Date: 2017-06-07
From: Virginia Creeper Trail

To: Thomas Knob Shelter
Miles today: 14.1

Day 36Wednesday, June 7, 2017 Virginia Creeper Trail (483.2) to Thomas Knob Shelter (497.3)Miles: 14.1 miles in 8.75 hours with two breaks*2017 AT trip miles: 497.3Total AT miles to date: 1786.7Weather: Cool, 40s and 50s; sunny in the morning and overcast and colder in the afternoonDinner: Beef Lo MeinHikers: A family of four from Chicago, a bunch of section hikers, Newphy, Parcour at the shelter and two older guys, and Retainer (!)*Wildlife: Owl, cows, a horned bovine, poniesWow is it ever easy to get used to a bed. The idea of camping out for the next few nights seems surreal, but here we are. At least today wasn't hot and sweaty. In some ways, the feeling is akin to our weekends spent at our cabin. Some Fridays, I'm scrambling to get work done and the thought of a weekend spent elsewhere isn't relatable to the present situation. Then we get there and I don't even think about the stuff I've left behind at home. I bid adieu to Grade School, who I mistakenly reported yesterday was half my age. I screwed the math up¢which shouldn't surprise anyone who knows me. I'm double her age plus ten. Whoops. Headed to the outfitter for my 9 a.m. shuttle. I weighed my pack on their scale and with one liter of water and four days worth of food, it came in at 29 pounds¢and that includes an avocado and some cheese.Resumed hiking north around 10 a.m. I also erred regarding the number of trestles the Creeper Trail has¢my starting point was at number 38¢and they descend from there back to Damascus. And my starting point wasn't even at the halfway mark. Unlike the last time we last saw the trail, the trail is now dry. I follow it through more rhododendrons, that Grade School told me are actually an invasive specie. She has worked on an Americorps trail crew prior coming on the AT.. When we were coming into Damascus during the rain storm, she¢d be kicking open drainage ditching plugged by debris along the trail. I only knock smallish branches out of the trail with my trekking poles when I can. I spent most of the morning climbing what appeared to be a very pointless mountain, Whitetop Mountain. Seemed to take forever to hike three miles up. But at the top¢blooming azaleas, a view, rocky outcrops. I blissed out eating my cheese and avocado while listening to a Studs Terkel interview on a StoryCorps podcast that I had downloaded while in Damascus. A fellow Trek Blogger, who I¢ve never met except through Facebook, recently posted an update that explains how the trail has a way of stripping away all of your defenses, leaving you emotionally raw and vulnerable. George (Old Growth) is around my age with similar life experiences¢his spouse is back home and his daughter is expecting their second grandchild which is cutting his hike short this year. (Note to family: This is not a criticism, just an observation.) You can read his entire post https://thetrek.co/appalachian... but the gist is how things you might be listening to become internalized while you are spending hours alone with your thoughts. Today I let about a dozen StoryCorps podcasts stream and felt my chest tightening when an interview with the recently departed David Letterman¢s mom was broadcast. I remember her Olympic reports and I have her cookbook. Other stories were beginning to turn me into a puddle. In George¢s case, it was a Harry Potter book that made him weep.In places the trail was a bit challenging¢not just that blasted mountain, but the appearance of roots and rocks. Still there were moments like when I emerged on the other side of the mountain and saw the open vista of Elk Garden. No elk, but a few cows through which the trail threaded. Our shelter tonight is on the cusp of the Grayson Highlands (wild ponies!) with gorgeous views and there is a roaming, firepit scouring bull right out the front door. The two older guys from Roanoke attempted to shoo it away while I¢m up here in the loft writing. ¢Git out of ¢er ya bovine!¢So. The asterisk. I met Retainer LAST year. I mention him twice in 2016¢our first meeting was at the Ensign Coswald Shelter just into Maryland, memorable for two reasons: first¢it was the ¢Shelter of Misfits,¢ a crazy cast of characters holed up for one night and second¢the privy ranks right up there as one of the two fullest I've ever had the displeasure to use. Last year Retainer was heading south on a complicated flipflop while I was heading north. Months later he's back in Andover, Maine where our paths once again cross¢again just for one night. Now here he is in the middle of the woods in Virginia. Karma? Divine intervention? Planetary alignment? Coincidence?As is so often the case, you find yourself rehashing moments of your life as you walk for hours and hours. You think about family, friends and careers. You might think about conversations you¢d have handled differently, things you want to argue about; projects to work on once this hike is over. You think about movies you want to see, music you should hear¢and oftentimes, just what the heck you are doing out here. Apparently Retainer had been ruminating about work and through a string of thoughts, it lead to a connection about me. Turns out he worked for years with a person who was instrumental in founding the Northern Forest Canoe Trail and, after finishing his thru-hike, had discovered that I was also associated with the organization. And then here I was. I bet we chatted for a good half hour. Retainer was out for a training hike in preparation for the John Muir Trail. Like Kremlin, another odd chance encounter on a linear line in the middle of nowhere. Goosebumps.