Date: 2006-08-02
From: John Spring Shelter

To: Trout Creek
Miles today: 13.9
Weather: light rain

Today proved to be a real AT adventure! One of those days that you just show up for, remain flexible and open to the possibilities, and see where it takes you. Getting up (which is the first part of ¢showing up¢) was not difficult. I had slept fitfully in the heat, and, with no coffee to prepare, it did not take me long to hit the Trail. Upon reaching Virginia Route 311, I headed down to Catawba, hoping for a favorable response to my ¢Hiker to Town¢ bandana spread conspicuously over the back of my pack, but no such luck. After one mile of marching downhill on Rt. 311, in the morning sun , I arrived at the Post Office around 8:00 am, already hot and sweaty! Upon arriving, I introduced myself to ¢Katheryn,¢ who is the postmaster (or is it post mistress?) of Catawba, who was an extremely pleasant, soft-spoken woman. We chatted for a while as she retrieved my drop box. She indicated that today¢s temperature was forecast to be 99 degrees or there about, but could possibly go higher, and then (using the AT vernacular) she pointed out that it would be a good day for a ¢zero day,¢ given the heat. I thought about it and agreed with her, but I pointed out that since the bed and breakfast and hostel in town had both closed in the past year, there was no place around to do so, even if I wanted to. Without batting an eye she said, ¢You can stay at my house, if you¢d like. My husband won¢t mind.¢ I thanked her for her genuine hospitality and said, ¢I¢ll sure think about it,¢ gathered my stuff I and headed across the street to the general store (the only other building that apparently constitutes the town of Catawba). There I sorted out my meals and excess items for the hiker¢s box and put together another box to be shipped back to New York with unnecessary items. My ¢Keens¢ had proven more than adequate for this terrain over the course of the past few days, so I packed up my hiking shoes, gators, socks, and a variety of extra clothing and some food (nearly eight pounds worth) to make space to put the extra water I will need to take on the hike, as I gorged my empty stomach on breakfast sandwiches and fresh-brewed coffee the store sells. As I did so, a plan began to develop. When I took my box back to the post office, I ran my thinking past Kathryn, who is all for it. My plan called for me to take her up on her offer of the night¢s lodging (on the condition that I could buy dinner for her and her husband in return). Instead of taking a ¢zero day,¢ however, I would instead stow my gear in her car and then ¢slack pack¢ over Dragon¢s Tooth Mountain. Without any weight except for water and a couple of roast beef sandwiches I had bought. I figured I would be able to get in some important miles and still beat the heat. Kathryn agreed to pick me up at Trout Creek after she got off work at 6:00pm, and I was soon on my way carrying six liters of water, lunch, and a minimum of emergency / survival gear. So off I went back to the Trail, in the heat. After 15 minutes of patient waiting (yeah, right - patient my foot!), an ex-cop named Jane picked me up at the base of Catawba Mountain and transported me back up to the trailhead, where it crosses Route 311. Free from the weight of my gear, and wearing only shorts and sandals, I walked easily and with assurance, taking in the smells and sounds of the central Virginia Mountains. I was free from having to worry about finding water along the way, too. The 1500¢ ascent up Dragon¢s Tooth is more rigorous than the descent (three miles up, four miles down), but the view from the top was well worth every step. While taking a break in the shade at Lost Spectacles Gap, a strange thing occurred. About 20 years off to my right side I suddenly heard something heavy crashing through the branches from high in the trees. Startled, I spun in that direction to see the largest raven I have ever encountered diving straight down through the limbs, only to pull up five or six feet above the ground. He banked hard to the left and instantly disappeared in a climbing turn away that took advantage of the speed he picked up in his dive. As the raven dove for the ground, I saw something falling alongside of him at just about the same speed. It was an object that must have weighed 20 pounds or more, judging by the heavy ¢ca-thump¢ it belched through the gap when it hit the forest floor. What could it have been? What was going on? I jumped to my feet to see what the heavy object was that landed only 30 feet away and instantly knew that my rest was over and I was ¢outta-here! Double pronto! Feet do your thing!!¢The bee¢s nest that the crow had apparently (intentionally?) knocked to the ground was partially collapsed on the ground and from it emanated a tornado shaped cloud of (presumably) very pissed off bees that were starting to swarm! As innocent as my presence might have been in that glade at that particular moment, I did not want to have to plead my case to that insect hoard¢¦.no thank you! Feet, do your thing! Thus inspired, my journey to the summit of Dragon¢s Tooth was swift and without delay. I arrived there around 3:00 pm. and enjoyed the rest of my lunch (the portion I hadn¢t left behind in my race to exit the gap) and the view to the north that encompassed McAfee¢s Knob all the way to Tinker¢s Cliffs and beyond. What a privilege and a delight to sit there in such generous splendor. Half an hour later I started down, appreciating several miles of soft descent created by an accumulation of pine needles and fallen leaves (plus some good trail work by the Roanoke ATC, for which I was very thankful). I arrived at Trout Creek at 5:40pm, in time to take a refreshing skinny dip and clean up a bit, before ambling nearly one mile down the road to meet Kathryn and her husband, Jesse coming up the road to find me. We stopped at their house for a real shower and to borrow a t-shirt before heading to Roanoke for my treat of a Mexican dinner. Jesse had spent 5 years in Vietnam as a Marine during the same time I was over there and it seemed that all topics of conversation led back to that shared experience.After dinner, we watched the local news and weather, and with ¢heat and more heat¢ being the lead story on every channel, I made a remarkably mature decision (remarkable for me that is!), and decided to leave the Trail and save the remainder of this section for a time when the weather would be more accommodating and there would, hopefully, be more people with whom I could share it. So far, I have been able to stay fully hydrated and ahead of the dissipating effects of the high temperatures, but the toll of several more days of record high temperatures and humidity could become a health threat. And what¢s the point? The Trail is about people, not about miles and not about terrain. The north bounders are already through here and the south bounders haven¢t yet arrived. Virtually all the locals have enough sense to remain indoors and the few Section Hikers that are out here in the woods are scattered so thin, it¢s truly hit or miss if I¢ll see anyone for the next several days. It¢s time to leave.