Date: 2007-05-31
From: Bryant Ridge Shelter

To: Petites Gap
Miles today: 15.0

(Erin) This morning everyone in the shelter had enough of the no-see-um's (little bugs) and got packed at 5:00am. I usually don't care too much when people get up early and get out of the shelter quickly but these people were so loud. They were stomping around the shelter packing up gear and talking loud and they took forever to finally leave the shelter. Will and I and another couple, trail name "those two Finn's" didn't want to get up that early and got up at our usual time of 6:30ish. "Those two Finn's" didn't appreciate the wake up call either and got up at the same time as we did. We started hiking by about 8:15 and soon after leaving we passed an older couple, section hiking south bound. We had seen them 3 times already and the women gave us cold grapes each time. We kept going to the next shelter for a snack when we caught up with 2 of the people that had gotten up at 5:00am. They were only hiking 5 miles today and then meeting someone 3 more miles up the trail the following day. We still had a good ways to go so after snack we were on the trail again. As we hiked up Apple Orchard Mtn. it was hazy and we couldn't see much of anything. When we reached the Guillotine rocks I had to run off in the woods to pee and in the process I found a tiny tick stuck in my stomach just below my belly button. How did the little guy get there I wonder?? So we got out my tweezers and pulled the little thing out and killed it, that made my count 2 ticks and Will's 8. We reached Thunder Hill shelter for lunch and met Cruch, Rudabaga, and then later Bird Legs showed up. All nice people that we had never met until today.   We had planned to camp another 7 miles from there and of course a mile away from the shelter we started to hear the rumbling thunder again. What can you expect after leaving Thunder Hill Shelter. We made it to Petites Gap where we had to make a decision. Either to hike over the knob in a thunder storm to a full camp site, or camp in a place where near by someone had been shot 4 days earlier. (tell you about that one later) or go with the nice older couple to a hotel in Roanoke for the night. We chose the hotel. In the car ride to Roanoke we shared who we were and where we came from. All they knew of us was our trail names so we told them a little bit more about ourselves. They told us where they lived and that they had been section hiking for years. The lady had hiked about 1300 miles of the AT and had done them all after the age of 60. We found out in the hotel that the shooting that had taken place near Petites Gap actually happen closer to the trail for the Devil's Marble Yard. The shooter was still on the loose but the police had found his truck. There was a couple sleeping in their tent and the shooter opened up their tent and shot hitting the guy 3 times but missed the girl completely. No one was killed , and they were not AT hikers. That¢s why we were unsure of tenting in the area. So tonight we are in a hotel eating Subway. Not where we had planned on being tonight. My parents are coming on Saturday so I'm getting excited to see them. Tomorrow we will be back on the trail bright and early.Tick Count: Willie 6 Erin 2