hat. Picked up his trusty Hiking Staff of the Arch-Magi.   Packed up his Backpack of Infinite Space (that was extremely ultralight) and headed out to do battle with the Beast. The hike was long and arduous. Every step uphill took several moments as the weight of his task burdened him.   This was the day of days for our young hero. He had prepared many months for the coming battle. As he made it to the top of his ascent cairns peppered the ridgeline. These were not ordinary rock cairns but graves; the graves of countless heroes. Young Eagle inspected each one as he passed them. He had no choice because they were displayed for all to see as one got closer to the Beast's Lair.   One cairn had a name burned into a large stone tablet at the top. It said "Here lies Gandalf, the fool." Another said "Merlin, he didn't like them apples." Young Eagle continued his approach and still more names jumped out at him: Elminster, Arthur, Lancelot, Hercules, Perseus, Audie Murphy, Harry Potter, Sigmund, Sigurd, and of course: Bill Clinton. "No! You bastard! You will pay!"   Young Eagle cried. Finally after several more minutes of walking, our hero approached his final destination. His feet were blistered, his calluses bloody, his joints sore, and he was fresh out of Ibuprofin.   He walked up to the sign and it pointed to the right where a path led downhill. The sign read: "Sarver Hollow, .3 miles" Again: "No! You bastard! You will pay!"   Young Eagle cried. Young Eagle grudgingly began the .3 mile descent into the Abyss. He thought to himself, "wasn't it enough that I hiked 666 miles to get here and now I have to fricken walk another .3 miles downhill to fight this fricken beast?"   The path down was littered with stones and rocks pulsating with a heat from an undefined source. Small billows of smoke and steam arose from the very ground.   The terrain was scorched with a deep blackness that reaked of sulphur. The temperature warmed swiftly and our hero began to sweat profusely. Finally, after the long .3 mile descent, our hero reached the bottom. Sarver Hollow shelter sat there like a mouse trap baited with cheese.   Young Eagle moved around to the front side where a covered porch extended out from the shelter. There sitting at the edge of the shelter stood the Beast.   It was a demon of red leathery skin, black bat-like wings, and spear sized horns protruded from its skull. The beast looked up at our hero and said "Woe to you, Oh Earth and Sea, for the Devil sends the beast with wrath, because he knows the time is short...Let him who hath understanding reckon the number of the beast for it is a human number, its number is Six hundred and sixty six." "Silence Beast, for I shall send you back from whence you came." Young Eagle replied with confidence. The Beast let forth with a flurry of fireballs from its fingertips. Young Eagle quickly applied suntan lotion from his small Nalgene-like container stashed away for quick access in his left front hip pocket.   The fireballs only gave him medium sunburn on his left arm and the top of his knees. Young Eagle responded with his own attack: a series of lightning bolts. They simply bounced off the belly of the Beast leaving him unhurt. The Beast laughed. It was a laugh filled with the voices of a thousand souls crying out in chorus.   "You fool. I have bested many before you. But you have some strength and I can see that I will need to be more subtle with my attacks.¢ At that, the Beast closed it¢s eyes and began to mutter under it¢s breath. Dark smoke filled the area and before long Young Eagle was choking on the fumes. Unconsciousness consumed him.It seemed like hours before Young Eagle opened his eyes. He was standing on Mount Katahdin, a mere 100 yards from Baxter Peak. He cried out in joy for he finally had made it to the top of the mountain and he was within quick distance to the end of his long trek. He started to walk in the direction of the peak but fell over and reeled in pain. His leg was broken! Somehow he had broken his leg. Not only was he within 100 yards of finishing but he was also 5 miles from the Ranger Station. What would he do? He cried out for someone to help but no one responded. Other thru-hikers ran happily by as they reached the summit of Katahdin but no one stopped to pay him any notice. He started to crawl towards the peak but the break in his leg sent agonizing pain throughout his body. He laid there for several minutes wallowing in his own self misery when he finally looked up in determination and again began to crawl to the peak. Nothing would stop him, not even the pain.Instantly, he was transported somewhere else. Now he stood along the ridge of a low mountain in Pennsylvania. It was the middle of summer and the temperature was 95 degrees. His mouth was parched so he reached down to take a swig of water from his MSR bladder¢¦but there was no water! Young Eagle whipped out his AT Thru-hiker¢s Companion and looked up Pennsylvania. For some reason he knew where he was but the Companion said there was no water for 30 miles in either direction. His heart fluttered with panic. Without water our hero would be dehydrated in a matter of hours and he would be forced off the trail indefinitely.Before panic overwhelmed him, Young Eagle took a seat on a nearby log and calmed himself. He sensed something wasn¢t right. It was not normal for him to be at Katahdin one moment with a broken leg and then here in Pennsylvania without water another moment later. He relaxed his mind again and started to ease his tension. As him mind returned to a state of relaxation he realized that he had just been in Virginia at the 666 mile marker doing battle with the Beast. This had to be the work of the Beast. Using his powers, he erected a Tower of Iron Will and blocked out the mental assault and illusions of the Beast. Before he knew it, he was standing once again at Sarver Hollow facing the Beast¢¦.and the Beast did not look pleased.¢You won this round Young Eagle but we shall meet again when you are 666 mile from Katahdin. That battle will not be as easy.¢That night our hero ate at the Waffle House.