Date: 2004-06-05
From: Maupin Field Shelter

To: Waynesboro, VA
Miles today: 21.1
Weather: overcast clouds

Today started out like yesterday. it was raining a little in the morning and it was still foggy and chilly but today we had an incentive to get up and go. Ever since Punchbowl Shelter we knew of a free AYCE pancake breakfast that was going to be set up at Reed's Gap today and we were a mere 1.6 miles from there. I got out of the shelter around 7:00 and made it to Reed's Gap pretty quickly. The people from Blue Ridge Mountain Sports, the sponsors of the breakfast, were just getting things set up. It was real foggy by now but the rain had turned to a drizzle. They knew that thru hikers don't cancel their hiking due to rain and neither were they. Soon Spiderweb and Little Tree showed up. Little Tree was also at the shelter last night. Last time I had seen here was somewhere around the Roan Mtn. area in Tennessee. We proceeded to consume pancakes, sausages, strawberries, bananas, plums, and juice. What a great breakfast it was and what a wonderful trail magic! Thanks to the folks from Blue Ridge Mountain Sports for doing this for us. A special thanks to Waterfall for giving me the extra cup of coffee she had. Waterfall had done a thru hike in 1999. While we were eating Spiderweb and I made the decision to do the 21 miles today and get into Waynesboro. The original plan was to do 16 and lay up at the shelter 5 miles from town and go in early Sunday AM. We changed our plans just so we could get to someplace dry and warm tonight. Around 9:00 we took off. The terrain looked good, no major ups or downs, which also helped in our decision. We flew down the trail taking turns leading the way. It had quit raining but the fog was still there and it was still chilly. By the way, it is always a great pleasure putting on wet, cold clothes and boots in the morning. It is something all thru hikers look forward to. By 3 it was starting to clear up and by 5 we had made it to Rockfish Gap. Rockfish Gap is the southern entrance to the Shenandoahs and also where we got a ride into Waynesboro. We made excellent time today though my knees are going to let me know about it in the AM but that is OK. I am warm and dry! I am going to zero on Sunday and head out into the Shenandoahs late on Monday. I need to resupply a little and I also want to get to the post office and library on Monday. Spiderweb may not head out till Tuesday AM but she is not sure yet. Almost done with Virginia! There is just a little over 100 miles to do in this state. Side Note: Ran into Vagrant, Bluebell, and Moonstone at the restaraunt tonight. They said Little Bit was going to here tomorrow so I am going to track her down. Not sure if I mentioned it but she hurt her foot pretty badly at Trail Days and she may be able to get back on the trail in a day or so. What a lot of people will do when they are off the trail for a bit is jump forward and continue hiking with the group they were with and then come back and pick up the sections they missed. The only rule, if you want to call it that, that defines a thru hiker is that you must complete the trail in a single calendar year. Side Side Note: My maildrop page has been updated!