Date: 2012-10-03
To: October Shakedown Hike Day 3
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Oh the excitement of a new hike! We awakened early, took advantage of the shared kitchen to make breakfast and packed our packs for the final time. Patrice was shuttling us to the trailhead at VA 522 in Front Royal, and sharing our ride were the warriormarch2012.org southbounders.After dropping the fellows off at the McDonalds in town, Patrice next dropped us at the trailhead, taking our picture for us before heading back to Bears Den and another busy day of caring for bikers and hikers.Knee Hi and I crossed 522 (Mile 963.4 on the AT)and headed up into the forest, excited for what the next week would bring. The canopy was ablaze with color and the trail had a light covering of leaves. The distinct smell of autumn, one of my most favorite smells, hung strongly in the air. Our first stop was to the wonderful Jim and Molly Denton Shelter. I was looking forward to eating lunch on the covered picnic table and sitting on the comfortable Adirondak chair, but as we approached the shelter, we knew that we wouldn't...couldn't spend any time there at all. Every square inch of the shelter and surrounding porch, chair and picnic table was covered with stink bugs. They were EVERYWHERE. I had never seen that many stink bugs in my life. Knee Hi said she had heard a report on her drive to Virginia and the state was having a stink bug problem this year. We chose a grassy spot away from the shelter to take our break and eat, but still had stink bugs flying into us as we tried to enjoy our meal. There was a solar shower and a great spring at the shelter, but we were both good on water.While packing up, Knee Hi realized that her toiletry bag was missing in action and said over and over again, "I am not happy". Not appeased by my offer of tooth paste, No Rinse Body Wash or floss, she decided that at the next road crossing, she would hitch a mile to the closest convenience store and replace her missing items. When we got to VA 638 we decided to give 5 minutes to getting a hitch, and within 2 minutes a pick up swung around the corner and came to a stop. Our first trail angel of the week took Knee Hi to the store while I took her pack and continued up the trail to a spot away from the road, but close enough to watch the road. I unloaded the 2 packs and attempted to call Jack. Unable to get a signal, I sat in the morning sun, reading Awol's AT Guide. In 14 short minutes she was back and smiling as she came up the hill. The fellow that picked her up, waited for her and brought her back. What a guy! Off once more and headed up, we thoroughly enjoyed the day and the trail under our feet. There's something about hiking through old farm fields that is so satisfying to me. From across the field, Knee Hi spotted ripe apples in the top of an ancient apple tree and headed off through the weeds to retrieve some. She returned 10 minutes later with two, freshly picked, delicious apples that we enjoyed while we walked.As I hiked I made mental notes about my gear. I missed the floating top from my Osprey Aerial 60, the pack I carried for most of my 2003 AT hike. In it I kept my first aid, the day's food, and my pocketmail and headlamp. My Granite Gear Crown V 60 pack has no floating top, but it does have 3 decent outside pockets that I will have to learn how to best use to suit me for my 2013 hike.Also noted was the fact that the toe boxes on my New Balance 606s were slightly small and I would have to get a bigger size for next year. The last thing I want is to lose toe nails from having them bang into the fronts of my shoes on downhills. I saw enough black toe nails on others in '03.The day was happy and uneventful. Although Knee Hi and I had spent time togehter 9 years running at Trail Days, she and I had never hiked together. Our hiking styles melded nicely; as she was a stronger uphill hiker, I was the stronger downhill hiker and it all worked out in the end. We talked the day away and around mile 972.8, we called it a day, turned left into the woods off the trail, picked a fairly flat spot and set up camp. It was dark by the time we were set up, so ate a cold dinner and turned in. My back and legs were tired, but I slept soundly with the help of 3 ibuprofen and a benadryl. It was so nice to be back in the woods and to have covered 9.4 miles on our first day out.I awakened several times during the night, once to the sound of an owl calling and again to the sound of a large animal walking past my tent. Most likely it was a deer.