Date: 2013-06-18
From: Stream-side Campsite just past Jenny Knob Shelter

To: Wapiti Shelter
Miles today: 13.2
Weather: light rain

We woke early after a great night sleep to no rain but overcast skies. The call of nature drew us out of the tent before starting our tent teardown routine. After taking care of business and dropping our bear hang, it started to drizzle - rats! As I threw everything into the tent, the drizzle turned to light rain. Double rats! Well at least everything was dry inside, but it made it hard to muster up energy to break camp and get hiking. After regrouping inside the tent, I attempted to at least make a hot breakfast in the vestibule. Sadly, my worst fears about that empty fuel canister came true and the camp stove crapped out - no fuel, no hot breakfast!!! So we shared pop tarts as the skies opened up and it really started raining.We gracefully managed to close up camp without getting everything soaking wet, a feat I was quite proud of. We then proceeded to hike the 6.5 miles in a good downpour to Trent's Grocery Store. It didn't take long before we were both soaking wet. I had my raincoat on but it was too warm for rain pants so everything from mid-shorts to my toes was soggy. The only living creatures we saw were a turtle and a doe - no hiker's.Just before we popped out onto VA606, there was a wonderful suspension bridge over Kimberling Creek. We lingered there despite the rain. At VA606, we turned left (West) toward Trent's Grocery Store which was 0.5 miles off the AT. My fingers were crossed that we'd find a new fuel canister and rumor had it that the food at Trent's was good. We weren't disappointed on both counts!!! I ordered up a hot dog for Bandit and a big cheeseburger and Diet Pepsi for myself. There were a lot of locals eating at booths inside but I went and sat with Bandit outside on the hiker benches under the store eves out of the rain. We were the only hikers here today. While munching and resting we met an old hiker named Poet who was actually a squatter at Trent's hiker campground. He had lots of interesting stories and was fun to talk to. He filled us in on Grinder's arrival last night and his departure this morning. It was clear Grinder was not to be seen again in our near future. I talked with one or two locals who were curious about the AT and did I really walk all by myself from Georgia to Maine?Sitting still while being wet leads to feeling cold, so after we had a full tummy and fuel canister, we hiked the 0.5 miles back to the AT down Hwy VA 606. We were later to learn there is a nice short cut from Trent's to Dismal Falls but then again, I am a purist and was happy to return to the point we'd exited the trail. We hiked two miles to Dismal Falls following the 0.3 mile side trail to the falls. The roar of the falls was enticing considering our new hiking speed philosophy, but sadly we were dismally disappointed. It would have been a great swimming hole on a nice hot day, but it was a miserable failure side trip on a soggy day! Not really good falls to view.We hiked 6 more miles in rain on fairly flat terrain but it was all through a damp, muddy, and slippery Rhododendron forest tunnel to Wapiti Shelter. We didn't see ANY signs of life, no hikers, no critters, just rain. Once at the shelter, we spread out everything to dry as the skies cleared and sun danced on the horizon. I made an awesome HOT dinner of Gnocchis with my de-hydrated sauce. Despite the fact that we hadn't had cell phone signal most of the day, I'd managed to get a reservation request out to Woods Hole Hostel for tomorrow night just after leaving Trent's. Here at Wapiti I wasn't able to get enough signal find out the reply from Woods Hole on their availability. Don Raines had urged me to stay in the main house when I got there and now after all this rain, I was so hopping that was possible. It was just me and Bandit in the shelter for the night, so for the third time on this Section, I broke my "No Dogs in the Shelter" rule and we spread out inside the shelter. Not another soul showed up at the shelter that night, thankfully that included the bears. I guess we must be in a pretty good "Empty hiker pocket" - didn't we just leave Partnership Shelter with 20 other hikers?