Date: 2014-05-03
From: Daleville

To: Bryant Ridge Shelter
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: few clouds

"How About a Night Hike?"My apologies for my tardiness in updating this journal. I have been receiving some complaints and shall, in future, be more timely in my postings. It was ridiculously difficult to leave the comforts of Kindergarden Cop's and Meg's home. We were awakened by the smell of sausage frying and biscuits baking and the deluge of good food continued well into the late hours of the morning. Moxie, Midnight Sparkle, and I had originally planned to leave early in the morning to head back to the trail, but Dinosaur convinced us to stick around for a bit. The group had watched "Kill Bill, vol. 1" the night before and she wanted to complete the saga before returning to the wilderness. She assured us that if we waited for her we could leave right after the movie and then we could night hike to make sure we got in the miles we had originally planned to do. "It'll be fun!" She said, German accent adding great emphasis to the vowels. It was hard to resist: food, chairs, cold drinks... Sigh. We didn't fight too hard to stick to the original plan and pretty soon the entire group was draped across various pieces of furniture, breakfast digesting slowly. I opted out of the movie and instead sat on the front porch of the beautiful old Victorian house with my leg propped up, talking to Cop and Sparkle. My knee had started hurting the day before and the unexpected rest and ability to obtain ice had been a God send. I was exceedingly thankful. Kindergarden Cop is a cast of opposites. He's got a cop's sense of humor which can run into the black, but the hardened shell encases a marshmallow soft interior. He's a west coast city man who picked up everything 2 years ago to settle into the mountains of Virginia. He faced brutality and danger everyday for years with the LAPD, but talks to his wife and about his sons with a tenderness that strikes the soul. We talked steadily for 4 hours... During which time I found the leftovers from the last evening's dinner. BBQ. Yum!The movie ended at 2 and Dinosaur, Moxie, Sparkle and I quickly gathered our things and hopped into the pickup truck. Since Kristo, Wingin' It and Geared Up were still in party-mode, and indeed had even gone so far as to crack open some beers, the truck was considerably more comfortable to ride in on our way back to the trail. We took some pictures at the trailhead and hugged Cop goodbye- he gives a really nice bear hug. It was hot and dry and we were starting during the hottest part of the day. We walked together as a group, but conversation was intermittent as we climbed and sweated. At dusk, 14 miles in, we hit our second shelter and found some familiar faces. We stopped for dinner and Dino announced sheepishly that she really didn't want to night hike. We laughed at her and ribbed her a bit because it had been her idea originally. In all honesty we wanted to join her, but Moxie was on a more strict time crunch than the rest of us, and he needed to make more miles that night in order to stay on track. So, down to three, we pressed on. Most hikers really don't do well after dark. We are creatures of the sun, following it's example by which to rise and rest. "Hiker midnight," is 9 pm and I am usually in my sleeping bag less than 30 minutes after it strikes... If not before. So, hiking past 9 is exceedingly difficult. And, I gotta say it, Midnight Sparkle becomes noticeably less sparkly the closer he gets to midnight. It was 7 miles to our next shelter and it took us 4 hours- a lot longer than usual. The terrain became a steep slide downwards after dark and I found myself on my butt more than once, unable to maintain footing. After the 2nd or third fall my knees were both screaming at me. We were all done in. We started singing to try to keep ourselves moving... No one knew the words to any entire song so someone would start something and, if we know it, we'd sing along until it petered out. And then a new 30 second blurb would begin. It kept us going for the last hour and a half or so. We hit the shelter at 11 and, despite overwhelming tiredness, were pleasantly surprised by our digs. Most shelters are little more than a raised platform with 3 walls and a tin roof. They're dirty, old, and often overrun with mice.This place was a castle. It was located next to a bubbling brook and had 2 stories, a front porch and windows! We set up shop in the loft to try and avoid disturbing the sleepers on the bottom floor. There was a nice breeze to cool us down- we were dripping in the humidity that had descended upon us after dark- and the sound of the stream running beside us soothed me into an easy sleep.