Date: 2015-05-20
From: Jenkins Shelter

To: Bland, VA
Miles today: 13.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Last night my air mattress lost enough air that I had to blow more air in it in the middle of the night. Sorry fellow shelter dwellers. For the record, this is NOT as annoying as having to get up and pee, but it is a close second. Once again, Deacon was up and out first, by 6:30 or so. That man is a machine! I had about a 13 mile walk to the road that would take me to Bland, a small town, for a little resupply and device charging. The walk was- unbelievably- very easy and gentle. A couple of small climbs (that would have killed me a couple of months ago. Mama Moab had given me some of her instant espresso earlier and I was buzzed with energy and walked briskly. Not a single hiker passed me for the first couple of hours! I actually passed a person, but to be fair, he was injured. The morning was beautiful, not too hot, sunny, and fine. The woods were beautiful and fragrant filled with the chatter of various birds. Chipmunks raced back and forth across the trail. I eventually came to a beautiful creek with cascades flowing down smooth rocks, creating little pools and falls. I would have loved to stop and jump in but the water is still a little cold for me. Soon I'll be jumping in! Everyday summer is getting closer and I am getting in better shape to swim in my underwear, as all hikers do.The trail continued through the woods, showing off some beautiful views from time to time. The mountains in Virginia are so lush and healthy looking. It is such a change from the stark browns of Georgia and NC, before the leaves and flowers woke up. Finally I came out at Scenic Highway. It took me just under 5 hours to walk the 13-ish miles, and today, nobody passed me. Gotta love espresso! I stuck my thumb out and got a ride in about 10 minutes. I was dropped off at the Citgo/Bland Street Grill. I went in and ordered a burger and fries and plugged in my phone. Great burger! The other hikers came in about 2 hours after me- they had split a shuttle. Everybody headed over the the new grocery store and got what we needed to go back in the woods. Mama Moab headed off to the post office. A shuttle was supposed to pick everyone up at 4 but never showed up. One of the hikers got a woman in a pickup truck to give everyone a ride, but I was the last one to make it to the truck and there was no room. Sure! Just leave the old lady behind! I put my pack on and headed back to the grill/gas station, trying not to feel like the kid who was not picked to be on either kickball team, with no coach to step in and force someone to pick me. Boo hoo. When I got to the station, Mama Moab and Boomerang were piling into a car and they guy driving told me to get in too. He dropped us at the trail-head, and if Mama had not bought that big can of beer, I swear I would be hiking right now. But she did and we drank it then hitchhiked BACK to town under skies that were getting quite cloudy to a motel. We are weak. The guy who picked us up warned me about the dangers of liberalism, made me promise to vote for Bush, and I was happy that Mama was riding in the back of the pick up truck with her dog. I have heard her lecture a guy from WV on the merits of social democracy while he was giving us a ride. She did not care that he was opposite in philosophical and political ideology, that we were riding in HIS car, and that everybody else was cringing. It turned out OK that day because the WV just thought she was a hippie, but the guy I was talking to in this cab was MUCH more conservative. All's well that ends well. He was a nice guy and I will weigh the candidates carefully, whoever they turn out to be, as I promised I would do. Just please, lets get rid of all the old cronies who have been around too long in both parties and lets get some new blood in Washington. (oops- sorry-that was political-ish) At the Walker Motel, which Mama paid for, I washed my positively repugnant clothes in the bathtub and hung them in the gazebo. We watched insipid movies on HBO and ate Fritos and bean dip for dinner until David Letterman's final show came on. Mama was asleep by then, but I have always been a Letterman fan because he put my cousin Mitch on his show at least 12 times. Long live David Letterman, in our hearts, and long live Mitch Hedberg.One of my favorite Mitch quotes:" An escalator can never break: it can only become stairs. You should never see an Escalator Temporarily Out Of Order sign, just Escalator Temporarily Stairs. Sorry for the convenience."Mitch Hedberg