Date: 2005-05-12
From: Waupin Field Shelter

To: Chief Cole's Apartment - Waynesboro, VA
Miles today: 21.2
Weather: overcast clouds

Miles hiked today : 21.221.1 AT miles + 0.1 roadwalk milesI woke up this morning at 6:00 a.m., quickly packed, hit the trail at 6:30 a.m., and ate breakfast on the go. Upon arriving at camp last night, I'd been told that the water source was poor, so I decided to wait to get water until I was a few miles up the trail.I reached Reeds Gap (VA664) at 7:15 a.m. and at 7:50 a.m., I reached a heavy flowing stream, which was mostly hidden by large rocks. I took a 20 minute break to filter 1.5 liters of water and treated an additional 2 liters with Aqua Mira, a chemical water treatment similar to that used for city water reservoirs. I recently decided to switch to a dual water treatment system in which I'll filter water that I need immediately and chemically treat water that I'll need later in the day. That way I'll spend less time filtering and my filter won't become clogged as quickly.Continuing on, I reached the 6.6 mile mark at the Dripping Rock Parking Area on the Blue Ridge Parkway at 9:45 a.m. Just before reaching the Blue Ridge Parkway, I'd been at Cedar Cliffs, which offered tremendous views of the hills beyond. At the Dripping Rock Parking Area was a bag of home packaged trail mix and some apples, though I left them for the next hiker. I took a 10 minute rest and snack break before moving on.I had a minor 750 foot climb up to Humpback Mountain, and just before the summit, at 11:00 a.m., I passed a rock and, in my peripheral vision, spotted some movement that I thought might be a snake. I've heard of many recent snake sightings and hadn't yet seen one, except for the small brown snake as I was leaving Erwin, TN. I cautiously backed up to look under a rock overhang to see what had moved. It wasn't a snake. Rather, it was a baby bunny no bigger than a couple of oranges placed side by side. It was shaking badly, obviously scared, and after snapping its picture, I moved on. I was tempted to try to pick it up, but decided against it, as it wouldn't be good if I got bit and contracted rabies. Plus, I'm sure the bunny would rather not be picked up.There was a descent view from the summit of Humpback Mountain. During my descent, at noon, I took a 15 minute rest and snack break before the final push to the shelter. There weren't very many landmarks to watch for after Humpback Mountain, so I wasn't sure when I was getting close to the shelter. I'd thought I would arrive at 2:30 p.m., so when I arrived at Paul C. Wolfe Shelter at 2:00 p.m., I was quite pleased.At the shelter were a few pages of the AT Companion book with a note that said "PLEASE HOLD 4 SENATOR." The pages were information on the different birds along the AT, including descriptions of their calls. I thought it was nice that somebody left this for me, as I'd been wondering which birds I'd been hearing. I believe it was Bones who left the pages, as I cannot think of anybody else ahead of me that I'd talked to about bird calls.Just before the shelter was Mill Creek, which had a very high volume flow. It would have been nice to stay here for the day, though I only had 5.0 additional miles to cover to reach Rockfish Gap, which is the starting point of the Blue Ridge Parkway and leads into Waynesboro. I took a 20 minute break at the shelter before setting out at 2:20 p.m. I knew that I'd be passing an old cemetery in 0.9 mile and was surprised when I arrived at an area with about 12 huge piles of rocks. I suppose that's how they buried people in this area way back when.Also on the way to Rockfish Gap, I was watching for the ruins of an old cabin. The only thing on site was a chimney made of carefully stacked rocks. Even the foundation of the cabin was gone. I kept moving on and was sweating heavily, as the temperature was in the 80s and the humidity was high. I expected to reach Rockfish Gap at 4:30 p.m. and at 4:00 p.m., light rain began to fall, which served to cool me off. To my surprise, I reached Rockfish Gap 5 minutes later. Not including breaks, I'd hiked 21.1 miles in 8.5 hours, which was nearly 2.5 m.p.h. for the entire day. Not too shabby! All in all, my 21.1 mile trip took 9 hours, 35 minutes.I tried hitching for a couple minues, though there was very little traffic passing through Rockfish Gap. I saw a sign that said Waynesboro Visitor Information Center, 600 feet, so I walked over to take advantage of the Waynesboro Trail Angel Network, which is a group of volunteers that shuttle AT hikers into Waynesboro for no charge. I was greeted by the gentleman working the counter and all I had to do was say that I was looking for a ride and he took care of everything. 15 minutes later, I was picked up by Betty, who drove me into town, showed me where the free camping was, and, at 5:00 p.m., dropped me off at Gavid's, which is a AYCE restaurant.My AYCE dinner with drink was a little less than $10 and, while eating, I read a couple chapters of "A Walk In The Woods," which I'd picked up in the shelter just outside of Glasgow. I hadn't eaten anything today besides breakfast and snacks, so I was quite hungry. I ate several plates of food and when I went back for dessert, I was greeted by a gentleman in Navy dress whites, retired Chief Petty Officer Chester Cole.After talking for a moment, Chief Cole asked whether I cared to join him at his table, as he wanted to hear about my hike. I accepted his offer, though when he realized his table was smaller than mine, he suggested that he and his friend Paul sit with me instead. Paul stays with Chief Cole and helps with the housework. Paul also drives Chief Cole around at night when necessary, as Chief Cole, at age 77, has poor night vision.Chief Cole wanted to know whether I had any interesting trail stories, so I told him the "Smooth Sharon of Bland" story. I also told him about my military service and found out that he's currently volunteering at the local Navy recruiters office and does so out of a sense of obligation to the U.S. I'd been done eating for awhile when Chief Cole asked whether he was keeping me from taking care of other tasks. I told him that the only thing I had to do tonight was walk to the YMCA to register for the free camping at Loth Springs. At that time, he made the very generous offer of letting me stay at his apartment, which I accepted.Chief Cole left the restaurant with some other gentleman to do a "raid" on a rival Mason Lodge (Lee Lodge). Paul drove me back to the apartment, and against my protests, surrendered his bed to me and opted to take the couch. I told Paul that I'd be perfectly happy to take the couch, though he said that he doesn't sleep very well in a bed anyway.After showering, I settled on the couch to journal while watching television with Paul. Around 9:30 p.m., Chief Cole returned home after a successful "raid," capturing the gavel of the rival Mason lodge. I stayed up for a bit listening to his stories and talking with him before turning in at 11:00 p.m. and made a couple telephone calls before falling asleep.I consider myself very fortunate to be a guest in a private residence tonight and am lucky to have a bed to sleep in. I would have been fine tenting at Loth Springs, though I am happy to be here tonight. The generosity of perfect strangers truly amazes me sometimes. Tomorrow I've got to pick up my maildrop and do some grocery shopping before heading into the Shenandoah National Park. I'm expecting that I won't see many hikers over the next few days, as Trail Days will draw away the majority of the crowd.Bedtime at 12:00 a.m.