Date: 2012-05-02
From: Lane Street - Pearisburg VA - Rendezvous Motel

To: Wind Rock Campsite - Tented
Miles today: 27.1

Day 38 - Wednesday, May 2ndHiking Days 29 / Nero Days 7 /  Zero Days 2Start Location: Lane Street - Pearisburg VA - Rendezvous MotelMile Marker: 629.8Ending Location: Wind Rock Campsite - TentedMile Marker: 656.9Time: 11h 56min Miles: 27.1Weather: warm in the morning.  Turned sunny early.  75-80  50% chance of rain never happened.  Not even a threat all day.  Evening is warmer. 60ishTalking by the group if guys at 6:00am woke me up.  Well that answered the question of if they were workers.  Hard to get up.  Slept good but after going to sleep so late, just not long enough.  I could feel my body has not healed.  It is missing that umph that a town stop is supposed to give you.  Now it is two days in a row that my rest days have turned out to be anything but rest days.  Still had my Swiss cheese burger.  Popped it in the microwave and ate it for breakfast.  Why not?  A honey bum, brownie and a candy bar rounded out my breakfast.  Still no zing going.  Having thoughts of staying, reorganizing, and rest.  Packed my pack.  Lifted it up and I remain very discouraged about the weight.  Not sure what happened.  Just too much of everything.  Little things like 12 ounces of fuel instead if 4-5.  Five Ramens instead of 3. Stupid things like that.  Gram to ounces ... Ounces to pounds ... Pounds to misery.  Drank two liters of gatorade.  Reluctantly went out the door carrying my heavy pack.  Food sucks.  Actually good is great.  Carrying food SUCKS.  On the trail at 8:15.  Seems late but this time just getting out the door was a good thing.  Two big climbs for the day.  1700 feet early out of two and 1400 feet later on.  Add this to all the little ups and downs and probably 4200-4500 feet for the day.  If the tread is good I might be able to get into my grove.  Without that happening it is going to be a very long day.  All day I just focused on staying focused.  If my mind wandered, the hiking would not be as efficient as I needed it to be.  With the warmer temps I was using more fluids more quickly then normal.  Even with the 2 liters first thing I was requiring more earlier then expected.  Also the water stops are getting farther apart.  There are 6-9 mile sections without water.  Normally this would be ok but the tread was rocky with steep short ups and downs. With both Dundee and Steve-O passing Pearisburg, I suspected they would be gone.  Certainly two shelters ahead.  With both of them above 22-25 mile days it is hard to catch them.  No biggy. That's what it's all about. In about 15 miles I read in a shelter register that Dundee was having a problem with his baby toe.  With the way the treads are even if you shoes are fitting perfect, when you consecutively do 25 mile days your feet ate constantly at hard slopes, pounded by pointy rocks, roots and now the overgrown brush poking at you.  At the 22 mile mark for the day I hit a shelter and Dundee was there.  His toe has caused him to do a shorter day.  He had planned in picking up his new pack frame at the interchange.  I brought up that the way I figured it he would have to really hump it with his bad foot if he wanted to make the post office on Saturday.  It took him minute to think about it then he replied with an oh-shit.  That meant a zero day on Sunday if he missed it.  With it being a nice evening and only 6:00, I wanted to tent on the upcoming ridge.  So I pushed on.  Mouse, gun (rum?) runner, and a couple other hikers were there.  So my goal was to push another mile or two, find a place to pitch my tent and have a good nights rest.  Guess what.  The fun continued.  As it turned out the ridge I went up was all rocks and not a tent site anywhere.  Not even one that I could mike for the night.  So in 5 miles I hit a designated tenting area called wind rock.  The last two springs were bad so I came in with no water. Bummer.  I remembered this area from my previous hikes.  In 2006 I was at the rock lookout when two F-14 fighter jets flew right above my. I remember being able to see the markings on the pilots helmet and his oxygen mask as he flew by.  Also there is the dumbest 200 yards of trail here.  Since wind rock is a local site with a parking lot nearby there is a wide, level path from the parking lot to the view.  The AT is runs exactly parallel with it for 200 yards of rocks and roots then goes right back into the nice path.  Really dumb.  Of course I stayed on the AT. Once I set up my tent I went to the overlook just in time to see the sunset.  Said hi to the two couples up there.  As it turned out the car in the lot was one couples and they were driving the southbound couple to a market for a few things.  They asked me if I needed anything from the store so I asked for water.  They came back with a gallon of drinking water.  Took two liters which was just what I needed to get going in the morning.  It was already late and dark out so I skipped brushing my teeth.  It was 9:00. I was settled in for the night.  Skipped dinner.  Had two snacks.  Turned the day into a 27 miler.  From where I was as I left that door this morning, I really turned the day upside down.  Went to bed.  Slept like a baby.  I earned it. In retrospect, I'm really proud of my day.  I overcame the mental pounding I took the day before and turned it into a day of successful hiking.  Now that's a real hard core hiking attitude.