Date: 2004-05-30
From: Boblet's Gap Shelter

To: Cornelius Creek Shelter
Miles today: 18.3
Weather: overcast clouds

Tonight I'm in Bedford, Virginia with my sister! I'm so pumped to see her. She brought 3 friends with her and we are all in a Super 8 double for $45, Wow! Right now, it's actually the next morning, because I was too exhausted to write last night. Today was a day of catching up to friends and reuniting with family...plus I covered another 18 miles.In the morning I woke up dead tired after little sleep the night before. Maybe cowboy-camping was a bad idea ? Most of my friends were still asleep and my options to meet my sister seemed to be 21 miles or 28 miles to road crossings. In general, I prefer to hike slow and enjoy the beauty around me, but I was willing to push to A: Catch up to my friends, and B: Meet my sister. The first 9.6 miles were all flat or downhill to a creek and I set out flying. In 2 hours and 43 minutes I covered 9.6 miles (over 3.5 miles per hour) through a beautiful morning and trail surrounded by Mountain Laurel. When I reached the creek I heard a yell "Beatbox...we're over here." Across the creek, all my friends were stirring from camp. Krispy, Bum, Boo-boo, Beartracks, K-less, Rooster, and Arms were coming to. It was nice to see them after 3 days and I told them I was trying to catch my sister. Krispy let me know that they were only doing 13 miles, which means it won't be too hard for me to catch up. We joked and chilled as I waited for them to actually wake up. After waiting for just over an hour and deflecting 600 comments about my "hot Christian sister" I headed out with K-less.After about 10 minutes, K-less needed to dig a hole...so I pushed on alone. I climbed up 1,200 feet and then set out to do a 2-mile downhill to Bryant Ridge Shelter for lunch. It was hot, I was alone, and there were no flowers ?...but then I started to pray as I descended. Prayer was great. I prayed about my friends and meeting my sister. Before I knew it, I was at the shelter. The shelter was HUGE! It was 3 levels and sleeps 24, plus it looks over a creek...awesome! I spoke with Krispy and then ate lunch (crackers and jerky, woo-hoo.) Then I sat down to write my epic love poem...he, he. Before I left Trail Days I promised Poppins & Skippy love poems. I wrote one other fun poem before, but this was the poem I promised. It was full of silly lines mixed with some actual nice things too. It was weird to write a poem to 2 girls at once...I don't suggest this at home. It was fun to write them though, and I asked them to "Move to Utah with me and get married."...Ha! A) I hope they get the poem and B) I hope they don't take me up on the Utah proposition. By the time I left at 2:20, I was in a great mood, between having both prayed and having written to 2 cool friends. The next 5 miles were monstrous, but I pushed. The elevation climbed 2,300 feet over 4 long miles, but I just kept trucking. After 1 hour and 40 minutes, I reached the top, dripping from sweat and exhausted. I thanked God and looked around to see beautiful purple flowers: spiderwort. As I walked the last half mile to Cornelius Creek Shelter I kept getting nervously excited: I was going to see my sister ? I felt so blessed as I entered Cornelius Creek Shelter and I had covered 18.3 miles already. At the shelter, I met a couple with a beagle, so cute (the dog, that is). As we talked, they revealed a path to the road by the privy. Then they offered me a ride. Instead of chancing such a blessing, I accepted. The man finished playing with his GPS and by 5 PM I had a ride to go meet by sister. At 5:20 they dropped me off as it began to rain. I put on raingear and started to read, expecting to see Carla in 10 minutes (ha, ha). An hour and a half and 120 pages of my book later, I was worried, but then she pulled up. She jumped out of the car and gave me a huge hug...the type you only get from someone who loves you. She laughed at my beard and I at her ability to get lost anywhere. Then I took over driving after putting my stuff in the trunk. She brought 3 friends: Erin, Karen, and Pam. I apologized for my stench and drove us toward Bedford. I drove for the first time in almost 2 months over the curvy Blue Ridge Parkway...I was in heaven. In town, we went to Golden Corral...I love buffets. We all acted like dorks, ate like pigs, told bad jokes, and had a blast. My appetite was not as strong as usual, and one of Carla's friends (very slender) Karen out-ate me...I was an embarrassment to all thru-hikers ? After dinner we checked into the hotel and avoided the scary Mexicans looking at me and the four girls (oh, if I could read minds.)Carla and I quickly left on a mission: Get double cheeseburgers for my hiker friends. As we drove, we talked. Carla is my best friend and I miss her. Just have her around feels like home and makes me laugh. The drive was fun, but it was 10 PM and foggy as I reached the Blue Ridge Parkway. I had 7 hot double cheeseburgers and no sight. We tried for an hour, but I COULD NOT FIND THEM or any sign of the trail. It was AWFUL! I had 7 hot goodies for hungry hikers and now they would feel no love. At 11 PM Carla became car sick and I was exhausted. We headed home with our mission aborted. We both stepped in the hotel and passed out. Even though we failed to feed my friends, I had a great day. I'm sure it will only get better as I see my sister hike for the first time ? I'll update that in the next journal. Until then, God Bless.BeatBox