Date: 2015-05-27
From: Pearisburg, VA

To: .1 mile before Dickinson Gap
Miles today: 15.0
Weather: few clouds

Pearisburg, VA to .1 mile before Dickinson Gap. 15 MSlept pretty well at the Holiday Motor Lodge & Hostel after things quieted down. Woke early and started getting myself and my gear ready to leave. Had breakfast at a nearby Hardee's. Then just a matter of waiting for the FedEx delivery of my trekking pole section. Hammer Toe and his brother Soul Seeker are also waiting for Fedex delivery of a new tent pole today. Check out time is 11 am, so I'm hoping delivery is before that. Met a couple from Florida, a city East of Orlando near the space center. They are a little younger than me and started on the trail the middle of March. He was having a lot of pain with his feet. They are only averaging about 10 miles per day and worried that they will run out of time before reaching Maine. Nice folks, and I hope they can make it. As 11 am drew near I got my gear ready and was about to leave the room when the phone rang. My part had been delivered. Eureka!! Unfortunately, Hammer Toes tent pole was not on this truck. They tell him it will be delivered by 4:30 pm today. My new pole section is a different color but works fine. Shortly after 11 I headed out on the 30 minute uphill road climb to get back to the trail. On the trail again and through the woods until it reaches a residential area. The trail must have been rerouted recently as it goes through folks back yards for a while. Then to the highway, across the river and railroad bridges, past the Celanese plant and along the shoulder of the interstate highway. I was walking about 50 yards behind another hiker when I saw him walking back toward me. He said he thought we had gone too far. I checked the Guide and, yes, we should have turned after the bridge. So we walked back to the point we missed and got back on the trail. My lesson there is to not rely on others and blindly follow them without knowing for sure where the trail is. It's almost certain that leaving a town will mean an uphill climb departure. Itis also almost certain that the pack will be at its heaviest after restocking in town. This was no exception. It took me until 2:30 pm to cover the 7 miles and 1800 ft of elevation gain to reach Rice Field shelter. I didn't stop at this shelter but did take a break in the adjacent mountain top field. Took a picture of the outstanding view into the valleys below. I wanted to cover more miles but had to be careful because after a certain point there was no water source for a long space. I did not want to camp without having cameled up with adequate water. Some of the water sources are very small and not well marked, so easy to miss. I did find the last source and filled my containers. The trail followed the ups and downs of a long ridge ranging between 3000 and 3400 ft elevation. Not bad hiking except it was very rocky. And for some reason flies kept biting the back of my legs, behind the knee. Painful, and I have a bunch of red welts to prove it. About 5:45m I found a suitable place for camp and set the tent up and fixed dinner (Knorr stroganoff with a Salmon packet). Tomorrow should be more of the same. May reach three different shelters and the Captains place. This is someone's residence that requires the use of a zip line to reach. Have to see that.Had one more fall in the early afternoon. Almost saved it by grabbing a tree, but not quite. Ended up rolling around in the leaves. No harm. Will read a little Jack London before retiring for the night. O'RYAN