Date: 2007-06-17
From: Daleville VA

To: Wilson Creek Shelter VA
Miles today: 11.2
Weather: clear sky

WHOOPS! I didn't wake up on time this morning! LOL I had every intention of getting up and out of town by 7:30, but it was more like 9:00'ish. Oh well, can't worry about something that has already happened right?I went down for the "deluxe continental breakfast" offered by the HoJo. Not quite sure what constituted "deluxe" but hey, I was glad to have a free breakfast nonetheless. I think the owner or maybe manager was talkig to me. He is Indian (from India) and he asked about my nose ring. I knew that the dot on the forehead, nose piercing, and a necklace are all indications of marital status for Indian women. What I didn't know (and that he told me) was they pierce the nose and ears at the age of 6 MONTHS for Indian girl babies!! And to think, my parents made me wait till I was 10 to get my ears pierced! LOLIt was a roaster today, highs in the low 90's! Luckily, most of the hike was under cover of trees, so that dropped the temps about 10 degrees. So much for smelling good. One thing that did finally get to me today were the freakin gnats. Man..constantly buzzing in your ears, and constantly flying right at your eyes or into your eyes. There was a stretch where it was particularly bad, and I decided to put my new hat on (even though it was hotter), and it did seem to help to have a brim. I tried putting small branches of leafy plants in my Buff (headband..before I switched to the hat) and it was hard to see, because in order to work the leaves had to be swooshig back and forth right in front of my eyes. I should have take a pic, I looked completely ridiculous.The hike wasn't too bad, a few ups, but they were short lived. I saw several deer again, and one was a young male and his little antlers were starting to grow. Really cute.Other wildlife was tiny fish swimming around in Curry Creek, and that's the first time I've seen that. I took a break there and watched them swim around for awhile.Today was also "find new gear" day. Not sure if someone had a hole in their pocket, but along the trail in 3 different places, I found a Swiss Army Knife, an Ironman Watch, and a pamphlet for AT wildlife identification. When I got to the shelter, I'd hoped someone would say they lost this stuff, but when I asked, Redwood said nope. I'm leaving the book @ the shelter, but will carry the knife and watch in hopes of finding their rightful owners.I really wanted to go closer to 15-18 miles today, and I got to the shelter @ 5:30 p.m., but the next 4 landmarks in my guidebook are roads, and I didn't think a few more miles was worth camping near a road crossing if it could be avoided.It was nice to have dry and clean gear today. My shoes are a totally different color now that I washed them! LOL I saw 1 human being all day, and he is @ the shelter as well. Redwood from Florida. Really nice guy who had taken a few days off for foot problems and a visit from his parents. He's super laid back. then 1 other guy showed up just as I went off to bed, so I didn't catch his name.One funny thing happened though. Redwood and I were talking and cooking dinner. He went to open his package of macarroni and it tore, causing several pieces to fly onto the groud nder the pinic table. Well, in true thru-hiker tradition, he picked every piece up from the ground, and thre them into his cook pot anyways! I would have done the same thing! LOL This shelter is great for hanging and tenting actually. Redwood asked if I had noticed all the blue berries that are starting to ripen, and I hadn't. He found some, and I ate 2. They were still a bit sour, but I have a bad feeling my tongue is going to stay blue for awhile when they ripen up!My foot is aching pretty badly tonight for some reason. So weird that somedays it does, somedays it doesn't. Still if the pain never gets any worse than it's been since my break @ Cindy's, I will have considered myself to be very lucky indeed. I am actually pretty tired. I had crazy dreams last nite @ the HoJo, and woke up talking in my sleep! I never do that! LOL So, tomorrow I'm going to try and make up for my lower miles today. It is currently 76 degrees in my hammock @ 8:00 p.m, and I'm lovin it! BTW, for those of you who read guestbook comments, you'll notice Persistent left a hilarious one giving me a hard time about none other than my hammock. Well, I responded in her guestbook, so check it out. I have a feeling this is war! LOL ~Certain