Date: 2004-05-12
From: Thunder Hill Shelter

To: Glascow, VA
Miles today: 14.6

What the hell was that??   I jumped a little in my sleeping bag. I had no idea what was out there, but I had read enough Stephen King to be glad that there were other people in the shelter with me.   Not that company matters much in those novels.   The sound I heard last night soon after laying down to sleep was like no other I had ever heard. Like turning the ignition of a car that's already started, except not quite like that at all. Though mostly mechanical in sound, it had seemed to also have a faint trace of something living in it.   And it happened again.   And again.   What the hell IS that?   "That's a deer," said Country.   I thought he was joking. How in the blue hell could a deer make a sound like THAT? Unless, of course, it was animatronic and malfunctioning.   "It caught a scent of us. He don't like it."   So it was a deer snorting. Just displeased to smell a few humans sleeping in his backyard. Falling asleep, I almost found it humorous that we had been that scared of a deer.   But I've read enough Dean Koontz to know that a half-mechanical/half-biological deer creature living in the back woods of the Appalachian Mountains wasn't necessarily just a wild imagination.      We woke up, packed up, and said goodbye to Country and Ramblin' Man before starting out to hike. With us taking off for Trail Days this weekend and them staying on the trail, they would be a few days ahead of us. Chances are we would never see them again. I should know better by now than to just assume that. It's a small world, after all, and it's an even smaller trail.   Toward the end of the day, I left the group at a swimming hole. They were all cooling off and, despite the heat, I'm not much for swimming. Besides, I felt like hiking. And I felt like being alone.   The last two miles of the day was along the James River, ending with a long footbridge to the other side. From there we would hitch into Glascow and wait for Fauna's boyfriend, Derek, to come pick us up. The boy drove from Kansas to be with his sweetie at the upcoming Trail Days in Damascus, VA. Sorry ladies; He's taken.   After the rest of the group arrived, we didn't have to wait too long for a hitch. It's always easier to get a ride when you have a secret weapon.    We had two.   Flora & Fauna. With those eyes and their smiles emitting the gravitational pull of a small star, no pick-up truck or van could resist. Thanks ladies.   Arriving at Glascow was interesting. Seeing just the one on top of the first building we passed on the right didn't cause much stir, but then there was another standing 30 feet tall in the grass in front of the convenience store. And another down the street in front of the diner. And another. And another.   Dinosaurs. Everywhere. The town was under attack!   At least that's what we thought at first, so we all breathed sighs of relief when a local claimed they were just fiberglass models. Life-sized, true, but no more harmful than a parked car. We were also informed that a zoo or park or something had burned down years ago and the owner had donated the dinos to the town of Glascow.    Hmmmm. Likely story.   Derek arrived and, taking two trips, shuttled us (me, Camel, Tinder, Patrick, Bandicoot, Flora & Fauna) back to the Troutville Interchange where we met up with Apple Pie and split into a few hotel rooms.    I have to admit; I was glad to be out of Glascow. I know they were probably harmless, but hey. I've read enough Michael Crichton to know that escaped dinosaurs and human beings roaming the earth together isn't just dangerous; it's inevitable.