Date: 2005-05-18
From: Stealth camp just north of Manassas Gap Shelter

To: Bears Den 
Miles today: 23.0
Weather: broken clouds

start: Stealth camp just north of Manassas Gap Shelterfinish: Bears Den miles: 23.0day: 72Slept wonderfully under the stars last night.  Sometime in the wee hours something was near our camp.  I stirred and two or three heavy animals crashed off into the woods.  Probably just some deer that didn't realize we were laying there.I woke fairly early and ate my usual - cherry turnovers (the good fresh baked kind) and a big apple.  I had made plans with Goldilocks to meet at Bears Den tonight, as I thought I'd want to hike earlier than him today.  I hit the trail at 7:00, getting a grunt from Goldilocks as I walked by.I had tons of energy, and it was a beautiful morning (yes, another - they seem to be in endless supply).  Birds chirping everywhere, acres of forest floor covered with pink trilliums.  Still dodging poison ivy, but not as much as yesterday.After about 10 miles I came to a road crossing where a sign reminded me it was less than a mile to Doc's  BBQ restaurant.  All roads are opportunities.  I was able to hitch a ride within a minute.  The BBQ was excellent, with coleslaw on top, and fries.  A nice lady was running the place, too.  The hitch back... FAILED.  Yeegads, that doesn't happen very often.  Eventually I gave up and walked the 15 minutes back to the trail.  I tried to hitch for longer than it would have taken to walk, but it's a matter of pride, ya know?Back on the trail within 1-1/2 hours.  At the next shelter I ran into Goldilocks, Kodak and Cotton Joe, who had all gotten ahead while I was eating.  Leaving here we began what's known as The Roller Coaster.  A series of PUDs - pointless ups and downs.  Whoever designed this piece of trail should be shot.  We had 8 climbs totalling at least 2400 feet of elevation gain in 10 miles.  All to low wooded summits with no views, no breezes, no reason to go up there.  What could have been a lovely woods walk is instead like being on a stairmaster - climbing for climbing's sake.  And we have another 20 miles of this ahead, I think.I arrived at Bears Den Hostel a bit after 6:00 pm, just in time to shower before dinner.  Yes, dinner.  Queen Diva runs this place for the Blue Ridge Environmental Center, but she also provides free meals and a wonderful environment to hikers as part of a ministry tied to CircuitRider's parish in Michigan.And what a meal we ate!  Grilled pork loin, homemade mac and cheese, cheese biscuits, fruit, mashed carrots and turnips, cabbage, and probably some other stuff, too.  This is THE BEST meal I've had on the trail, including restaurants.  Queen Diva can really cook.After dinner as we were all sitting around sleepily on couches, in walks Tea Break.  What's he doing behind us?  Turns out he had met a fellow Brit in Damascus who invited him to his house.  He saw him near his house, on the trail, only a few miles from Terrapin Hostel yesterday.  He says he left us a note on a green piece of paper, which I pointed out looks just like a leaf.  We didn't see the note.  Too bad for us.  It was our invitation to have a proper English tea, dinner, spend the night, breakfast this morning and lunch to go.  Tea Break did a 29 to get here today and was so well fed that he hardly ate any dinner once he got here.  I'm sorry we missed that - a truly unique trail experience.Pipesmoke and Mrs. Smoke are here visiting and helping out on their way back home to New Hampshire from Trail Days.  I met Pipesmoke in the laundromat in Damascus.  He and Queen Diva and I had some really good conversation, and Mrs. Smoke made me some English tea.  She has a sewing machine here.  I wish I had the makings for a quilt.  I'd ask to borrow the machine and sew one up.  She and Queen Diva were surprised that Moosie likes to sew.  Guess I don't have that Martha Stewart look...While Queen Diva made plans for feeding us breakfast tomorrow, Goldilocks and I made plans to take a zero here.  Heh heh.  Guess where we're eating dinner tomorrow?  Nyaah nyaah.  It turns out that hiking on at our usual pace will put us in Waynesboro, PA, where our next maildrop is, on Saturday afternoon.  Just in time for the Post Office to be closed.  So we'd rather wait a day here than anywhere else.  How very convenient.Sleeping out on the lawn under the stars and a waxing moon again tonight, freshly showered.  Mackerel clouds are moving in, though, so I may be jumping up to set up the tarp at some point.  It may actually have the nerve to rain in paradise.