Date: 2017-06-13
From: home

To: VA 311, Catawba
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

I came back to the trail today and will hike tomorrow.  My time off has really benefited my physical condition.  When I walk nothing hurts - no knee or ankle pain.  I feel rested.  We have three consecutive 20-mile days coming up, so let's hope I can hold onto this state of pain-free relaxation.My friend Susan M-M picked me up at 10 o'clock this morning and drove me to Lewisburg, WV.  My other friend Susan M fixed us lunch there.  Then she and her husband Glenn drove me to VA 311 in Catawba, Virginia.  This will be our starting point tomorrow.  Tonight we're staying at Howard Johnson's in Daleville.  It's a town stop, and folks are getting showers for the first time in many days.  We plan to stay here tomorrow night also.  The weather forecast for this area is for thunderstorms all week.  I'm all for avoiding camping in the rain.  When my friends Kathy and Frank picked me up last week to take me home Kathy was full of questions about group members: Where are Bill and Arlene? Are they still in the group?  You haven't written about Lizzie, where is she? Why were just you and Rennie hiking?  It was almost like she was asking about characters in a book.  So, at long last, here's an introduction to the cast of characters:Warren Doyle, organizer of the Expedition, has hiked the AT from end to end 17 times.  He believes that the best way to hike the trail is by doing day hikes rather than carrying a lot of gear and backpacking.  He started the Appalachian Folk School, where he teaches classes in how to hike the AT and hosts contradancing dances.  He's been active in the long-distance hiking community for many years, is a founder of the Appalachian Long Distance Hiking Association (ALDHA), and is a legend of the trail.  For more info, check out his website at www.warrendoyle.com.  Arlene Rios (Staples), age 40, is from San Gabriel, California.  She is newly retired from the U.S. Navy, which she joined at age 17.  She's a few credits short of a degree in Human Resources but isn't sure that's what she wants to do.  She's a city person and had never gotten close to a cow before the hike.  She may be the only person in history who hoped to hike the entire AT without seeing any wildlife.  She sees the humor in every situation and laughs a lot.  Difficulties don't faze her.  She's calm and determined.  She's probably the kindest person in the group.  She's at a transition point in her life.Lizzie Vinson, age 38, grew up in Florida but has spent most of her adult life in Asheville, North Carolina.  She has a degree in sociology and has worked at many different jobs.  She has been director of a Girl Scout camp and has worked at a locked facility for troubled teenagers.  She quit her job to do the hike.  She likes snakes but always wants to see them before they see her.  She identifies the snakes and lizards that we see on the trail.  She'll go out of her way to avoid stepping on a bug but named a friend's cat Stupid.  She is curious about a lot of things and sometimes ponders which things she'd eat if stranded on the trail.  The 3-inch-long millipedes that are dark maroon are prime candidates, she thinks.  Once when we came upon a baby mouse that was dying she gave it water.  She has a very active mind and will happily split a quart of milk at any time.  Bill Shelton (Pilgrim Billbones), age 59, grew up in eastern Kentucky and has spent his life in the tristate area (Portsmouth, OH; Ashland, KY; Huntington, WV).  He has a degree in electrical engineering and just retired from working in the quality control lab of a steel manufacturing company.  He's witty and funny and loves telling stories.  When he laughs you can see the gap between his two front teeth.  He once told me that what he'd most like to do after retirement is get a Ph.D. In mathematics.  He usually hikes with Arlene and never skips any side trails that promise something interesting.  He says he's felt more free on the trail than at any other time in his life.  Rennie Marisa (Lost Sole), age 66, grew up in eastern Pennsylvania but now lives in Holiday, Florida.  He is retired from the National Guard, where he maintained and repaired complicated equipment such as Blackhawk helicopters.  He has a hearing loss as a result of time spent driving tanks on active duty.  He is an experienced mountain climber and long-distance runner and is very fit.  Hiking the AT is not on his bucket list; he's just hiking to get out of the house.  He's done everything he wants to do in life, has no bucket list, and would be satisfied if he dies tonight.  He leaves in the morning as soon as it's light enough to see without a headlamp and hikes without stopping until he reaches the endpoint for the day.  He doesn't stop to look at views or to eat or rest.  He usually arrives at the endpoint several hours before the rest of the group.  He doesn't go to bed until everyone has reached the end of the day's hike. Charli Fulton (Sturdy Peasant), age 67, grew up in Dover-Foxcroft, ME and Brookfield, WI.  My undergraduate degree is in American literature.  For most of my working life I practiced law in various do-gooder positions: consumer protection at the WV Attorney General's office, criminal defense at county and federal public defender office, special education and mental health law at the WV protection and advocacy agency.  For the past 30 years I've made quilts.  I mostly design my own art quilts that are meant to be hung on a wall rather than used on a bed.  I'm particularly interested in fabric dyeing using shibori methods.  I love being in the woods and have studied wildflowers and birds for much of my life.  Group update:  I talked to Scott Grabe yesterday.  His final follow-up appointment with the doctor is on June 26.  He hopes to join us on the trail on June 27 and start hiking the next day.