Date: 2010-05-22
From: John Spring Shelter

To: VA652
Miles today: 20.9

Slept decently and woke up after sunrise. Just can't seem to see it anymore since time is changing. Walking further now and I've been feeling more tired. Probably from the heat and the rain. Section hikers here asking lots of questions. One of them gave Boo Boo an expensive headlamp. They work for a military contracting company that supplies combat materials. Packed up and I was the last thru-hiker to leave camp. Couldn't shake the feeling of walking in the wrong direction. It's easy to forget which way or direction you entered camp the night before. Haven't gone the wrong way yet! McAfee's Knob was amazing. The last two days were my favorite yet. The clouds held off back in the distance. Silver fluffy clouds laced with ominous, dull, deluge gray. Dolphin blue. McAfee is like a diving board rock formation overlooking Daleville, VA. There was a ridge line running counter-clockwise to my right, off in the distance was another mountain formation running straight towards the end of the first ridge line I described. Kind of like a huge corral. Everyone in town lives in a mountainous castle. In the middle was a smaller ridge line shooting up from the plains. It slid through people's backyards like a giant snake. Really low to the pains around it. Couldn't work up the nerve to do a hand stand on McAfee's. Settled for a nice average picture for the mantle place portfolio. Prettiest thing I have ever seen here. Thinking and hoping this place stays etched in my mind. McAfee's diving board face north, so a wonderful sunrise could be positively awesome. You can't see that the AT follows the largest ridge line going east from here. Arriving at Tinker Cliffs, you can look back you can look back and see where you started from. It amazes me that we can cover so much ground in a day. Tinker's Cliffs are just as good as McAfee's if not better. I love that it's practically the same view, same area but it's not as popular in photos. It's like it belongs to us more, the distance hikers. That and the overachieving sectioners. Rain Approaching! We could hear it thunder once. Then one drop, then the sky opened so quickly it caught me by surprise. I always get a goofy look on my face when it rains. It excites me. Glad I'm getting my money's worth! Stopped for a while under an overhanging rock and took shelter to see if it would ease up. Pouring hard and it's cold in the boulder's shadow. Grizzly came through slacking Southbounders. He's carrying his new brown rat snake pet. he's a weird character. Hay Rock was amazing. Michigan took the best picture of me on the trail there. The clouds rising from the ground like steam off your hot body. Reminded me of that day back by Hwy 19 in TN. Mountain Laurel blooming! They're all over the Hay Rock Vista along with thorns. The lake here is bigger than Fontana. The picture I took required weeding through prickly bushes. Worth all the scratches and blood. Camera acting up a bit, unhappy with the cold rains we've been experiencing. Crossed that first power line listed in the guidebook. Boo Boo was excited to think we only had a handful of miles to town. Wrong. The guidebook that he's carrying doesn't list the other 6 power lines you have to cross! Grizzly warned us saying we had 5 more miles to go. He'd passed several power lines. We thought he was crazy, but as it turns out, he was right. Boo Boo is having a bad day. His right ankle is swelling and he wanted to see a doctor. he eventually flet better when he bought his new shoes. He was stung by a bee that attacked him as he got near the gate post. They had a hive inside the fence rail! Michigan and Boo Boo were so excited to see the town that they cheered and hugged each other. Cricket and I weren't nearly as excited about Daleville. Busy road here! Pizza Hut right there at the AT exit. Bet they sell a lot of hikers their first good meal. They went straight to the Outfitter and I staggered to the Kroger. Walking around that store felt like being a rock star! I freaking wreak! I bathed 7 days ago. Bought yellow mangoes, strawberries, oranges and apples! Resupplied while laughing at the kids playing in the aisles of the store. They giggled at my ragged appearance as they flew by. I'm just glad they aren't afraid of my beard. It's massive! I feel hard and tested. Felt weak at the knees to think of how wonderful this whole world is! I'm in love with this place, and I'm not talking about Kroger. Heard a voicemail from Lish as I was sorting through my groceries. She sent a package to the Outfitter! Ran back and they let me in! Even after they were closed! Then he gave me free denatured alcohol! Wow, they're great. Lish sent cookies, crackers, dried cranberries, peanut butter, tea, and fancy chocolate. She wrote a nice letter. The quote she gave me couldn't have had better timing with Tomato quitting yesterday. It's about keeping your opinions to yourself and not judging others. It's been hard the last few days hearing about his difficulty to stay on the trail. Hearing about and seeing someone quit felt demoralizing. I'd gently suggested positive thinking to Tomato, but it didn't help. Well, the AT isn't for everyone. Talked to Lish on the phone. She's coming up to visit on Memorial Day weekend! I miss her, I can tell she misses me, but she's keeping her composure better now. So much easier now that she seems to be in this struggle with me. Called Conan and Backwards to see where they were located in town. They were staying at the HoJo. I saved them some cranberries (Conan's favorite) and that fancy chocolate. Talked to Dad, Karen and Averi! We talked about kindergarten! Gut wrenching to hear her voice after all this time. First time she's talked to me since my going-away party. So sweet and innocent, so much hope and excitement for her. Hearing her say "I love you" felt like Spring blooming all over again. Karen got a really short haircut! She asked about my beard. We're going to be two completely different people when I return! Dad and I discussed why he hadn't heard from me in X number of days. Voicemail isn't working or he hasn't checked it. "You didn't call me, you called Karen!" Dad says. I say, "Dad, it was your voice on the answering message." Visited Conan and Backwards. Resisted the shower and comfy bed. really wanted to jump in the pool. Settled for some ice instead. Put on my head lamp and went for a night hike! Most possums I've seen ever. 7 of them! We'd talked about sleeping under the bridge but they weren't there. Don't blame them! It's loud. Silly I guess to want to sleep like a Hobo. They were camped by 625 under Tomato's old tarp. Boo Boo, Michigan, and Cricket were eating town food and laughing as I approached them. They were talking about something FOG said. He said, "People carry what they fear most out here." Some people carry food because they're afraid of being hungry. Others are afraid of being cold. They analyzed themselves by pack weight and contents. Then they looked at me and said in unison, "Skippy, you ain't afraid of shit!"