Date: 2008-05-31
From: Sarver Hollow Shelter 

To: Campground
Miles today: 28.2
Weather: overcast clouds

28.2 miles? Seriously? Where do I begin? I quickly covered the distance I wanted to cover yesterday. Retrieved trail magic (soda) and then cramped up during the climb to the Audie Murphy Monument. Hiked a long ways -- up and down and up and down (but, didn't someone say VA was flat??). Stopped for dinner at Trout Creek where I met up with Kraut and reviewed the action plan. Kraut would stop at the next shelter for the night and I would push on to try to complete my 30 miler... We parted ways and my solo adventure began. I would cover 12+ miles post dinner, mostly in the cover of darkness. Before the sun set I climbed to the top of Dragon's Tooth and the incredible view (and phone signal) kept me there until twilight. It was absolutely gorgeous. Then, I began to make my descent -- which was surprisingly treacherous. Even more dangerous with the lack of daylight. The climbs down included metal rods for support and I found much humor in my predicament. Needless to say, the going was slow! I felt that it would not be in my best interest to injure myself while I was solo night hiking. By the time I had climbed most of the way down I was ready for a food break. So, I found this very inviting looking rock and took off my boots and laid out against my pack to enjoy the night lights of the town and road below. It was beautiful. It was serene. It was perfect. As I sat there munching on my snack I began to reflect on the evening before and the very stubborn snake that kept coming into our shelter. I then thought about how much snakes liked rocks and I concluded that snakes would probably like this "very inviting looking rock" that I myself was perched upon. At that thought I decided to start packing up my food. It was night time so unless I had my headlamp on I really could not see much. With the headlamp on my view is limited, obviously, to where I am looking. So, when I turned to put my food bag back into my pack and finally saw the 3 foot snake curled up next to me I was "startled" to say the least! He was looking up at me in a curious manner (riiiight, he was ready to strike because I was moving about) and he had been there for a while because his back end was wedged between myself and my pack -- don't know how I never felt him moving until that second but when I did finally realize I was practically sitting on top of him I jumped about 10 feet up to another rock. This, I would later find out, is exactly what you don't do when faced with a snake about ready to strike. You are supposed to remain still -- HA. I then proceeded to spend the next 20 minutes fighting the snake for first my poles, then my boots (I still did not have them on -- it was quite comical), and then my camara so I could document my terrifying experience. Finally, the snake became bored with my antics and slithered off under a rock and I was able to retrieve my pack and quickly proceed down the trail. My snake knowledge is limited so as of this time I did not know what kind of snake it was... dangerous or not?? Find out in tomorrow's journal entry. Anyways... after my little scare I did my best not to stop moving for the rest of the miles. When I did rest I rested on bridges over streams. My thought was that at these locations I could only be attacked from two locations (by animal or human) and it was easy to stay on guard. Most importantly, no snakes! The coolest part of the night though was when I was walking through the meadows with the siloutte of the mountains and fireflies in the thousands surrounding me... everything glittered. I would just stop and sit forever just taking it all in. It was really amazing. I wish my words could do the evening justice. But, I would stop shy of my 30 miles because feet pain, exhaustion, and a lack of water (my bottle had busted about 10 miles back), did me in. I wouldn't change it though -- I love the AT. I love the opportunity to push myself. I love being out here.