Date: 2015-11-02
From: Rod Hollow Shelter

To: Manassas Gap Shelter
Miles today: 12.9
Weather: moderate rain

Before I fell asleep I heard owls calling to one another. At midnight, 4:45 a.m., 5:10 a.m., & 5:20 a.m. I heard coyotes howling.   And all night long I heard stuff dropping out of the trees and hitting the roof. But I still managed to get a little sleep.I never thought I would say this, but I like staying at shelters so I can use the privy in the morning rather than having to dig and squat over a cat hole. Apparently critters also like privies, which are nice places for them to make their homes. This is such a problem that most privies have latches on both the inside and outside of the door along with a sign asking users to latch the door shut when finished.This particular privy door latched tight from the outside, but left a big gap when latched from the inside. As I was taking care of business I could hear some type of critter approach the privy. It did not sound like a squirrel, but fortunately it did not sound big enough to be a bear.I was not sure what to do, so I just banged loudly on the privy wall. Whatever it was ran away. But then it started to come back. I wanted to open the door to see what was out there, but quickly decided that was probably not a good idea. What if it was a skunk and it sprayed me?? What if the critter jumped in the privy with me?I decided to play it safe. I waited until the critter got really close, and then I banged really hard on the wall and it ran away again. Then I got the hell out of the privy.I took pictures of the shelter to send to my husband, then I hit the trail. Less than a mile from the shelter, right next to a stream, I met Pan, a southbound thru hiker, who was packing up her tent. As I crossed the stream I noticed a lot of canine tracks in the mud. The coyotes apparently had been very close to where Pan stealth camped last night. I did not tell her.The trail FINALLY got better. The ups and downs were less noticeable and the rocks were almost gone. At the turn off to Sky Meadows State Park Visitor's Center there was even a bench!! What a treat to have somewhere comfortable to sit down for a break.As I was enjoying my break an older gentleman out for a day hike came up the trail from the visitors center. I invited him to join me on the bench. While we both enjoyed our snacks we had a nice conversation. He ate most of his apple and pitched the rest in the bushes near the bench. When I realized what he was doing, before I could stop myself, I let out a loud gasp. The man realized I did not like what he had just done and asked me why? I tried to explain about LNT and that food, like trash, is not supposed to be left in the woods and the many reasons why. He was not at all familiar with LNT. Although he said he could see why leaving food near the bench could draw animals, such as bears, he did not agree that store bought apples should not be disposed of in the woods. We agreed to disagree on the subject and continued our previous conversation. Maybe he will at least think twice before pitching other food into the woods.I skipped Dick's Dome shelter and went on to the Manassas Gap shelter. Again I had the shelter all to myself - except for the stink bugs. The shelter journal mentioned several times that the shelter was infested with stink bugs, and it was. Once again I set my tent up in the shelter.I had dinner and hung my food on the bear pole before dark, then went to bed. At 9:30 p.m. I heard a huge commotion coming towards the shelter. I thought I heard snorting noises and immediately thought it was wild hogs. OMG! I was trying to figure out if wild hogs could jump up into the shelter and gore me to death when I heard men's voices, then I saw their headlamps. They were hunters, and the snorting sound was a dog choking itself because it was straining so hard on its leash.The men came for water at the spring and then promptly left. I never said a word, hoping they thought there was a man asleep in the tent. Of course they took their dog down to the spring too. I was glad I got all my water before going to bed.The AT is calling. I hope to get an early start in the morning, and that the stink bugs & hunters leave me alone tonight.