Date: 2009-06-29
From: Harpers Creek Shelter

To: Rockfish Gap
Miles today: 27.0
Weather: broken clouds

I couldn't sleep well last night at all. It had been about six days now, where I was averaging five-six hours of sleep. When I awoke at 6 am, I was incredibly tired, but I wanted to go for a big day - all 27 miles. In the register, the AT Ridgerunner had written that the Three Ridges climb would be very challenging, but that it would be the last major climb until Mt. Greylock up in Massachusetts. This meant that I would be able to fly all the way through up until I hit MA!!! Riggggght After gobbling down a few Balance Bars, I was out on the trail before 6:45 am. I immediately faced a tough climb - first Chimney Rocks and then on to Three Ridges. Harpers Creek Shelter was at an elevation of 1,800 ft. and I had to climb up to 3,870 within three miles. It was a very, very steep climb and I could feel my legs almost instantly. My right hamstrung actually started to cramp because it was being overworked, but I put on my muscle sleeve to increase the blood flow to the area. This seemed to help quite a bit. On top of Three Ridges, I was able to see another beautiful view. I can't keep going on describing these views because words just does not do it justice. All I can say is that it was very peaceful being up there, everything being so quiet, and the sun casting its warm morning heat on the rock face. I stayed up there for a little while gazing off into the distance, just gobsmacked at the mountain beauty. I arrived at Maupin Field Shelter sweaty as hell, so I changed up my shorts and shirt again. I have to change each about 5 times per day so that I could put on a dry pair and hang the wet sweat-drenched ones on the back of my backpack to dry. I quickly filled up some water and then headed on off, as the bugs were really biting me. At the Three Ridges Parking Overlook on the Blue Ridge Parkway, I stopped to eat up some of my food, as there was a litter bin just off the trail. While I was eating my beef jerkey, can of sardines, jelly belly's, almonds, and anything else I could stuff down, a couple drove their car on up and shouted, "I hate to ask this question, but where is your car???" I responded by saying that I was hiking the Appalachian Trail and they looked at me in pure crazy fashion. "Have you seen Governor Sanford out here? Ohhh wait, he was in Argentina". I heard about the South Carolina governor supposedly hiking the Appalachian Trail, only for the public to find out that he was with his mistress down in Argentina. Interesting how things pan out, but funny how friends and family are probably thinking about the AT any time that they hear news about the governor. The couple explained that they thought that I was crazy, but that they wished me luck on the hike. My feet had begun to hurt again and they were really swelling up. I hit a section where it was just rocks and I could feel each rock edge piercing into my flesh and bone. By the time I arrived to the BRP mp 9.6 Dripping Rock Parking Area, I took my shoes off and soaked them into the cold spring that was just off to the side of the trail. It felt great for the swelling to go down. Meanwhile, I purified my water, ate some more food, and sat my wet clothing out to dry again on the pavement under the hot sun. I pushed on for most of the afternoon, where I was able to see some great views from the ridge up above, before I made it to Paul C. Wolfe Shelter. At this point, I had hiked 22 miles and I was just so hungry and my feet were hurting even more. While there, I met Dreamcatcher, a wonderful close-to-retirement aged woman from Tennessee. It was the first time meeting her and we chatted away about our own AT experiences, gear lists, people out on the trail, and the fact that we were just about to finish up 850 miles of the trail - a feat that not too many people can say they have done. As I departed, I had exactly 5 more miles to go until I hit Rockfish Gap. I wanted to push as quickly as possible with the goal of arriving before dusk, thereby making it easier for Jill to come and pick me up. I blazed my way through and managed to arrive in 1.5 hours, an average of just over three miles per hour. On the way, however, I was becoming more and more delirious due to exhaustion and lack of sleep. It was such a wonderful feeling arriving into Rockfish and I remember hearing the roaring of trucks passing by on Interstate 64. The sound of trucks was just wonderful. I had reached civilization again! Tired as ever, I went over to the Visitor's Center and plopped my behind down on the ground and just waited for Jill to come and pick me up, as we had been texting one another to determine an appropriate meeting time. I couldn't help but continue smiling and laughing to myself - merely over the fact that I had just completed 27 miles in good time and had to hike over a few huge mountains in order to get to Rockfish. Even on the way home, I kept smiling so much that I really think that Jill thought that I was high or on some type of drugs. When we reached home, my legs felt as if I had just run a marathon and it was very painful getting out of the car and inside the house. Once inside, the first thing that I did was to take a nice warm shower to rid all of the dirt and nasty sweat off my body. It was great to take a shower again - the first in over one full week. My clothing had stank so bad again (Jill put out the dog blanket on the car again so that I wouldn't stink anything up), so I immediately threw it into the washer for a proper cleaning. I had some leftover pork for dinner and we chatted for a short while, before I was so tired that I needed to head to bed. It was great to be back in the wonderful hospitality of Jill and Zack. And, it was great just to be able to sleep in an actual bed again.