Date: 2009-05-07
From: Pickle Branch Shelter

To: Johns Spring Shelter
Miles today: 13.6
Weather: light rain

I woke up around 7am to rain pelting against my tent...I didn't know if I could handle another rainy day! I lounged around for another hour and the rain didn't seem to be letting up. Hot Sauce and Ducky were also awake but not going anywhere either while it was pouring buckets out. I ate some poptarts in bed (I love sleeping with my food in my tent)... then some oatmeal...then some mashed potatoes, and before I knew it the rain was starting to let up. Eventually I got out of my tent...BLUE SKY in the distance!I lounged around a bit longer waiting for my tent to dry out. I packed up and started hiking around 10:30...shortly after Hot Sauce and before Ducky and Madison. The hiking today was great! Dragon's Tooth was amazing, I would definitely come back in the future and hike it again. The climb up to Dragon's Tooth was a rocky ridge with rock scrambles. I'm glad it wasn't raining today or the cliffs would have been treacherous. I actually missed a turn coming down Dragon's Tooth and ended up heading down a ravine that was definitely not the trail! I bushwacked my way back up and eventually got back on track. Whew! The cliffs and rocky ridges reminded me a lot of hiking in the Northeast, it was great. Oh, and the rhododendrons are blooming!I eventually caught up with Hot Sauce and we hiked together for the rest of the day. We walked through some pastures and came within 20 feet of some cows (and baby cows!) grazing in the fields. I have heard of cows charging hikers so I was a bit nervous walking past them, but they couldn't have cared less that we were hiking through.It seemed like an eternity but we finally got to VA311 which goes to The Homeplace in Catawba - a family-style all-you-can-eat restaurant. We had heard that the drive people have towards this place is the fried chicken and other meats, so Hot Sauce and I (both being vegetarians) were wondering if we should even go. We decided to go just for the experience - when else would we have the chance to go to Catawba, VA? Just as we had made this decision, a mini coup pulls up to the parking lot and out pops Peachy Keen (GA-ME08) and her 2 dogs about to embark on a 4 day backpacking trip. She gave us heaps of cupcakes and even drove us to The Homeplace.         Yoni Bear had said that the restaurant was crowded, but we didn't think it would be THAT crowded! We pulled up and there were about 100 people waiting outside on the lawn (mostly Virginia Tech students). We put our name on the wait list (a 1 hour wait!) then went inside to look for Bow Willow, Steam, The Darkness, Bender, and Steamboat. Good thing we got a glimpse of the food before waiting an hour - there were only vegetarian side dishes (pinto beans, green beans, biscuits, etc) and we didn't think it was worth an hour wait just for that. We took our name off the wait list and hung out outside and talked with some of the locals, including a very sweet older couple. We then walked to the general store and got some icecream and snacks for tomorrow, then got a ride back to the trailhead.It was only a mile to the shelter and Hot Sauce and I got there around 7:45pm. I made dinner, set up my tent, and went to bed around 9. The usual crew is here tonight, with the addition of Yetta, a German woman living in Vancouver who is section hiking from Erwin to Harpers Ferry. I am thinking about watching the sunrise at McAfee Knob in the morning but we'll see if that actually happens. It is about 3 miles from here and the sunrise is at 6:15am, so it would definitely be an early morning!I'm so relieved the day ended up being nice and not another wash out. We were all in serious need of a day like today!Part of Dragon's ToothRhododendron in bloom