Date: 2013-05-06
From: Partnership shelter

To: Atkins, Virginia
Miles today: 11.6

Well, the farmers of South-Western Virginia have had their prayers answered ! More rain most of the day today, tho much of it has been running right off, the streams are so full.I was the first out of the shelter, even tho I didn't leave till 8:10. Almost immediately, I met Bonzai & Ursa (Major; her dog is Ursa Minor, although it doesn't look much like a bear), slack-packing back from a road less than 2 miles away. Soon after, I was overtaken by Carbon, Mess, & a woman whose name I forgot, then by Barbarosa -- all of them had been at Partnership shelter.There were a lot more ups & downs over rocky paths today than I expected. And or course it was raining the whole morning; so I found it rather depressing. Apparently, I hadn't had enough breakfast because as soon as I had a few bites of dried fruit my mood improved, even tho nothing else changed. I've got to watch that. The Trail got muddier as I went along, & the wind was annoying on the tops of the ridges, but the thing that bothered me the most was, once again, how little the Trail agreed with my memory of it. This is a section I've done twice, Northbound about 20 years ago, Southbound, about 10. I have this memory of easy, soft trail, thru open woods, primarily on the right side of the mountains, at least for several miles just before or after the Chatfield shelter. Well, today it was rocky trail on the left sides or tops of the ridges. 20 years ago, as I walked, I fantasized about being the first white man walking thru this area, with Indians watching me from the tops of the hllls. Today, they would have had a hard time seeing me thru the Rhododendron thickets that covered the Trail in the few places that it was on the right side of the mountain! At the Chatfield shelter, I found Barbarosa, Olive Oyl, Wet Bag, Flash, & someone else who didn't even poke his head out of his sleeping bag. Most of them caught up with me later.There were springs gushing everywhere, probably many places where you don't usually see them, & the streams were more & more swollen. There were a number of fords made difficult by the high water. Some I was able to cross by going upstream a bit, others I just had to wade. In the midst of all the fords, there was one log bridge over the principal creek, as if the trail-builders were saying, "Yes, we do know how to build bridges-- we just choose not to." At least, the water wasn't too cold because there was plenty of wading on the Trail as well.As we approached the highway, we crossed a railroad & 2 big power lines. The second must have been particularly powerful: there was an audible hum, & the rain sizzled as it passed thru the electromagnetic field!Every time I thought the rain was stopping, it started up again. As I got close to the highway crossing at Atkins (also called Groseclose or Rural Retreat), even the meadows were flooding, & the slopes on a bunch of seemingly unnecessary ups & downs became very slippery.Since it was 2:00, the next shelter was 15 miles farther, & my tent isn't really very good in heavy rain, I decided to have a big lunch at the restaurant & stay at the motel [one of the worst along the Trail] for the night. That will give me a chance to dry things out, try again to repair my air mattress, & update my journal. The Bulls, a couple from Florida, decided to eat & go on -- they probably made it to the campsite (3 miles) before really heavy rain started again. I didn't see many wild flowers today The only ones to brave the rain in significant numbers were the yellow lance-leaved violets. I also saw two invasive species that forests often try to get rid of: garlic mustard & honeysuckle. The latter also collect a lot of rainwater, then lean down over the Trail to get hikers wet. Bent over by the rain, I saw my first Eastern Red Cedar, juniperus Virginiana. I found that the Wi-Fi doesn't extend farther than two rooms from the office ¢ since I was in the 4th room, I had to sit in the office to work on my journal. I plan to have a big breakfast & take off as early as possible in the morning. Maybe 20 miles to Chestnut Knob shelter?