Date: 2010-05-07
From: Fullhardt Knob Shelter

To: Daleville
Miles today: 5.0
Weather: clear sky

¢The cow is of the bovine ilk; one end is moo, the other milk. ¢-        Ogden NashAs usual I was first up and worked as quietly as I could on heating water for my coffee and breakfast. Soon the others began their morning chores, too. One of these was for someone to get down the collection of food bags that had been hung from a branch. These bear bags had been hung using the PCT (Pacific Crest Trail) method.   It seems that bears in some areas have gotten clever about getting the food down even when hung well out of reach. I¢ve read about bears climbing on branches above the suspended bags and jumping down, snagging the bags as they fall. Another trick some have figured out is to bite through the line that ties off the whole business. Of course, once the line is broken, the weight of the food bag brings it down to the waiting bear.The PCT method involves a carabiner and a twig instead of tying off the end of the line to a tree. You can find good descriptions of this online so I won¢t try to describe it. But the way to get the food back down is to pull on the end of the line hanging down, remove the twig that had kept the line anchored against the carabiner so that the weight of the food bag will bring it down to the hiker.That¢s the theory, anyway. In this particular case, several food bags had been hung and the line had gotten twisted around itself and interwoven with the hanging bags. That meant that pulling on the loose end of the rope didn¢t accomplish anything. A number of people tried find a solution, myself included. (See the photos.) For quite a while it looked like hikers going after a pi±ata. Eventually the picnic table was moved over beneath the tantalizingly close bags, an open knife was duct-taped to a trekking pole (Take the duct tape¢¦.), and a hiker, standing on the table, was able to cut the rope above the carabiner.I hope the bears weren¢t watching and taking notes. But I expect if they were, they must have had a good laugh at us. Not all of the hikers enjoyed the bear bag pi±ata experience though.Ursula, Cathy, and I were almost the last to leave the shelter; Corny remained, tending to his injured feet. Since we didn¢t have far to go, and most of it was downhill and easy walking, we didn¢t feel a need to hurry. So we didn¢t.The day was getting quite hot and humid, especially when we crossed pastures and fields where there was no shade. At one place we went over a stile into a pasture with cows who regarded us as they chewed and chewed. I kept thinking of Far Side comics and wondered what the thought bubbles over the cows were saying. And that got me wondering what the bears would have been saying if there had been a cartoon of this morning¢s to-do.After we crossed the fields and a short stretch of woods, we came to a road which the trail uses to pass under the interstate. The traffic seemed very noisy after a few days of quiet in the forest. We turned south and paralleled the interstate and crossed back over US 11 right back at the motel we had left on Tuesday.We made quick stop at the convenience store for juice and snacks, and then we headed to the bliss of showers and airconditioned rooms. Ahhhhh!After showering off the layers of dirt and sweat I was able to get a look at all the various bumps, bruises, scrapes, rashes and bug bites. What a mess. The Claritin and various topical preparations had helped some, but I could see where I¢d been scratching way too much. And while the itching had subsided some, it was still maddening. My right ankle was still swollen, so I iced it.I spent the afternoon relaxing and repacking. Some of my gear and supplies were going back to Illinois so I needed to take my time and make sure I didn¢t send something back by mistake when I would need it here in Virginia.As the twisty road to the Blue Ridge Parkway had caused motion sickness on Tuesday, Cathy and Ursula suggested that I see if Homer could drive me back, rather than having them drive me back. Homer was available and agreed to pick me up in the morning.We had dinner out, and then played some cards. As Homer was due to pick me up at 6:30 the next morning I went to bed early. It had been great to have my friends hike with me, but they would have to head west the next morning. And I would head north to heed the wail of the Trail.