Date: 2012-05-05
From: Campsite just north of Catawba Shelter - Tented

To: U.S. 220 - Howard Johnson's
Miles today: 17.8

Day 41 - Saturday, May 5thHiking Days 31 / Nero Days 8 /  Zero Days 2Start Location: Campsite just north of Catawba Shelter - TentedMile Marker: 704.7Ending Location: U.S. 220 - Howard Johnson's Mile Marker: 722.5Time: 7h 22min Miles: 17.8Weather: Warmer but wet.  Rain stopped around 7:00.  Damp but warmer in the afternoon.  Steady rain in the afternoon. 70-75 My goal was to wake up at 5:30, be out by 6:00 and catch Dundee and Steve-O as they leave their spot.  Well that didn't happen.  It started raining around 11:00am and continued on and off throughout the night.  I slept through the alarm with the rain. Still got up and out by 7:00.  Around 3:00am there was a group of night hikers come by.  I met them on McAfee Knob.  They were having a great time. Had a tarp set up for the rain.  Up there for the sunrise.  I got to the next shelter around 8:00 and there was someone there but the guys had already left.  The next big climb was up to Tinker Cliffs.  Once there, it was a nice view with the morning clearing.  So I decided to just stop a minute and make myself a mocha.  I only had two cups of water.  But it was enough.  As I was heating my water Dundee came up the trail.  Apparently he took a wrong turn and was at the lower end of the cliffs.  He said he lost about a half an hour.  He looked out and decided it was a nice place to take a break.  Took some pictures and took off together.  It was about 12 miles into the I-81 interchange.  We hiked it together.  It started to rain steadily the last hour or so.  Got into town.  Got my room.  Over to the outfitters where I ran into Mr. Wrong.  He is from the Roanoke area so he had his girlfriend pick him up in Pearisburg.  I thought he had caught up but he was still three days back.  Everyone was there.  Steve-O picked up a new pack, shoes and bag.  Nice.  Afterwards I went to the liquor store.  First place to buy hard booze so I bought a small bottle of scotch.  Also went to the grocery store.  At around 7:00 Steve-O and I went across the street to the Mexican Restaurant.  Dundee went with Mr. Wrong to find new shoes.  Steve-O and I went anyway.  Got a small table in the bar area.  We saw Dundee come back and called him over but now our table was too small.  It will be 25 minutes for a larger table.  As we were trying to work it out a table with two girls at it invited us over to their table.  It was a fun time.  But with two young girls, two young guys and one old guy, it seemed a bit crowded.  After we ate I sprung for dinner and excused myself.  As it turned out they stayed until after 11:00 and were among the last to leave.  And for me, I enjoyed my scotch.  I also had other good eats which included a bag of salad with unlimited ranch dressing with bacon bits.  And chips with chip dip.  It was exactly what I wanted so I was happy. I have been updating my journals in my downtime.  I also updated my song list to help me get going on that last section before I reach my final section point.  For me, the next stop is Montebello, Dutch Haus.  My number one stop of the trail and my last zero until Harpers Ferry.