Date: 2004-04-03
From: Blackrock Hut

To: Powell Gap (Carol and Winston Hensley)
Miles today: 18.6

Sorry kiddos, been a while. I got my new pocketmail in Waynesboro on Thursday and this thing is top shelf. I will get more time to update next weekend as I plan to spend a long Easter weekend in Aldie, Virginia (maybe West VA) where I have family. (Cousin Emily) So I should get plenty of time to peck away.I am currently staying at with the Hensleys, Joy's (Xena)padres Winston and Carol. They are so great. The Duke game is about to start so I have to go catch that. More updates and complete journals to follow. Later, Oh yeah, the Shenendoahs are very flat.***************************************************************************Log entry: 631. Start time: 07302. End time: 10453. Weather:        b. morning: it was chillified, very cold. But what are you going to do. You can complain about the cold but that just means that the cold wins.   Snow gently falling at times but not sticking .        c. afternoon: sunny and pleasant, windy         d: evening: clear and pleasant.4. Food        Breakfast- brownies        Lunch- some sort of buffet in Elkston (I think that was the name of the town, Elk something) A good salad, redskin potatos, and lots of chicken fried pork steak.         Dinner- Dinner was like a prescription drug, just what I needed. Pork chops, cheesy hash browns, fresh baked bread, corn, lima beans, beans, so much food, all home cooked and wonderful.   5. Trail description: Flat and fast. For the most part the trail was free of snow and ice so it was easy to make time. Very cool terrain and a fun morning walk.   6. People: The crew at the shelter Uncle Ted, Aunt Bonnie, Chantae, then the Solemates, and Winston and Carol Hensley. 7. Animals: lots and lots of deer, probably best guess is 30, that even seems a little conservative. 8. Money: none9. Biggest complaint: That I could have spent more time with the Uncle Ted, the Hensleys, and the Solemates. I wish that details would have worked out that this weekend was 4 days long. 10: Thoughts: I woke with one goal in mind, go to the bathroom. After that, I felt pretty confident that I could tackle whatever ran at me today. Much to my surprise, and the awe of the rest of the troops in the shelter I got packed up in about 20 minutes. I did not want to be late to the rendezvous with Uncle Ted at the Ivy Creek Overlook. So I marched on, enjoying the pleseant, chilly spring morning. The sky looked to threaten rain and it actually sprinkled a bit and snowed a little. But the views were unobstructed and Blackrock mountain would be just a rock scramblers paradise. I can¢t wait to go back and run get hurt climbing those rocks.Deer were everywhere this morning. Some ran away but most stayed within yards of the trail. That was pretty neat. Before I knew it was 1045 and I was standing on one of the many Skyline drive overlooks. A Honda civic filled with 3 spring breakers rolled up to enjoy the view and pulled up along side of me. One dude rolled down his window, billows of smoke poured out along with the smell of high quality marijuana, sweet almost. The high quality stuff actually smells pretty good. The cheaper hash has a much more pungent aroma. ¢Is this Ivy Creek?¢ the dude asked with a chuckle and a cough. ¢You betcha¢ I replied. ¢You wanna smoke a bowl?¢ was the next question. ¢Nah, I¢m a cop.¢ (not yet exactly but the point was taken) ¢Oh, are we under arrest?¢ ¢Nope, but I¢ll give you a five minute head start before I call an Ranger if you want.¢ ¢What if we throw it away right now?¢ ¢That¢ll work.¢ So they handed me a couple dime bags which I emptied over the overlook. ¢The pipes?¢ I asked. ¢Aw man, come on dude, I¢ve had this one for years.¢ Even through glazed eyes the kid looked like he was about 16 at best. ¢Yup, otherwise you could do some time in the Pen, possession of paraphernalia is still a crime you know¢ So they handed out a pipe and a couple one hitters from the glove box. I dang near threw my arm out heaving those over the overlook, but I doubted they would be retrievable. ¢Thanks boys¢, I said, ¢now be about your business.¢ ¢Thank you officer¢ the three of them replied almost in unison. ¢Officer¢, if they only knew. ¢Dude with 24 criminal justice credits¢ is about as close as I am right now.After they drove off I sat on the rock ledge of the overlook and called Uncle Ted who advised that he was on his way. I then called home and spoke with mom for a good bit and then called Mr. Hensley. I wasn¢t sure yet what my plans for the afternoon would be but I knew that I wanted to meet them and take them up on their offer. I also wanted to be sure I spent a good chunk of time with Uncle Ted because he came down all the way from Michigan. So as I awaited the arrival of the red minivan I read more of Patriot Games. Before I knew it they rolled into the overlook, a little behind schedule due to the twisting and winding roads. It was great to see them. We took shelter from the chill wind in the van and decided to head into Elkton to grab a bite to eat. We picked a small diner and it just happened to have a buffet. How very nice. The grub was good and we headed back to the overlook where Uncle Ted and I walked the next section of trail, about a mile and a half. I wanted to get some more of the trail done so they kept my pack and I went for a little jog. I wanted to make it to Swift Run Gap but that was another 11miles or so. I made it to Powell gap and as I reached the road, Uncle Ted drove past. The Lord¢s timing is always perfect.So we headed back to Elkton to the McDonalds where Mr. Hensley and Jacob met us. The Solemates had been with the Hensleys since Friday afternoon and were taking a day off today. It was great to see them. So I said goodbye to Uncle Ted and headed over to the Winston and Carol¢s. I spread my gear out in the basement and showered. Just I got dried off and dressed dinner was ready. So we feasted, it was wonderful. Joy Hensley (Xena) and Stu from Australia (Bloody Cactus) were headed home from Erwin, TN. They got caught in the storm which dumped up to 20 inches of snow in spots. So they were going to head south from Rockfish gap after a day of rest. I was happy that I would get to meet them both even if it was under unfortunate circumstances. After the meal, it was time for hoops. I hadn¢t seen any of the tournament and really enjoyed watching the Duke-UCONN game. It really made me miss the sport.Once the final buzzer sounded, we were all pretty beat, and we were going to lose an hour of sleep due to the time change, so we called it a day.