Date: 2016-05-05
From: Sarver Hollow Shelter

To: VA 624, Newport Rd
Miles today: 22.8
Weather: overcast clouds

I did not want to get up today. It was cold, gloomy, and raining. it rained last night. Sarver Shelter, although tough to get in and out of, is very nice. It has a big covered porch and the picnic table is under it. That is very nice for rainy days like today. Bombadil and I got going a little after 7am. The other guys were just getting up but they will pass us...they are young and tall and fast. I got up ahead and hiked in the rain by myself. I was on a ridge for quite a while and it was very rocky so it made my hike slow. If it was not foggy and raining, I could tell that the sites would have been nice from both sides. I came up on the Eastern Continental Divide. I did not know that one existed. That was pretty cool! I arrived at Niday shelter and had brunch. Bombadil arrived and had broken one of his hiking poles on the rocks. For us older hikers poles are a must. Hikers really put a lot of abuse on the poles especially going downhill, it saves the knees! I am using Leki brand poles which my son Matthew gave me for Christmas. They are fantastic and have put up with a lot and are still going strong. Bombadil also shared some snacks with me which will help since I am short of food. Another hiker offered and said if we are at the same shelter tonight he will give me dinner since he has more than he needs. It is a good atmosphere on the trail. We take care of each other and help where we can. They call it Tramily (Trail Family). Since the rain had not stopped, it was cold, and my fingers were numb, I was determined to hike 22 miles to 4 Pines Shelter for some warmth. I still feel good and got going after snack time, 10:15 am. I came across some footbridges over fast running creeks. Everything is wet and the creeks are overflowing but it makes for nice views of the creeks. I climbed up Bush Mountain and came up on Audie Murphy Monument which was pretty cool. I thought everyone knew who Audie Murphy was but since my wife did not... he was a war hero, movie star, and I believe he owned the Oakland A's baseball team. Please correct me if I am wrong. Please look him up as he was an amazing person. I took out my phone to take a picture and it would not work. I tried everything but it was stuck on one screen and I could not do anything. Maybe it was the moisture...maybe it is getting waterlogged like me! I had the bright idea to put it in my last freeze dried food bag since rice was not handy. I made it down off the mountain and came across the side trail to Pickle Branch Shelter. I was tired and decided to keep going instead of veering off. I tried my phone again and it was still messed up so it was time to change my plan. Instead of staying at the shelter, I would get the shuttle to take me into town. My plan was to stay at a hotel and get my phone fixed, replace my Sawyer filter and check out gear options.I had heard that the next climb, Cove Mountain with Dragons Tooth (Stone Monolith) was a very technical area, which means steep and rocks. I made it up and it did not seem too bad. I even took the side trail to see the Dragons Tooth. I could see sights from up there since the fog had lifted just enough, but it was not really clear. Well the hike this morning over the rocks was definitely harder than this one. I started going down and WOW! This is what they were talking about, it was steep and had many flat rocks making it very difficult to traverse. Add in the rain and you have an accident waiting to happen. It was very slow going and I really had to stop a few times to plan my steps. That lasted about a mile and I bet it took me an hour. My right knee was really feeling it. I am now officially drained and tired. I made it to the road and hiked 0.3 miles to 4 Pines Shelter which is a converted large 3 car garage. This is pretty cool and roomy. There were about 20 hikers there. I met up with Monster, Sweet Pea, Oriole, Juan Durer, Maria, Cherokee, Medicine Man and his dog Scout, Farmer and some new faces. I talked to the owner and he said it would be a while for the shuttle to come back. I made myself at home and caught up with all the hikers I knew. I finally made it to town, booked myself into the Howard Johnson and walked to get something to eat. My phone was still on the blink! I used the hotel desktop to send my wife an email to let her know what happened to the phone, then went to the room. All of sudden my phone rang, it was my wife, it was good to hear her voice. We caught up for a while then I took a shower and laid down. Although it was a very tough day, I did get to see the Eastern Continental Divide, Audie Murphy Monument, cool streams, nice shelters, Dragons Tooth, and many familiar hikers at the 4 Pines. I can feel that my legs and feet need some rest. I hope to get things fixed tomorrow.