Date: 2010-05-11
From: Jenny Knob Shelter

To: Pearisburg
Miles today: 30.4
Weather: moderate rain

Slept behind the shelter and could barely sleep because of the snoring. Contemplating a more solitary hike. At least at night when it's time for bed. Sleep better in my tent. Drizzling this AM. Spirit Walker only one awake. He went to bed at 6pm last night, no wonder he's up. Ate large amount of oatmeal and apples (2) in anticipation of this long day.Somewhere close to VA608 is a field of Honey-suckle like bushes. Smaller than Honeysuckles at home. They grow on vines at home, not bushes. Looked like Rhododendron branches, but thinner. Smelled soooo sweet there. Finally my sense of smell has returned.Rainy and foggy up high. No views today I tell myself. Passed "Sea Captain". He needed to know which direction to turn at 606 for the grocery store. Ate Peanut butter, crackers, and an awesome homemade oatmeal/raisin cookie from the ATOM folks! Felt my body temperature rise after the snack. That signifies excess energy! I ran hard! The water sources are trashy here. Rubbish! I need more water capacity. Walked over a neat suspension bridge! Bounced when I walked. Ate a snickers bar as an incentive to get to Lions Den Rd quickly. Muddy trail in a light rain. Windy so I'm wearing my rain gear. The levee/pond had a barrier around it. Warnings not to go near it. It had been drained and didn't explain why. Looked like a cool camping spot, so I wonder what happened.Dismal Creek has an accurate name. Boring section here. Wapiti Shelter with "Crusher" and "Rip Van Winkle". Rip was still in his sleeping bag at 11pm. Fitting name. Couldn't believe I'd already walked 14.5 miles already. Excited about seeing Lish! Wondering if I could call this, "Pink Blazing". That's when you speed up or slow down for a girl. Wondering what's in the letter/package that she sent to Motor Lodge motel. Talking myself out of staying at Woods Hole Hostel was HARD. Don't feel like walking tomorrow I told myself. Might as well get it over with and be lazy tomorrow! Ate all my oatmeal in one day. 10 packets! Ate my last snickers bar and got water from "Dismal Creek" grrrr. Really hated getting it there but I have no choice. No alternative at this point. My achilles tendon callus shredded off at Troutdale. I made a cut in the flesh when I pulled the peeling flesh off. That's hurting me, but I understand it's not related to friction (so to speak) so I ignore it. My problem is in my heel. Burning at the back of my foot. I think it's the mileage. Ignorable though. Switched socks to my last dry pair. Throwing out all the stops here for Pearisburg. The socks helped temporarily.The viewpoints were engulfed in foggy haze. I've been pushing hard for a few reasons. Lish. Excited about 5 days off! Testing my legs. My bones and muscles are there. I'm positive my flesh can hold up over the long term run.Got a glimpse of 7 deer today. I've also been trying to get a picture of those elusive little chipmunks. Probably seen 5 so far. Can't get my camera quick enough.Saw the view into town from Angels Rest. Nice up there, except for the gigantic cigarette filter factory below. Drank my last drop of water and kept rolling. The downhill section from here is steep. I practically fell down the trail into town. The clouds got darker. Shadows started falling and I started to worry about needing my headlamp to finish. Getting dark under the forest canopy. Lots of green down here. Amazing how so many plants can have the exact same shade of green. Plenty of nettles blooming their first flowers.Stopped right before crossing the highway away from the trail. I looked back and thought of all the adventures I've had. The fun. The excitement. The rushes I've gotten from the high ridgelines. How I've become accustom to running up huge rocks and standing so close to the edge of the cliffs. All the fears. All the pain. The quietness. The gentleness of the rolling plains. I'm going to miss this place. Not just for my 5 day vacation, but forever. 1/4 of this thing is finished and I already wished I could start over. It's going to be hard leaving here. I'm at home in this place. I can already feel it's pull, it's magnetism in my heart.Slept at the Motor lodge motel. It's right across the street from Food Lion. I got massive amounts of fruit and produce. I bought a 6 pack of Guinness Draught. When I got back to the room, I popped the lid off the bottle on the corner of the counter. The way you do it is, you hold the bottle in your right hand. Hold it close to the cap. Put the edge of the cap on the counter...then smack your left hand on the top of your right hand. POP! Off comes the lid, annnnnnd SMACKS ME RIGHT IN THE EYE! I was looking right at it! All these years of working at a place that requires safety glasses, I never wore them. I get out here, off my excellent insurance policy and BAM, I almost knock my eye out. I literally couldn't see out of my eye for 5 minutes. Then light started sparkling a little. Specks of light. Then 50% vision returned after 15 minutes. I was so scared I'd need surgery to reattach my retina!(fast forward to the 13th...three days later, it's fine...I'm okay, 100% vision, slightly swollen, no need for worry...I'll never look at the cap again though. that's for sure!)I slept in a bed. Got a hot shower! Filled my belly. Called Lish! Watched Congressional hearings on the Oil spill with one eye and couldn't have been any happier! What a wonderful 30+ mile day. Exhausted but feeling great and exasperated!