Date: 2008-04-20
From: Pickle Branch Shelter

To: John's Spring Shelter
Miles today: 13.6
Weather: broken clouds

Got on the trail at 7:45 or so. Just Rick already left(he tented). Beat the young guys out and gave Michael some suggested trailnames for himself. He's a pleasant, peaceful young man. Dragons Tooth proved to be a rocky boulder strewn, rock slab climb up,then down, requiring technical deliberate attention to each goot placement as well as hand placement. There were several rock sheets that had rebar grab/step bars to assist one in the traverse. It took about 45 minutes to do the more difficult summit and descent portions. There were only a few places where a misstep could result in a severe fall and fetching up against the rocks with a broken body. The views from Dragons Tooth were astounding. Rippling waves of mountains with hilly fingers extending into numerous valleys could be seen. As we were negotiating the slabs and boulders a long garder snake slithered across the rock in front of Take It Easy's feet! How beautiful its scales were! Take it Easy couldn't get a pic of it though; it moved away too fast. Many times during the crossing of Dragons Tooth we had to lower our poles to the rocks below in order to free up our hands to hold onto side rocky spots you could use as holds. Sometimes we actually had to scoot on our bottoms, dangle our legs over til one touched a rocky surface below before shifting our weight and moving downward. The trail bumps downward over lots more rocks to climb and lower ourselves over. Finally, we reached the road, hiked .4 miles to a convenience store(highlighted in the trail guide). We each ate chicken salad sandwiches, I ate a hotdog, too, and Take It Easy ate 2 hotdogs. While we ate all the other hikers we've been "traveling" with lately came to the store('cept for Michael who went back home to Roanoke). The others persuaded us to hike the mile+ to The Homeplace Restaurant for the all-you-can-eat family style meal that's renound on the trail. Our appetites revived after the road walk to the restaurant. Great food and good service: green beans, pinto beans, baked apples, mashed potatoes, roast beef, fried chicken, cherry cobbler with ice cream, biscuits with apple butter. Amazingly, we ran into Heavenbound as he finished his meal there! He told us he got lost for a little bit up on Dragons Tooth the night before, hiked to the convenience store just as the rains came in, and was allowed to tent on the convenience store porch out of the rain. Kind folks there, to accommodate him like that. Heavenbound's next stop today is the Greyhound bus station to ride home. We'll miss him. He's a fine gentleman. So glad to run into him so we could say proper goodbyes. Bunches of other hikers ate there, too. Leaving, up the road we met Snidely Whiplash and Applecore hiking to The Homeplace for dinner. They'd camped out near the convenience store the previous night, had breakfast from the store and lunch as well. Just after we reached this shelter a thunderstorm let loose on the ridge opposite with lightening and winds, we just got the rains. Had our first squirrel sighting on the AT here at the shelter! Even tho we've walked over bushels of acorns and nuts, we haven't seen a single squirrel til now. Waitress at the restaurant told us there are bears and a coyote pack in these parts. Hope to have peaceful night. Ted and his dog, Coffee are tenting here. Nice night ahead while rain patters on metal shelter roof.