Date: 2003-07-24
From: Niday Shelter

To: Four Pines Hostel, Catawba, VA
Miles today: 15.9
Weather: scattered clouds

Thanks to Dan's expert fire building capabilities (although not quite the size of Ben's fires!), we managed to get most everything dried out by the fire last night. Now the smell of campfire smoke mixes with but overpowers the hiker funk...I thought Dan would catch up to me at some point today, but he didn't. I must have been in overdrive - thoughts of the shower awaiting me at Four Pines tonight! Oh baby. Only stopped a couple of times, and only briefly.I climbed well - Audie Murphy Monument required only one or two stops, I think, and one was to pee so I don't count that! Maybe a look at the profile maps does help prepare me mentally after all, because I knew I had two big climbs today.Add Dragon's Tooth to my list of favorite places to return to someday. I'd like to hike it southbound next time. In spite of its false summits - MULTIPLE summits - I enjoyed the forest and ridgewalking. More than once today I noticed the forest on one side of the ridge was comprised of pine trees, the other side of deciduous trees. The weather today was made to order. BEAUTIFUL. I met Jordan, a dayhiker who grew up in the area, part way up Dragon's Tooth and we chatted for awhile. He warned me it was a tough climb; I tempered that a little with the fact he was only a day-hiker...But indeed it was tough. I tried to make it to the top without stopping for lunch, but eventually dropped at an overlook and just ate a snack. I was low on water, too; hadn't filled up at the creek at the side of the road crossing because I figured I'd get it at the shelter. Then, at the prospect of walking .3 miles off the Trail to get water at the shelter I thought I'd just ration... Probably not the best choice, but I survived.My mid-morning snack coming down Audie Murphy was lemon essence dried plums... tasty, and packed with energy and vitamins. And fiber. I probably shouldn't have polished off the whole last half of the package at once, with nothing else along with them...my intestines were making strange sounds! I wasn't sure I'd make it down Dragon's Tooth. Combined with the smoke/hiker funk smell, and maybe a little minor dehydration, I was feeling almost nauseous. Oh I couldn't wait for a shower.The North face of Dragon's Tooth has some Maine-like (I understand) sheer rock faces. In a couple of spots steel handles are strategically placed to aid in climbing. As I'm stepping gingerly from foothold to foothold, my big pack on my back, a father and son dayhiking duo, with two dogs, come jumping down shelf to shelf! Made my knees hurt just to watch the impact. Yikes.Funny how even though you're tired at the end of a long day, the .3 or so miles off the Trail to a hostel doesn't phase you. I just turned and hiked right up the road.Four Pines may not be for the "high rollers" (although Dan's a hotel man and he didn't mind it); I mean it is just a big three-car garage that smells like dogs and engines, but what it lacks in luxury the owners make up for in openness, hospitality, and accommodating your needs. I'd list it as a "Must Stay". I found Joe MItchell in his backyard building a fence for his new Weimaraner puppy, and liked him instantly. This was my first time arriving at a hostel alone, so I was a little unsure. But Joe's friendly manner put me at ease. He's a tall man with a kind face, "distinguished" gray hair and kind of dreamy blue eyes.Dan arrived, we got cleaned up while listening to NPR - what a luxury! Nice to hear those familiar voices and get a feel for what's been happening in the larger scheme of things. Then, since Joe was busy building his fence, he let us take his Bronco in to eat at the Home Place restaurant. (Another "Must" of the AT experience.)Dan insisted I drive, which was fine with me. It was an odd feeling, speeding along the country road. Cars lined up behind me - guess I wasn't driving fast enough...Catawba, from what I saw at least, consists of about four buildings: a post office, gas station, a hospital I didn't see but saw signs for, and the Home Place. Dan and I both expected your typical greasy-spoon mom-and-pop joint, so as we sped into town and I saw a quaint white house, a pond, a crowd of people loitering around park benches and gazebos out front, and a huge paved parking lot in back, I said, "Hey - what's that?" Just then the sign became visible, and sure enough, that was our stop.A farmhouse converted into a restaurant about 20 years ago, the Home Place is open Thursday to Saturday (or is it Sunday?) evenings. It sits on part of the original farmstead, cows grazing out in the pasture, a pond in the front yard. I mean, Catawba is nothing as far as towns go so for the amount of people there were at this restaurnat it would have had to be the entire population - and then some! Dan gave our names to the host, who said in a Virginia twang, "About a FIFTY minute wait..."We had no choice, unless we wanted to raid the hiker box back at Four Pines or go to the grocery store and cook something for ourselves, so we asked for some lemonades and went back outside to sit on a bench and mingle with the locals who were swinging on porch swings or lounging in gazebos, their children running about the yard. We struck up a conversation with a couple sitting across from us and learned that people come all the way from Roanoke (30 minutes or so away) to eat at the Home Place. Apparently it is almost always that busy. As we sat there talking a huge tour bus even pulled up!At last "Proto, party of two" rang over the loudspeaker (also in a thick Virginia twang), and we went in to claim our table. (I had to ask Dan what name I was listening for - hadn't even learned his last name yet!) Once seated we waited another 30-45 minutes before getting our food! Toby described the Home Place as a "carnivore's paradise." You choose your meat entree - fried chicken or roast beef - and then it comes with mashed potatoes and chicken gravy, green beans with ham, pinto beans with ham, cole slaw, biscuits, stewed apples, and cobbler for dessert. Tonight was also some kind of pork special. All the sides come in serving dishes and you serve yourself, just like you would at home. Refills abound; I had no trouble filling up on the items that were "kosher" - especially on top of all the lemonade I drank while waiting! (and the peanut butter filled pretzels I snacked on from the hiker box at Four Pines...) After dinner we waddled to the car and headed back to the hostel, where Joe photographed us for his gallery and related some hiker stories. Took us awhile to get to sleep after all that food; Dan and I talked about everything from evolution to religion to politics to health - "solving the world's problems," he joked. Once that was taken care of, we drifted off in peace.