Date: 2019-06-19
From: Thunder Hill Shelter

To: MattÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs Creek Shelter
Miles today: 12.6
Weather: light rain

Today was close to being a town day. I was 15 away from Glasgow, VA. I actually got out early! I didn¢t sleep at all. The food bag and mice situation just kept me up all night. Thumper got up at 6 and headed out at 7, and I headed out at 8. Not bad for me!! I was happy about it!! But unfortunately I got derailed. There was Trail Magic! And it had ICE CREAM and soda and chocolate milk. I bonded with the guy doing trail magic and we smoked a bit. I have kinda let my guard down on the weed front out here to be honest. I had only done it a few times in college, but it¢s so popular out here, I just decided to join in. It¢s relaxing sometimes and especially when hiking is just painful and hard. I probably had too much this time and had a hard time getting going. So I had my early leave time, which was awesome, but now I was delayed. Ugh. I got out and had to deal with all the cobwebs, but was in my own world so it wasn¢t so bad. When I was about 9 miles from town I called the hostel in town and they said they don¢t pick up after 5:30. I would probably get there around 6. I was pretty disappointed that they weren¢t more flexible with me. Thumper¢s Uncle was going to pick him up, and I saw him at the trail magic, but I said I wouldn¢t make it til late so he shouldn¢t wait. So I thought I wouldn¢t have a ride into town from the trailhead and the hostel owner suggested I stay at the shelter two miles from town and then catch the 8am shuttle in, so I decided to do that. It was mostly downhill, but there were a few climbs today. One being High Cock Knob. What a name. Lol. People on Guthook had the funniest comments. ¢1.2? I¢ve climbed higher¢ ¢ready to mount the high cock!¢ Lol I¢m sorry, it was just funny. What kind of name is that?! Big Butt Mountain, Fullhardt Knob Shelter, now High Cock Knob. And get this, the name of the gap before the Knob was ¢Petite Gap¢. Lol. I¢ll be honest folks, this climb was a dick. It totally sucked lol. It was steep and annoying. Would never climb again. Haha. But the downhill after was nice. A bit steep, but nice. It seemed like it was going to storm yet again. Every day it¢s just been really hot with afternoon thunderstorms. I¢m used to that summer weather, but it¢s so unpredictable and annoying to hike in. I got to the shelter and there was a woman there, Stargazer. She¢s awesome! She¢s out doing a long section and calls herself a LASHER. It was just the two of us and she said Thumper had passed by and said he¢d wait with his Uncle til 5. It was 5. I had told them not to wait so I was hoping they weren¢t waiting, but it was 5 now and I wasn¢t making it two more miles in time for either shuttle. I just kept with my plan to stay. I really had wanted to get into town and get a ride and hang more with Thumper, but the Trail Magic really slowed me down and Iost probably two hours of hiking right there. I accepted my fate and set up my camp stuff. Slow Poke showed up and now it was just the three of us! It started to pour and we all settled in for the night. A couple came by and stopped for a minute, and then kept hiking. I was glad I hadn¢t tried to do those last two miles; I would¢ve gotten stuck in the rain for sure. And without a ride for sure, I¢d have to try to hitch in the rain and it would just be unpleasant. I planned to get up early and make it to the trailhead by the 8am shuttle. I ate dinner and chatted with them for a bit. We all hung our food inside the shelter because of the rain. I was sad I was missing town with people I enjoyed hanging out with, but I knew this was the best option. Town tomorrow!Little Debbie