Date: 2014-05-28
From: Thunder Hill Shelter

To: Lynchburg/Blue Ridge KOA - James River
Miles today: 14.6
Weather: broken clouds

Remember back on day one of this year's Section Hike, I noted that Jackson wouldn't let Indy pet him when Jackson first met Indy? I had been very puzzled by that reaction. Over the past few days, I discovered that Jackson is a pure chicken-shit. He exudes such confidence and fearlessness but when confronted by a stranger, especially one with a full beard, he is a bit freaked out. So I started asking new people to just pet him under the chin and not bend over him as they did so. Jackson has now relaxed and is not so freaked out by strangers coming out of no where into camp and wanting right away to pet him. One big relationship building step accomplished with my little buddy on this year's hike.I was in a bit more of a hurry this morning than last to break camp and get moving. We had 14.6 miles to cover. My plan was to hit the James River footbridge by 5 p.m. and meet our transport to the KOA for the night. Yippee!! A real bed, shower, TV, and clean laundry! Good incentive to push on. Today was going to be mostly going down from 4000' to the James River at 700'. There was overall about 1000' up so that meant a good 4000' down total.The day started out warm and worked it's way up to warmer. Both Bandit and I don't do well in heat so we made sure to stay hydrated and I used my bandana in whatever small streams I could find to keep my face and neck cool with the cold mountain water. My favorite trick is to put the bandana in the water, barely wring it out and then lay it around my neck while it drips and cools me. The 6 mile hike to High Cock Knob was uneventful - normal Virginia hiking right? At High Cock Knob I called Ken Wallace (our transport) and let him know that yes, we were on schedule to meet him.Then the afternoon hit! The heat of the day reached into the upper 80's and the trail wound its way along the south side of the mountain often out in the full sun. It would have been a great day for a heavy canopy!!! We found ourselves hiking only a mile or two out in the sun and then having to sit down and rest, using too much water and taking too long for breaks. But I decided it would be better to be late, miss our ride, and not get sunstroke. So the pace slowed. Wow, dogs can drink a lot of water!!!! Poor Jackson once again found himself being the bearer of the extra water for the team. An aside, I was not able to call Ken anymore to tell him things were changing because now we no longer had cell phone service at this point.The down into Matt's Creek Shelter continued to be slowed by the heat but at least we were back under a canopy. On Apr 22, 2014, the body of Rodney Montgomery, 59, of Otis Orchard, Wash., was retrieved from the Matts Creek Shelter. It was later learned that he died of natural causes but many were still not staying at this Shelter yet this year. The Norovirus made people jumpy. When we arrived, we were at first disoriented on how to get into the shelter. The shelter is right on Matt's Creek and you have to cross the river to get to the shelter. Out of the clear blue, Indy appeared, led the way, quickly signed the shelter log, and disappeared northward. Sheesh that guy showed up at interesting times. We had a quick snack and signed the trail log too. Getting to the James River in time was still doable but we'd need to hustle.The trail now followed Matt's Creek down to the James river and then followed the James River for a nice level 2.2 mile hike. The bridge was amazing and I was thrilled to find Ken waiting for us in his car. We arrive 10 minutes late! Yeah for us!Ken drove us to the KOA where we checked into our cabin, got our maildrop, bought too many snacks at the camp store, did all our laundry, emptied out everyone's packs to re-organize, ate tons, and had a shower!!! That little cabin had a wonderful air conditioner that we cranked to the max. Wow it felt great to be cold!!!Tomorrow, we were supposed to do 10.5 miles with a climb 2400' up Fuller Rocks (43rd hardest climb on the AT), followed by a 900' climb up Bluff Mountain. There was no water for 9 miles in this stretch and once again it was supposed to be hot. Combine this with our need to also carry 5 full days of food in addition to a ton of water, it wasn't looking safe for me to head out with TWO dogs. Ken swung by mid-evening and suggested that rather than him dropping us off at the James River bridge tomorrow to continue on, that he could drive us up the Blue Ridge Parkway to the top of Bluff Mountain near the Punchbowl Shelter and drop us off. We could then "slack pack" back down to the James River where Ken would again bring us back to the KOA. What an awesome plan Ken!!! You rock! So we made plans for him to pick us up in the morning at 8 a.m. Slack packing meant we could leave all our food and a bunch of our gear at the KOA cabin, hike with minimal gear/water, and hike DOWN that monster mountain. Laundry done and tomorrow's plan laid we fell asleep with the TV on waking to the sound of thunder and rain!!! 10 days on the AT and this was our first rain! Amazing! How lucky did we get to be in a cute cabin when the sky poured! I wondered where Squirrel and Zima were.