Date: 2015-06-04
From: Sarver Hollow Shelter 

To: Craig Creek 
Miles today: 7.9

As planned, I woke up at 5:30 and managed to be out of the shelter before 7am. What I didn't plan for was how bad the terrain was going to be for the first three miles. If it weren't one of these wet days where everything, including myself, wasn't soaked, even though it wasn't raining, it might not have been so bad. There's a common phrase out here that you shouldn't get mad at the trail, cause it'll still be here. But there was a stretch where I wasn't angry at the trail, but rather the trail maintainers for this area. I was just getting madder and madder as I struggled along on slippery rocks. But then I hit a spot that, all emotions aside, was pretty well setup. So I decided I'd still be mad for what they did back there, but I would no longer hold a grudge for what they put me through.As I approached the first shelter to have a snack and dry my feet off, I felt the need to poop a second time that morning. Since I was close enough to the shelter and privy I put it off over the hassle of getting everything even more wet by going off trail and digging a hole. But because my stomach was feeling this way, I didn't feel like eating anything. I did decide that even though I wasn't interested in drinking water at the moment, filling up before leaving the shelter was a good idea. I began walking and knew that I had to get some calories in me to get up the next big hill, so I ate some of the gummy candies I had. I didn't vomit or shit them right out, so after another mile I started on the peanut M&Ms I had. I could only get through half the pack before feelings of nausea overtook me. There were now a few moments where I had to stop and debate whether I was going to vomit on the side of the trail. I didn't, but I did realise that accomplishing the 23 mile day I had planned might not happen. So as I began the steep incline to finish the last fourteen miles, I decided it'd be better to backtrack to the road crossing, hitch into town and get a hotel room, rather than be stuck on a mountain, vomiting and shitting everywhere, and spreading the germs to other hikers. While I was back at the road waiting on traffic, Oak and Acorn passed by and asked about my toe. While I was telling them the story I stopped and said "you guys should get going, you don't want to see this", and I walked to the side of the road and vomited everything and more out. It felt so good and so bad at the same time.I got a ride in the back of a truck and made my way to the Four Pines hostel. As I approached, the caretaker extended his hand in greeting and I said I'm not feeling too well, it might not even be a good idea for me to stay here. He offered to shuttle me to Daleville, but the price was $40. I wasn't that sick. But he also mentioned that there were some other hikers he was waiting to hear from that might also be going that way and I could split the cost, that worked. So I sat in a chair outside and waited and suffered. While sitting there Bear Bell pulled up in a car and the driver, another girl about her age, got out and hugged her goodbye. I asked my way into getting a ride from Kelly Ann to the Howard Johnson in Salem. It was challenging to hold everything in for the thirty minute car ride while also trying to have a conversation, but I was successful. And I was most rewarded by a comfortable bed and hot shower and mind numbing television to easy me through the next 24 hours.Fitbit -------------Miles: 14.9Calories: 4200Stairs: 153