Date: 2017-09-04
From: Calf Mountain Shelter

To: Dripping Rock Trailhead, then DB Brewery
Miles today: 22.0
Weather: clear sky

I am uncomfortable. Very. I am always that way when I am behind in my journal. I should have finished this entry last night, but I am just now starting. It¢s sunrise, 6:50 am. I must start walking soon.But Buck is back. Buck! He was here last night, back from the trail dead. (Frodo: Okay, this entry is dated September 4, which was Monday and Labor Day. He actually wrote it on Tuesday morning and for almost the entire entry he refers to Monday as ¢yesterday¢ and ¢last night¢, which is confusing to me, at least. So I¢m going to take the liberty of transcribing it as though it had been written on Monday.)This evening Frodo picked up Not-A-Moose (hereinafter ¢NAM¢) and me at a trailhead and we drove a few miles to a well-known trail destination, the Devil¢s Backbone Brewery. They have extensive grounds and they let AT hikers camp tucked away around a clearing in the forest. And they have a great restaurant and are very accommodating. Buck! Of course Frodo and I stayed up with him around a rare AT campfire to catch up with each other. So I didn¢t write in my journal right after dinner, as I often do.But what about writing it afterward, in the tent, Scout? Frodo is leaving tomorrow morning and this is our last night together for almost 4 weeks. (Frodo: ¢Nuff said!) (Frodo again:But Scout continues¢¦.) My only chore is to brush my teeth well (Princess alert!)¢¦ so Frodo will want to kiss me. (Here the Princesses think, ¢yuuucck¢ and little Jessica says, ¢Write the journal, Scout. And mention us.¢)I am also uncomfortable because of the only fall I¢ve taken in weeks. It was three days ago in the rain and it left a pain deep in my lower left butt cheek. (Don¢t laugh, Jessica.) And it¢s hard to keep my weight off it. The injury hasn¢t really rounded up yet, taking its sweet time getting worse before getting better. I was actually a bit short with Frodo a couple of times today. Pain will do that. But I¢m getting ahead of myself. Soon after we left the shelter this morning, we climbed Calf Mountain and at the top we had something important to do. A good Temple friend had asked me to say Kaddish for her brother. In his last years, Martin had hiked often along the AT in and near Shenandoah National Park. He lived in nearby Charlottesville. His ashes were spread up here in the mountains and woods he loved. ¢You¢re way closer than I¢ll ever be,¢ wrote my friend Judith. On top of Calf Mountain Frodo and I recited the Jewish Prayer of Remembrance.After saying a temporary good-bye to Frodo at the nearby trailhead, NAM and I walked on, in only a few miles hiking out of Shenandoah National Park. Lovely trails, 3 days of sun, 3 days of rain, some Labor Day crowds.I¢m not going to mention my ¢shorts failure¢ of this morning, but I expect Frodo is not going to let it pass. (Frodo: You know, I could refrain from saying anything and just leave everyone wondering¢¦.. But, no, not when we have a photo!  http://www.trailjournals.com/j...  Just as we were about to leave the shelter and start hiking, I noticed that Scout¢s shorts looked uncomfortably bunched up. He¢d put them on inside out! Okay, ¢nuff said)Immediately outside the park we spied the orange roof of a failed Howard Johnsons, in a generally derelict area ¢ with a gourmet popcorn and hot dog food truck! Frodo was waiting for us there. I, at least, ate like a thru-hiker. Above you can see NAM with her chili cheese fries.Frodo slept with me (Frodo: Ahem. ALONGSIDE you.) actually inside an AT shelter last night. I think she enjoyed it. There were six of us total inside the shelter, including newlyweds Pencil Pusher and Italian Ice.  http://www.trailjournals.com/j...The trail is still nice, but not quite National Park nice, and NAM is getting her trail legs under her as she hikes 18 miles and I hike 22. We are setting up to summit ¢The Priest¢ late tomorrow, with a 3,100-foot elevation gain. That¢s my biggest since the Presidentials back in New Hampshire. I hope Not-A-Moose is up for the challenge.Be forewarned ¢ it¢s my last night with Frodo until she joins me October 1, so you may start seeing ¢IMF¢ again.