Date: 2008-04-24
From: Maupin Field Shelter

To: Paul C. Wolfe Shelter
Miles today: 15.8
Weather: scattered clouds

We woke up at 6:30a to the sound of birds chirping and the sun starting to rise. Not being in any hurry, we limed in our sleeping bags for a bit, did the morning ritual, and still left by 7:50-ish am. Within no time, we had reached Reed's Gap and Toddy Bear and I crossed the road. As Yeti prepared to cross it, however, he has delayed by four cars driving. I noted this because I thought it was very "Looney Toonish." Toddy Bear and I crossed without hearing/seeing a single vehicle, but the minute Yeti was gonna cross, it seemed as if cars just magically appeared!!! After unloading our trash at the Three Ridges Overlook, we pressed on until we reached a vista before the cedar cliffs. Remembering Yeti's words, "if somebody is willing to haul a sign that says 'VISTA' up here, we might as well check it out," we did just that. The day was very nice and clear, so we were able to see for quite some distance. After a couple of pics, and almost knocking Yeti off the rocks, we picked up our "tumors," or backpacks, and continued north.When we did reach the Cedar Cliffs, I was pretty happy because Cedar trees are my favorite tree and there was a nice view!! Then, we reached the Dripping Rocks Parking lot and took a break. Being thirsty, I decided to pump some water while some gentlemen worked on the BRP. So, we got up and decided to begin our climb up Humpback Mnt...this was our biggest climb of the day. It really wasn't that bad of a climb, except for the unevenly spaced and high rocky steps. After this, we came to this HUGE rock pile which had white blazes painted on it. We used our skills and climbed up--using our hands in some spots. Once we got to the top, however, we realized that there was a blue-blazed trail around it, but since we are "Purists," we decided to stay on the White blazed trail. Oh! To stress our level of Purity, Stovie once said, "I'm such a purist, that I don't even take blue blazes for water! If it ain't on the AT, I ain't drinking it [cause it might be contaminated]!(Ha Ha)" After descending the rock pile, we ran into a SOBO sectioning couple who immediately gave us the "run down" of all the AYCE restaurants in Waynesboro. I thought it was pretty funny that the first thing hikers leaving town tell hikers entering town is about the AYCE Restaurants!!! When we parted ways, the trail paralleled rocky fences. Upon seeing this, my imagination went wild I kept imagining that these walls were built for use during the Civil War. Furthermore, I imagined Rebel soldiers trying to lure the Federals up the hill so that they would have the element of surprise!!! When we reached the summit, we saw a ski resort, sin snow, off in the distance and tons of Condos. We pressed on and finally decided to eat lunch at a rocky outcropping.Within 1 hour, we had blazed 4.1 miles of trail, but stopped our awesome pace to chat with D-MAN. He is a SOBO section hiker who is also a trail maintainer in Maine. After telling us about how gentle the trail in the south is, as compared to the non-switchbacked mnts. in ME, we moved on and reached the shelter by 2:35p. Even though we took our time today and enjoyed long breaks, we were still very, very hot. So, upon reaching the shelter, we stripped down to our underwear and prepared for a nice dip in the creek to cool down. I know Toddy Bear and I were hot, but when we felt that COLD water on our feet, we decided that was the extent of our "dip" in the creek. Yeti, on the other hand, submerged his whole body!!! After this failed attempt at swimming, we returned to the shelter and decided to gorge on snacks so that we would have lighter food bags tomorrow. Well, we were still hungry, but decided to wait until at least 5:30p to eat. We came up with this time after some hard research "proved" that we would wake up hungry in the middle of the night if we ate any earlier than this time. The minute the first watch said 5:30p, it was like watching a marathon. We began cooking and enjoying ourselves. Oh! We did accomplish some things: 1) Toddy Bear and Yeti discussed continuing past Mnt. Katahdin along the International Appalachian Trail (IAT), 2) we planned our trip through the Shenandoah National Park (SNP), 3) I learned that no matter how clean my pump's cartridge looks, if it's pumping slowly, it needs to be cleaned and 4) I can still afford to hike...I have been worried about my budget because reserving my seat for med school took $1500 out of my budget and left me with a little under $1200 for the trip!!! Well, it's 8:45p and I'm hungry because like a fool, I had cut weight in my food bag when we resupplied in Glasgow. So, I will now go to bed hoping that sleep will appease my hunger!!!