Date: 2009-04-29
From: Damascus

To: Lost Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 15.8
Weather: light rain

I had to wait for the post office to open to pick up the memory card from Certain before I could hit the trail, so I had time for another breakfast in town. I convinced my bunkmates that Mojoe's was the place to go. Sandalwood gave me and Braid a ride, and Patch and Spoons walked over with their dog, Haley. This time, I ordered the blueberry pancakes and two scrambled eggs with toast. Unfortunately, the new employee cooked breakfast, and it was quite disappointing to see what she brought over. The pancakes were so thin and small, and the eggs so scrappy, that everything fit on one plate! Plus, she didn't put any blueberries in my pancakes! I felt a little embarassed about touting the place so much! After I picked up my mail, I packed everything up, and got on the scale to see the damage of my newly acquired maildrop. 42 pounds! (And I weigh 120... not good!) Sandalwood wanted to make sure I saw the steps leading to the AT down the road after following the Creeper Trail out of town, so he drove down, parked, and waited for me. It was 10:45 by the time I headed off on my own. With 16 miles to do for the day, I wasn't too worried about the time, so I walked slowly and looked around me. I heard a rustle in the leaves to my left and looked over to see a little brown lizard on a tree! I took out my camera and he obliged in having his picture taken, coming closer to me and even sticking his head out from under a branch so it could be seen better! I took in the view and the spring trees around me and thought, "Virginia is pretty!"   Around noon, a man caught up to me. It was my friend who had been volunteering at Mt. Rogers's Outfitters. He lives off his marine pension, and is free to do anything he pleases! He didn't have a real plan as to where or how far he would hike, but brought five days of food with him in case. He got hungry for lunch before I did, and split off to a campsite to eat. I later stopped at a nice place beside the creek for my own lunch. I climbed Straight Mountain before heading off the trail a good quarter of a mile to stop in at Saunders Shelter to check the registry and collect more water. Rainclouds had moved in, so I put on my packcover in preparation. A few minutes after I took off, the drops began to fall. I returned to the sign pointing to the shelter and now had two choices of paths to get back on the AT. The wooden sign looked more aligned with the upper path, but I couldn't be sure. I looked for a white blaze and didn't see any...Then, I looked at the path beneath it and saw a white blaze on a tree! Okay! I was back on target and headed for Lost Mountain Shelter, 6.4 miles away. No problem! (It was now about 3:20). The path took me down the other side of the mountain. I passed three southbounders, the first of whom wanted to know how far the shelter was. I was glad I was not climbing uphill like they were, as it seemed like much more work. The rain fell harder and the thunder and lightening began. Because it wasn't close enough to be threatening, I found it peaceful, but I did have to step to the side of the trail to add on my rain layers. Not long afterwards, another man headed up the hill toward me. He looked at me with a blank face as I stepped aside to let him pass. As he got closer, I realized that it was Braid! "Braid, why are you going south?", I asked.He thought pensively. Then, he looked at me and said, "Wendy, I think you are going in the wrong direction. Three things: the creek has always been to my right, you were in front of me..." Oh, no... I turned around and began the climb back up. I guess climbing that mountain was too easy just once. Time to do it again in the pouring rain! Luckily, I had just come from town and was feeling strong, which allowed me to be a little more amused at my mistake than upset! If this had happened to me on that last Saturday, I definitely would have sat down and cried and who knows what else! Thank God for Braid, though! Most of the time, I only see southbounders on a given day, so I assumed the people I saw earlier were also headed south. Since the markings are exactly the same for both directions of the trail, it's easy to convince yourself that you are headed in the right direction! That mistake cost me five extra miles and 2 hours. What was supposed to be an easy day turned into a difficult one and I did not reach the appropriately named Lost Mountain shelter until 8:11pm! I was almost too embarrassed to show my face to those who were behind me, and those that I had passed going in the opposite direction... (Braid had stayed at a nice campsite several miles back beside a pond). The shelter was the most crowded one I had stayed at, with the actual structure full of people, as well as a little tent city behind it. I quickly set up my hammock and then ate dinner alone in the dark as everyone snuggled into their sleeping bags.   I did learn the origin of the trail named 'Chunky Gal' from Braid earlier in the day. How many other people know what this name really refers to?