Date: 2005-06-03
From: Troutville, VA

To: Cove Mountain (2720 feet)
Miles today: 21.6

Up (a lot earlier then I wanted to be) and checked out of the hotel room by 8:15. I was back on the trail by 9:15 that morning. Before hand though, I stopped in to a local Subway sandwich shop for the "trail perishable" (something that will spoil fast so you eat it that day). Subway subs are great, the only thing is that I do not recommend though is getting one with all the trimmings (tomato, lettuce, etc). It will inevitably become soggy and slimy by the time you go to eat it. I recommend that you have all those little extras put in a separate wrapping and add them on the trail. Either that or go plain, order a simple sub with just a single condiment added. It will last the longest I assure you.    An adjacent store (a truck stop) to the Subway, had a small AM/FM radio for sale there. It was just what I was looking for. Something to break the monotony of my babbling (talking to myself) and to keep up on the weather reports. Radio transmission was intermittent along the trail to say the least. Along the ridge lines and hill tops was where this little radio received the best signal. Line of sight in the best way to think of it. If there is a large city to the east and you are on the west side of a hill, you may not get anything worth listening to at all. Break time and bed time where the two best places to listen to the radio because, this is where you were static (not moving) avoiding the fading in and out. While hiking a good song would come on and either I would stop and listen or go back a few steps to where I heard it the best and waited till the song ended. You could always tell a music listener if you happened to walk up behind one. They would be singing on top of their lungs (most of the time out of tune) or, they would be dancing along the trail. If the person had external speakers you sometimes would see a group of hikers in a row, jamming along and keeping pace to the music.   Today we walked adjacent to and sometimes on the Blue Ridge Parkway. The trail meanders along side of it for the most part. Some outstanding views were to be had along the way. The terrain again was favorable and you could really stretch out the miles. My Goal that day was to make the laundromat in Buchanan, VA. The problem was there was no laundromat in Buchanan, VA. It appears, unbeknownst to we thru-hikers, that a flood last Spring wiped the place out. I hitched a ride to the town and that was where I found this out. I picked up a few things at a local store and I remembered saying to myself that all I really needed was some dry socks. Just then I observed, located at shoulder level, a cardboard bin full of socks for sale. No way! Just what I needed, clean white socks. I threw the old ones away, hitched back to the parkway (carrying some liquid refreshments and my new socks) and walked a little further north (1.6 miles to be exact). A SOBO told me earlier of a few camping spots he passed by a mile or two back and sure enough, they were there.      I ran in to two hikers that I recall that day, Steady on and Not guilty. I would see them both and read their log entries time and time again. Steady on was a hiker who just kept going (as his trail name indicated). He was doing some big mile days at the time. Another early departure, late ending hiker (like myself).