Date: 2011-05-20
From: Day 71 Pickle Branch Shelter

To: Day 72 Four Pines Hostel
Miles today: 12.5
Weather: light rain

What a terrible nights sleep. The mice were running rampant, the snorers were exceptionally loud; I got very little sleep. Once again we were the last to leave the shelter, it was 8:30, first back up the .3 and 300' climb up to get back on the trail. Of course we then went uphill for over 3 miles and climbing 1500' ending at a famous stone monolith "Dragons Tooth" Then right back down 1500' in 3 more miles. That in itself wouldn't be any big deal but today the trail really threw rocks, no I mean boulders at us. The climb up to Dragons Tooth wasn't too bad BUT the climb down was a whole different story. We climbed down rocks the size of box cars, many times just figuring out where to even start down these rock piles in itself was a challenge.  Where to even step first, where to put your weight then continue to execute your plan to climb down through the rock pile.  With the weight of the backpack altering your center of balance, just trying not to fall was hard work. All along the ridge today it was a very rocky trail going from tough, to darn tough,to "you got to be kidding" tough. When we got to VA 624, we went off trail and up to Four Pines Hostel. Here, we decided that since we lost time on this section due to all the rain, we would leave our packs at the hostel and slack pack it from the hostel to the AYCE country eatery "The Home Place" in Catawba some 6 Miles away. Then we will take the hostel shuttle back from The Home Place" to the hostel and spend the night, me in my tent out back and Tramp inside. Tomorrow morning we will be shuttled back to Catawba to pick up the trail where we left off. During our hike to Catawba, we saw many places on the trail, that just a day or so ago, was underwater. There was even one footbridge totally washed off it's foundation by the rushing waters, and we had to find another way to cross the stream by stepping carefully from rock to rock. Along the way the rhododendrons were in bloom and even though 1 bloom doesn't have much fragrance, thousands together sure do, so along with the mountain laurel blooms popping open like fireworks thanks to the warm afternoon sun the trail was a delight to my senses.  There were more rock climbs and such but without our packs they were far less intimidating and we found ourselves making great time completing the distance in just 2 hours 5 minutes, after all we were heading toward FOOD!   The Home Place is only open Thursday, Friday,4-8, Saturday 3-8 and Sunday 11-6 and is something most hikers plan to visit. You won't find many thru-hikers coming past here Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday. The place is very very nice but the food was a big disappointment. Maybe I was expecting too much but I guess for the price I shouldn't complain. Price is $14 if you want 3 meat choices and $13 if you only want 2 meat choices. The remainder of your meal is predetermined. String beans, Peas, Pinto beans, Coleslaw, Mashed potatoes & gravy, Biscuits & apple butter. Choice of beverage, we choose Lemonade. The problem I had was, everything came out of a can. All the veggies were soft, mushy and tasteless.  Even the cobbler was disappointing, with a small piece of cake like crust covered with cherries from a can the kind some people use to make cherrie pie. The only food items that I thought were any good were the fried chicken, lemonade and the ice cream. The place was packed with hikers being only a very small portion of the patrons. We all ate way too much and are now comfortably numb.I'm still on page 64 in the A. T. Guide by Davis Miller  (the green book)Temps, it's 61* in my tent (9:00) it's not raining, no wind, no song birds. But there are 2 bullfrogs croaking down by the pond.Once again life is beautiful on my piece of Appalachian Trail.Total AT miles hiked today 12.5Nite all