Date: 2004-03-12
From: Rockfish Gap (Waynesboro Quality Inn)

To: Paul C Wolfe Shelter
Miles today: 5.0
Weather: clear sky

Back Out Here7AM - Weasie's. I did NOT do the 'Pancake Challenge' (all the pancakes you can eat for $3.25, record is 23). Instead I intended to order a large breakfast and doggy-bag part for lunch in the mountains. But I found I was able to eat all of what sounded like a huge breakfast in one sitting. Thru-hiker appetite? I don't know, but in any case as my good friend Teasenberg frequently reminds me, expectations will always get you into trouble.12:30 - Wolfe ShelterGot here after an easy walk from Rockfish Gap. Got a shuttle ride back out there with Ann, the same person who drove me in. I hate to keep saying it, but she was as friendly as the rest of W'boro.I'm feeling a little foolish because here it is barely the middle of the day, I still have lots of energy, and I've stopped after five miles but want to average over twice that on this leg. But I have my reasons, and need to stick with them.First, my pack is definitely the heaviest it's been so far this trip (me too). Second, if I went farther I would need to cross Humpback Mtn, the highest yet for me, with a 2000' climb in the next 5 miles. That would definitely undo all the rest my body got during my zero day. And finally, I really need to get used to being retired and taking a break when it presents itself, rather than setting up another goal to accomplish when there is nothing immediately pressing to do.So far on my hike the deciduous trees have been without leaves. Today's hike actually went down in elevation from the previous low at Rockfish Gap. As I descended, I noticed that a lot of the low-lying bushes and ground plants have begun to push out the first hint of leaves. None of the big trees have any yet, but I imagine that when I go below 1000' in a couple of days that the whole forest will be in full foliage. Right now, even though the trees are thick I can easily see the mountains out across the valley through them. But soon, I will be in that 'tunnel of green' that is mentioned in so many AT journals.Tonight will be my first shelter stay. That will mean that I won't need to roll up a wet (or snowy) tent in the morning, but it will also mean that I won't be benefiting from the tent's insulating effect. We'll see which side I favor in the morning. (The elevation here is over 700' lower than previous campsites, so cold shouldn't be a serious issue (Hah!)).Now, it's time to take a nap or otherwise relax before doing the evening chores.5:15 - Took a nap in my sleeping bag laid out on the shelter porch in the sun. It felt deliciously lazy, and I'll have to do it again. Probably not in the next few days though, as I have three high mountains to go over. I worry about those mountains, even though there is nothing I can do about it now. I know that when I get there I will go over them, with more or less pain depending on how steep they are and how sore I am, but worrying about them ahead of time accomplishes nothing. I expect that to be a recurring theme of this hike, if not this journal.At dinner I got to see the results of some things I did in town. During the first four days of my hike my new alcohol stove didn't burn as hot as I would have liked it to, so I thought it needed a modification. I made the modification at the outfitters, and indeed the stove burned hotter. So hot that I almost caught the shelter on fire.This shelter is in a deep creek bed. So even though the sun is still up it has gone behind the hill above me and evening is settling in fast. The temperature is already quite a bit lower than this afternoon, but I doubt it will go below freezing. In any case I am already in my sleeping bag with most of my clothes still on, and an extra layer for everywhere from top to bottom ready at hand in case I need them. We'll see how the night goes.See you on down the Trail.------------------------------Have you ever seen a rock scrapethe sky? www.pocketmail.com