Date: 2012-04-26
From: Jenkins Shelter

To: Bland, VA
Miles today: 11.8
Weather: moderate rain

It rained long and hard last night, not letting up for a moment for the last 15 hours. There is something...interesting about sleeping just 2 feet beneath a deluge like that with only a thin slice of sil-nylon between you and being drenched. I stayed warm and dry beneath the double layer of my quilt and sleeping bag despite the misting and drips. I finally admitted that it was morning and that I would eventually need to pack up in the rain. I got what I could done in the tent before making a mad dash for the shelter. It was still early and everyone at the shelter decided to head on despite the continuing rain. All of us tenters left our tents up until the shelter sleepers cleared out and we had room to at least try to shake out our soaked gear. The next few miles I spent walking in the rain going back in forth in my mind about whether I should head into the town of Bland or continue on the next shelter and just tough out the bad weather. All those miles gave me hours to compile my list of reasons for and against the plan. misery tends to be a big motivator for heading into town but I hate spending money on unexpected town stops, especially when I've only been out a few days. Because of all the rain the trail is flooded and basically a creek walk. At the bottom of the first hill there was a foot bridge across a raging creek. I moved very carefully along it's bank, following the eroding trail as safely as I could and making sure I didn't fall into the water as it was certainly at drowning force. But it wasn't until I got to the knee high creek I had to ford that my mind was made up. There's nothing like a blast of cold water and dangerous crossing to encourage the decision making process. Especially as the chances of me finding any clean water the rest of the day were slim, my boots where soaked, tent was wet, and there was no guarantee that there would be room at the next shelter. On top of that the little voice in my head that whispers things like, "call your mother, she'll come get you and this will all be over. warmth, dryness, overstuffed mattresses" kept popping up and I knew it was time to forget my schedule and take care of myself.The day was much easier mentally knowing I had an out and I was able to enjoy the views as I wound around the mountains. Everything looks so green and the fog practically dances as it moves over the hills into the valleys. I love this about the trail. Even when misery levels are at their highest, it remains an astonishingly beautiful place that almost startles you with a new view or feature. And because you are moving so slowly with nothing much to distract you, all the little things ad up. Every bend in the trail brings to life a different angle of light, a unique noise or sensation of wind, reminding you that no you haven't seen it all before and that you are so lucky to be out here. So I popped off the trail onto this gravel road serving as access to some massive cell towers, no signal go figure, and continued on that until I got to the highway that would take me to Bland, VA. 2.5 miles of road walking down hill and I was in town making my way to the only hotel there. Hikers are apparently not that frequent a sight here so my pack and I got a lot of "what the heck is she doing walking on this road" and I am always reminded that most of the US transportation systems are not set up to be pedestrian friendly. It turns out pretty much everyone who was at last night's shelter is here in town. Every available surface in the room was covered in hiking gear and we had multiple clotheslines going as we all dried out our wet gear. Tents flapped in the wind outside in the parking lot and we all made due with lack of a laundromat or other washing facilities. We had some great views of the valley from the hotel and watched the evening storm rolling in overhead. What an incredible sight to see this mass of clouds meet up with the immobile ones in the distance. Like watching a slow motion car crash where you know the outcome. From here you could see the charges forming just before the clouds light up and you wait for the resounding boom you know will follow. Huge hail started to fall and I was simultaneously thankful to be indoors and hoping that all my other friends had good cover under shelters tonight.   I miss Huff and Puff and hope they are doing okay. Back to the trail tomorrow cleaner, dryer and ready for what it has to throw at me.