Date: 2004-06-25
From: Pearisburg, Va 

To: Moving slowly North
Miles today: 0.0

6/25What a diference a day makes. Wasn't I on top of the world yesterday?Wo and Moxy came to camp last night. It was nice chatting with them and watching the sun set.About 4 in the morning my stomach woke me up. It didn't feel to good but I just thought I was hungry. I wasn't just hungry.....in fact I wasn't hungry at all. I felt horrible. I felt like puking. But first my body decided to treat me with the most horrible case of diahrrea I have EVER had. I seem to be having diahrea so much that maybe someone can tell me how to spell it?just water coming out and bad cramps....but trying doing it in the dark on a side of a mt with a head lamp. Then try getting in a hammock and two minutes later you have to jump out. Not easy. And it was so uncontrolable that yes, I pooped my pants. Now I am wondering how much worse it can get. Can you guess? Of course it starts raining. And then I start puking my guts up.....at the same time everything else is going on. I almost just laid down in the rain. But my better sense and the fact that my jacket wasn't too wet made me go back to the hammock. The hammock that wouldn't stop moving. I finally just curled up under the hammock on my piece of tyvek wishing the day was over. I eventually got back in the hammock and fell back to sleep. At least the hammock was dry. Wo and Moxie got up and I asked them if they had a cell phone. Nope. I was actually feeling better so when they asked me if I needed anything I said no. I woke up around 10:30 and was feeling better so !I started breaking down camp. I ate a bagel with peanut butter and it went down ok. In the meantime......here is why I got sick. Don't ask me why cause it is a dumb dumb answer but I switched my water purifying method. I used the Miox twice yesterday and followed the instructions exactly. The water tasted funny but I heard there was a little bitter taste. Blecko. When } threw up that is exactly what came up.Did I also mention that this six miles is dry? No water. So, it's 11:00 am....I have no water. The next water is 6 miles and I feel worse then when I went thru chemo.But I can't just sit there and wait. Not without water so I hike. Every bone in my body hurts. Especially that hip I fell on. I don't think it likes the dampness. Walking has never been harder. I have no fluids in me....my hands are shaking. And even though I know my pack is under 30 lbs, it feels like sixty. My legs and arms feel like lead. What else is there to do though. I have to stop on more than a few occasions. Just to lay down.....yep, it's still raining. But I was hurting so bad I HAD to lay down. Today is not fun. I wish I was at home laying in a nice warm bed sipping on some vernors. I wonder what I am doing out here? And why put myself through this? And then I remember how glorious yesterday was. My day doesn't get better though. I sat at a fork in the trail at one point. A white blaze trail and a shorter blue blaze trail. First I cried. Maybe for two minutes and then I gave myself a talking to. Here's the choice. Take the blue blaze.....wh!ich leads to who knows where but it is guarenteed shorter.....go to the first house....get to a hospital....OR....the less sensible white blaze. 5 more miles to water and then to a shelter and wait for Gary and Stacey and/or leave them a note....and get to a hospital. I got so ticked off thinking about that 42 mile section I have to make up that I took the white blaze. I was getting weaker and weaker and colder too. I was so thirsty at one point that I found myself licking the water off of leaves of an oak tree. That's when I decided that I couldn't walk another step. It was raining and I had water everywhere.....I just needed to collect it. It was just around 3:00 p.m. but I decided that I needed water and food and to be warm and dry. The first thing I did was set up the rain fly for the hammock. Luckily it wasn't attached to the hammock. I was doing some experimenting with the set up yesterday before I got sick. Thank God! Once I got the fly attached to a few tree!s I anchored it on either side so the water would trickle down. Next Irigged up my Nalgene bottles. I cut some string to make a loop and then took some trusty duct tape and wrapped it around the bottle to hold the loop in place. I attached the bottles to the sides of the fly and water was filling those bottles. So now I have water and a dry place to sit. I make some hot chocolate and boy did that taste good. Then I decided I needed some food. Ramen noodles. Not exactly a great meal but it went down ok. After that I put up the hammock. I was in that thing the whole night. There was lots of good radio stations, so thank goodness for that. Now, what I am about to tell you.....well, I am not sure if it really hapened or I dreamed it. I remember waking up but that could have been a dream? Something nudged me in the hammock. I mean a big nose nudge.....and not once but twice. I heard some noise but mostly just rain. Did I investigate? Heck no. That's when those people in the movies get it! And if I went to investigate.......what would!I have done?? I don't know if it was a bear or a deer but whatever it was nudged me twice. And come to think of it....I had poopy pants on.....yucko. Something smelled me.....that's for sure.over and outsparepocket.