Date: 2009-06-13
From: Harper's Creek Shelter 

To: Waynesboro, VA - Rockfish Gap
Miles today: 27.0
Weather: light rain

Where do I even begin on our day? I guess it all began at 6 am when Bark and I woke up and packed up and started out on the trail around 6:45 in order to make our supposed "one" big climb up Three Ridges Mountain. Since the weather has been getting so much warmer around mid day, a lot of hikers have started their day much earlier than usual. Same for us... as we started going up we realized that the next 3.2 miles would not be easy or "hiker friendly" as we say. Although the climb was sometimes gradual, most of the time we found ourselves battling and stumbling over ground rocks and climbing up and over boulders all the way up. By 8:30 am we had made it! We were excited that we had kept a steady pace and finally made it to the top- one of our biggest climbs yet. Bark and I split a king sized Snickers, took a short break and kept on trucking... there was much more to come- some by surprise. The next several miles were fairly uneventful. Although, we did run into Mike, an ATC Ridgerunner. He gave us the rundown on what was ahead since he was headed Southbound. We had just finished hiking over tons of rocks and he was sharing the good news that there were many, many more to come and that they would be wet and slippery. Well we took it with a grain of salt, hoping for the best and made it to the next shelter for snack break #2 (hiker hunger has returned!). After heading back out we hit those rocks that Mike told us about and they were definetly numerous and extremely slippery. It is almost as if there is a layer of slick slime on top of them- a nice combination of drizzle and moss. We took it pretty slow and very carefully and actually came out unscathed; a few slips and trips, but they all ended with good saves and no broken bones.One of the many great things about today was the weather. We love sunny days, but the cloudy days (like today) are very nice as well. It kept us cool and there was usually a pretty good breeze running through the trees. We stopped for lunch on a some rocks which were built up around a stream coming from the side of the mountain. The only reason I mention this lunch break is because we had a very curious little visitor while we ate. Bark noticed a small gray mouse scurrying around in the rocks and leaves below our feet. I was plenty far away and was not too worried about it until he started darting around and running under our feet beneath the rocks- eeek! I was eating peanut butter and Bark was eating cheese, so you can imagine what this mouse was smelling. Finally Bark broke off a piece of his cheese and placed it on a rock where our little friend kept appearing. As entertaining as it was, we had to be on our way so we could conquer the next beast of the day- Humpback Mountain. The rocks we had already encountered earlier in the day were very indicative of this next mountain. It was long and gradual climb, but full of boulders and rocks to climb over. We were tired by the top, but the different terrain gave us a good challenge and a great sense of accomplishment when we made it. The original plan was to push 22 miles today to the last shelter which would put us only 5 miles outside of Waynesboro, VA. We made it to Paul C. Wolfe Memorial Shelter by about 6:00pmWe decided we would eat dinner and then push in the next 5 miles to town. As soon as our Chicken flavored Ramen was done and we began to eat, the thunder started and the rain poured down. We quickly changed our plan and set up our sleeping bags and packs for the night ahead in the shelter. We were the only two there which was a first and we had a signal on our cell phone so we thought calling family would be a good way to pass the time. We started by calling Bark's Mom- we told her about a large swolen area on his leg, right under his knee. His mom, being a nurse, was the perfect person to be on the phone with. We described it to her and she alerted us that it could be something as serious as a blood clot. Her advice- get to town ASAP and get it checked out. So- with 5 miles to go- we headed out. By this time it was close to 8:30 and the sun was slowly tucking down behind the mountains. I am personally more excited about hiking when I can see all the creepy crawlies, but the situation called for a night hike and if something was really wrong with Bark there was no way we would wait around in the woods any longer than we needed to. It was a quick hike- lots of adrenaline and definite motivation with the worry of something being wrong with Bark. Well, we did not take into account the difficulty of getting a hitch in the dark- we probably look pretty questionable in a dirty clothes and greasy hair. Funny enough, somebody did stop and ask us for directions to the interstate. Not long after we arrived at Rockfish Gap. After being there till 11:30 we called a taxi. Our very friendly driver brough us straight to the Augusta Medical Center where Bark got checked in and we started waiting to get him looked at. It is now 1:30am and he is back with the doctor- I am getting ready to go back and see what they say. We are praying that it is nothing- he feels totally fine by the way- it's just a questionable area. I'm sure he is ready to be out of here and we are both ready to be in bed. Coming onto the road was very exciting today- it marked 852.5 miles on the AT and the gateway to the Shenandoah National Park. Bears, bears and more bears!