Date: 2007-11-19
From: Nealy Shelter

To: VA Rt 42 (southbound)
Miles today: 8.9
Weather: clear sky

Unbelievably, I slept 11 hours last night! Getting up twice to answer nature¢s call, which is par for the course for the well-hydrated senior male. The day was beautiful, and I thoroughly enjoyed the two hour climb to the ridge on top of There I was rewarded with four miles of the most stunning vistas that I can recall ever having seen. Unlike other ridges that I have walked on the Trail, this one offers a continuous line of site into the Sinking Creek Valley, which is 1,500 feet below and to the right, and views into the Craig Creek Valley 2,000 feet below to the left. For nearly two hours of almost perfectly level walking I could delight in seeing miniature farms, homes and hamlets to the left and to the right simply by turning my head. It occurred to me afterwards that maybe the views I enjoyed today are not as visible during the prime hiking season when the leaves and underbrush may be more obstructive. Regardless, on this day, for this hiker, it was incredibly impressive.A few minutes before I had planned to stop for lunch, I took a bit of a spill. It was a silly fall initiated by my front foot slipping on some leaves on a rock that caused me to lose my balance, which then triggered a chain reaction of slow motion events that ended with me face down between two rocks ¢ my 40 pound pack parked on the back of my head, and my right foot lodged in the notch of the tree above me. Shaken (but not stirred, thank you Mr. Bond!), I was able to get my foot free from the tree and myself reassembled in only five minutes or so. But since I have now gone for over 36 hours without seeing or speaking to anyone except for the two day hikers I passed yesterday near the valley floor, there is a good chance I might still be hanging in the tree if my foot had become wedged so that I could not get it out. Oops! That is something to think about¢¦Soon after lunch I started down the western side of Sinking Creek Mountain into the valley with the same name. I emerged from the woods about two miles from Virginia Route 42, where I got off to return to the Huffman House, which is about 12 mile from the trail. Those last two miles were through pastures that reminded me of a very special hike I once had in Cots Woods in the UK Midlands on a day so very similar to this one in terms of temperature, lighting, and terrain that each step seemed to take me back there. The only things missing were the black-faced sheep that dotted the landscape. This day, however, did have something that is rare to find anywhere but especially here in the United States. In the corner of one of the pastures stands the Keefer Oak that shelters a portion of the Trail. It is an original growth white oak with a girth of 14 plus feet. It has a spectacular presence. I sat and admired it for a good 15 minutes before climbing the last of the British-Virginian hills that led to a hot shower and a trip to Christiansburg for dinner at the Outback Steakhouse. Over dinner, I studied my trail maps and began to think about using the Huffman house as a base of operations for several days of slack packing from there as opposed to trying to overnight it all the way to Pearisburg beginning tomorrow. It seems I always forget that you just can¢t pick up where you left off when you return to the Trail. Even though it has only been 90 days since I finished my last section, I am feeling the exertion and am beginning to realize it is my body telling me to slow down and give it a break. Carol indicated that they have room in the B&B this week due to a cancellation that occurred yesterday when I was out on the Trail. Ron said he would be more than glad to drop me off and pick me up anyplace I would like within reason, so the question is what is the prudent thing to do. I plan to sleep on that question. I think we already know the answer.