Date: 2007-06-19
From: Fish Hatchery Rd. - Dutch Hauss Bed & Breakfast

To: Blue Ridge Pkwy - Dripping Rock
Miles today: 24.8

I wanted to make sure I was up by 6:30am this morning to be on time for breakfast which is served promptly at 7am and be ready for a shuttle to the trail at 8am. I know your probably thinking that I'm obsessing about food, but it is important. I got on a scale here yesterday and my weight is 178. I have lost 14 lbs. since the start of the trip, and I just want to make sure I don't lose too much more.Breakfast here was delicious. It consisted of pancakes and sausage, fresh fruit, and an egg and cheese omlet topped with salsa, as well as coffee and juice. After breakfast my original plan was to catch a shuttle back to where I left off on the trail and continue hiking north. However, I made a spontaneous decision to slack pack today. There is another thru hiker here called Rosie, who slack packed yesterday from Waynesboro, to a point 20 miles south on the trail. She then was picked up and stayed another night at the Dutch Haus. Today she planned to slack pack from the point where she left off yesterday, south again back to the Dutch Haus. So I decided to do a slack pack 25 miles north of the Dutch Haus and back and then stay here one more night.We both were shuttled north on the Blue Ridge Parkway. She was dropped off at the 20 mile point and I was dropped off at the 25 mile point. This would work out well since my hiking pace was a bit faster then her's and I would eventually catch up to her at the end so we could meey the shuttle at the same time.I'd have to say in hindsight that this was a good decision. I found out today that this section of the trail was some of the toughest hiking I have encountered since Georgia and North Carolina. Not having to carry my pack on this section of trail was a relief. The hike today covered two wilderness areas, the Three Ridges and Priest Wilderness. After about a few miles of hiking, the trail treadway became rocky and as the morning wore on the rocks became much worse. Hiking over these rocks requires a good deal of concentration and you find yourself constantly focused on the trail and not able to see much of the surrounding sights. At one point I must have hiked over three miles of large, small, jagged rocks which steadily increased my frustration level. My new shoes did not seem to help much and I think one negative aspect of not having my pack on, was that my balance was off somewhat.Right before I reached the Tye River the rocks started to thin out. At one point I saw some hikers coming my way. They were Gypsy Spirit and Speaks Little, who I had last seen right before I hiked into Daleville, VA. I started to cross the Tye River on the wooden suspension bridge and someone called out "Hey Strider". I looked down to the bank of the river and saw He-man and She-Ra and Google and Sunshine, two thru hiking couples that were at the Dutch Haus last night and are now hiking north. We talked for a short while as they rested on some large rocks, but I needed to push off since I still had a lot of ground to cover. From the Tye River, I faced what seemed like an endles steep climb up Priest Mtn. and I was low on water. I finally reached the top and the trail seemed to level off on the ridge for some better hiking. After a few more miles I saw Rosie ahead. We discussed what remained of the hike and I passed her and hiked on, in a sort of exhausted trance. I eventually reached the end of this section at Fish Hatchery Rd. and waited for Rosie who got there about 15 minutes later. We still needed to walk about another mile (which felt like 3) to the parking lot where we rode a shuttle back to the Dutch Haus. We were spent, but were able to enjoy the luxury of a hot shower, clean clothes, a fabulous meat loaf dinner and a comfortable bed.Very tough day, but a great ending.