Date: 2013-05-21
From: Lexington, VA

To: Niday Shelter
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Rattlesnake warning!!! Read on . . . It was difficult watching Anita drive away. Fortunately for me, Lady and Mando came up the trail just as Anita was dropping me off. Also Dixie Grits (a thru hiker from Mississippi) had his daughter (Ashley) joining him for a few days. Anita dropped me off around noon and I almost immediately started a steep climb. It was very hot and within 30 minutes I was entirely drenched in sweat. I have entirely new feet, so to speak, and I'm anxious to try them out. Anita brought me low top shoes which are lighter and should be cooler. I am also wearing a new set of fabric gators that keeps debris from getting in your shoe. Anita also talked me into going to a podiatrist yesterday due to the pain in my left 4th toe and left big toe. The podiatrist is close to the trail and even asked me my trail name. She cut off a soft corn on my 4th toe and and gave me silicone pads to wear between my toes. She also built up the big toe area of my shoe inserts to reduce the pressure on my big toe. The problem with so many changes at once is that I won't know what worked or what didn't. Once I got up to the ridge the day became much more interesting. I met Chin Music (Illinois) and BRocket who were hiking south to complete a section they had skipped due to bad weather. I have not seen Chin Music since the first week of my journey. BRocket is from Maine and said she had heard a lot about me . . . hmmm, not sure if that's good or bad!?! BRocket was walking beside some of the hikers who were hit in Damascus so she was able to give me more information. I also met Roger and a friend who are locals out day hiking. It surprised me when Roger lite up when I told him I was Hobo. He had been following me on my journal to see how it's going for "one of the old guys". I enjoyed talking to Roger and his friend. The hot weather is bringing out the snakes. Today I encountered my first rattle snake of this journey. I was coming up to some rocks and saw him about the same time he started rattling. I'll post some pics and I have video but I can't figure out how to upload it to this site. I waited there so I could warn Ashley and Dixie Grits. This is Ashley's first backpacking trip and she was terrified. Eventually she made herself walk by it. I also got a brief glimpse of a very fast black snake. The views from the ridge were pretty and I saw a brilliant Indigo Bunting and a deer. A lot of the ridge was rocky and at times I was walking across giant slanted rocks (see pics). This also made Ashley nervous. For a first time backpacker she has certainly earned her stripes One bit of sad news, I got a text from Apa today and he has decided to get off the trail. I'm tenting near the shelter tonight. After I got my tent set up I went down to the creek to get water and I took a refreshing bath in the cold water. Mando got out his mandolin tonight and entertained use while we cooked dinner. Overall, a very enjoyable evening!My feet did fairly well. My little toe and 4th toe were pain free but I still had pain in my big toe. Once again, I'm lying in my tent listening to a whippoorwill . . .