Date: 2004-04-04
From: Powell Gap (The Hensley's)

To: Bearfence Mountain Hut
Miles today: 15.2
Weather: scattered clouds

Log entry: 641. Start time: 14302. End time: 18453. Weather:        b. morning: sunny and windy, windy, windy. 20-30 mph winds up at elevation.        c. afternoon: still sunny and windy, air temperature was mild but the wind just howled.        d: evening: cold, clear, and windy4. Food        Breakfast at the Hensleys- Monkey Bread, cereal, eggs, toast (a class 5 breakfast for sure. Breakfasts, like rapids, are rated on a scale of 1-5, but like class 6 rapids, a class six breakfast would be ¢off the hook¢ and not a realistic spread, sort of like my Eleanor or my unicorn, a mythical, ideological experience that lives only in my dreams¢¦)        Lunch- magical meatloaf (mmmmm meatloaf), cheesy hashbrowns, bread, beans, corn, and the list goes on and on. Lunch was at Mr. Hensley¢s parent¢s house, after church.         Dinner-beef flavored ramen and hot jello, peach flavored 5. Trail description: Some decent climbs today that normally would have been a non-issue but I was stuffed after dinner and the cold wind didn¢t make a long day very conducive. But, oh, sweet nectar of that lunch, even the subsequent burps were adequate reminders of that magical hour.6. People: The Solemates, Winston and Carol Hensley, their daughter Joy (Xena), and Stu (Bloody Cactus), the Grandparents, the boy scout troop from the Virginia coast, a military base actually if my memory suits me correctly. 7. Animals: deer, dogs, and birds8. Money: none9. Biggest complaint: I was not exactly bursting with energy after the feast but knew that every mile I could muster today would make the next 3 days a little more tolerable. Hopefully. 10: Thoughts: I slept wonderful in the cool Hensley basement, conditions were perfect for sleeping. We all had a splendid breakfast, the monkey bread which is a type of biscuit dough chunks dumped in an angle food pan and coated in brown sugar and cinnamon. Too good. It was all so good. We were waiting for Joy to call that she got safely into the train station but that call did not come before Jacob and Tricia had to get going. Mr. Hensley left at around 0900 to bring them to Rockfish Gap. I got my things together and Mrs. Hensley and I left for church at around 0940 or so. Church didn¢t start until 1100 but Carol plays the bells and had to be there a little sooner to practice with the group. I read ahead in my Bible readings since I had a pretty good idea that I would be hiking late the next few days. Church was nice, reminded me a little more of my home church. After church we all headed over to Winston¢s parents pad for grub. Joy and Stu had made it in safely but were tired from the long, noisy bus ride. I guess there was some problems with layovers and scheduling as it was daylight savings time and some of the drivers didn¢t know that.I would have loved to hang around a lot longer and enjoy the company but I had things that had to get done, so they dropped me off at Powell Gap at about 1415 and by 1430 I was northbound.The big dinner was not exactly the best thing to hike on, it would have been more appropriately suited for a movie and a nap. But indigestion not withstanding, I moved on. I wanted to push Rockspring but that was 25 miles and I called it quits 11.5 miles south of that at Bearfence Mountain Hut. As I walked up I saw the shelter had quite a few little bodies in it but there was ample room in the middle. I was greeted by the scout leaders, who were Marines. One was retired and the other 2 were still active. The Boy Scout troop was from a base I believe on the coast. I regret not getting names or troop number. As I unpacked my things we discussed my hike up to this point and soon I was in my bag ready to fire up my stove.The funny thing is that just as I was assembling my whisperlight, a scout leader asked if I had had any problems with it yet. ¢Nope¢, I proudly noted. ¢The thing has been working like a champ¢. Just as I opened up the fuel line to fill the priming cup with fuel, fuel began squirting out of the pump where the fuel line attaches to the pump. An o-ring had failed causing white gas to leak around the line instead of through it. No big shake I thought, I will go for my maintenance kit and it will be all good. I¢ll be back in business in minutes. But I sent that kit home at Waynesboro in an effort to save weight for my push to Harpers Ferry. The scoutmaster immediately recognized that something was amiss and offered me his stove. Initially I declined, but there was a sharp chill in the air and lunch left my stomach vacant. So I whipped up some Ramen and 16 ounces of hot jello. It really hit the spot. I fell asleep a little bit later, afraid of the unknown of the next 3 days. I had just succumbed after 15 miles or so and I would have to do 3 times that each of the next 3 days. So I laid it before the Lord and fell fast asleep knowing it was now out of my hands.