Date: 2003-06-11
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Miles today: 0.0

Day 73 6/5/03 mm646 16.4 miles   11 hours 25minIt's windy this am and the sun can't get thru the cloud cover. It's BA Turtle's B-day. We were the 1st to leave camp at 8:15 am. We stopped for a lunch break at Pine Swamp Barnoh Shelter. Everyone beat us there except GI Gypsy. We decided to meet for the nite at a campsite near mile mark 646. It was a steep climb to Barley Gap Shelter where we took a lunch Break and got water after that the trail became very rocky for over 2 miles. It was a long day 11 hours and 25 min. We got to the campsite a 7:40pm very tired. We enjoyed a large fire with Rumbler, Jersey, Footslogger and BA Turtle and GI Gypsy who came in a few minutes after we did. Everyone is snoring a 10:15 pm.Day 74 6/6/03 15.9 mi   mm 661.9   3/10 BB.Started out at 8:30 am. Hiked a beautiful section down to War Spur Shelter. The Mountain Laurel was spectacular. Later we crossed a pasture with beautiful views. We saw 3 deer. Another beautiful day for hiking but the forecast calls for rain. We had a very hard day trying to keep up with the gang and make it to Sarver Shelter. We passed the Keffer Oak, said to be the largest tree on the entire AT. We finally made it to the shelter which was 3/10 miles down the steepest blue blaze trail at 8:35 pm. The sun had just set. Today we walked 12 hour 5 min. The shelter is one of the best we've seen. New in 2001. Day 75 6/7/03 mm 667.9 6 milesWoke to rain during the nite, and its still coming down this am. My watch battery is dead and I've lost my section map. Not a good way to start the day. We left the shelter with the crew at 8:15am. A 15 min hike up to the trail. The trail is non-existent on this ridge. It's necessary to maneuver over huge rock out cropping at 45 degree angles. Hard to do in the rain. It took so much time that we couldn't make our original destination the Pickle Branch Shelter. So we opted to stop at Niday Shelter and of course we found the whole crew there ahead of us. We decided to stay here and wait out the rain. All was not lost as we managed to Yogie a beer a piece from 6 guys who hiked in to use the shelter. Day 76 6/8/03 16.2 milesAfter loosing a lot of time yesterday, we planned on an early start this am but it rained again as we were packing so we hung out until 9:15 and left in a drizzle. Will it ever stop raining? We saved our last set of dry clothes and wore dirty, but some dry socks because our boots are soaked. It wasn't bad actually. The trail was wet but an easy grade and we made great time in the am. Our destination is "4 Pines Hostel" near Catawba. The cicadas are so loud in this area that they hurt your ears and it' very annoying. Jersey is having a slow day and is hiking with us. We hiked up Brush Mountain and came to the Audie Murphy memorial where we stopped for a break. We hiked over a rough ridge and finally came to the "Dragon Tooth' which is a spectacular rock out cropping which turned out to be the hardest part of the trail so far. It was very slow going, hands on descent for a couple of miles. Of course it was so fogged in there were no views. Then it started to rain again with distant thunder. We still had a couple of miles to go and the sun was setting. The last part of the trail was easy and we hurried to the road and walked the last 3/10 mile to the hostel where we were surprised to find at least 30 hikers crowed into a 4 stall garage. It resembled a hurricane shelter. Footslogger and the gang had gotten in earlier and went to the "Homeplace" restaurant buffet and brought back doggie bags of food for us. There was beer in the frig @. 75 cents a can. We all shared a bathroom with 1 shower and toilet and a laundry tub. "Skidmarks" and Baloo gave up their floor mats for us, I guess because we are old, and looked pretty rough. It was nice of them anyhow.Day 77 6/9/03 mm683.8 6milesLeft the hostel early and walked about a mile to a grocery store and had coffee and donuts for breakfast. Sparrow and Raven and Jersey showed up. We were able to pick up enough supplies to get us through for a couple of days. When we got to the trailhead the whole gang was standing there getting ready to start out. We all set out together with Rumbler, Footslogger, BA turtle Jersey Skidmars and Baloo. We hiked together for quite a while. We all stopped while Rumber bandaged his blisters and amputated his toenail. We had a lot better time that he did. We hiked through lots of cow manure and mud and crossed several stiles. When we reached VA Tr 311 we got off and followed Footslogger and BA turtle to the Down Home B& B. The rooms were all rented out but we were able to sleep in the common living area. Footslogger and I got a shuttle to an outfitter in Salem VA. I bought summer weight sleeping bags and a pack cover for Seneca Lou. We picked up pizza and wine on the way back and had an enjoyable evening watching "Audie Murphy's movie "To Hell and Back."Day 78 6/10/03 mm 699.9   10.2 milesBreakfast was served at 7:30am   French toast and bacon. Dave shuttled us back to the trailhead. This was a big day as we passed the 700 mile mark and got to McAfee's knob for lunch and lots of pictures. It was clear and sunny, what a view. Later on Tinker Cliffs for more view.   It was not an easy hike but a fun day. We stopped at Lumbarts Meadow shelter which we shared with Footslogger and Turtle, Elwood and Pockets.Day 79 6/11/03 9.4 milesWoke up about 2:00am with nats biting all exposed parts. I couldn't go back to sleep. We broke camp at 7:00am about the earliest yet. The trail followed a rocky ridge. Boulders as big as a house are scattered around in the woods. There were great views of the valleys on either side. We followed the ridge down to Daleville VA. We got a room at the Best Western where Footslogger and BA Turtle were staying. After we got cleaned up we walked about a mile to a dentist office to get my bridge cemented in. It had broken loose a few days before. He wouldn't take me and we tried another office and found it closed. I ended up at a pharmacy and found something that works temporarily. We called Cherry and Daryl on their cell phone and found out that they were close by in Roanoke, so they drove over with their RV. We went to dinner with them and Footslogger and Turtle at an all you can eat Chinese buffet. We talked to Susie and Mandy. They will be coming to meet us the first of July.