Date: 2016-06-30
From: Rod Hollow Shelter

To: Bluemount Virginia
Miles today: 10.5
Weather: broken clouds

I woke up at around 6:30 this morning and was on trail by 7:30. Not too many if of us last night. I was the only one in the shelter and four other people were tenting or hammocking nearby. Today I am going to meet up with Tom. He is a friend of Mike K. who lives in the Catskills and is a friend of the family. I've gotten to know Mike over the last several months very well and he is fascinating to talk to especially anything about botany. Mike's friend Tom just recently moved to Virginia near the AT. When Mike found out I was still in northern Virginia he suggested I met up with Tom to take a rest. So that is what I'm planning on doing. His house is near Snickers Gap and we've been texting back and forth. He is 10.5 miles from my location and 3/4 of the way through the Rollercoaster. Speaking of that the Rollercoaster is 13 miles of tightly packed ascents and descents. They range from 300-700 feet. I came to the beginning of the Rollercoaster and there is actually a sign stating what it is and to enjoy the ride. I started up the first climb which wasn't too bad. Then the decent was steep with lots of loss rocks. Ugh the second climb was steep and lose rocks. By the third I stopped more often. Then the fourth climb I was moving really slow, fifth I was like oh dear god and then the sixth I was like ok I wanna get off now. I arrived at Sam Moore shelter at the bottom of the sixth climb. I had 3 more climbs to reach Tom and 7 to finally leave the Rollercoaster. I had a snack at the shelter and refilled on water. I started up climb number 7 but this time it wasn't too bad because somewhere in .40 miles I would cross the 1000 mile mark. Wow it's crazy to think I just walked 1000 miles. So waiting for that point kept me distracted from the steepness of the climb. Finally in the distance I see on a tree a brown sign that read 1000 in white numbers. I hit the mark and took a few photos. Ok the moment passed and I continued on. Down hill 7 and start up hill 8. Ugh finally onto bears den when Tom texted me did you start up bears den yet? I said I'm climbing it now. He said ok I will meet you at the top. I reached the summit and didn't see anyone matching Toms description. Hmmmm finally he was behind a group of trees blocking each other's point of view. We said hello and chatted a bit and headed back down to Toms car. He drove me back to his house which is so neat. It must have been built around the time of the civil war. The inside is all wood beams and wood floors all original. You could feel the history of the place. Tom made me two sandwiches and we chatted about plants, weather, global warming and the Catskills. I started to get sleepy and took a nap while he ran to the market. I got up and took a walk down the street to the general store where I bought homemade cookies and a drink. Tom got back from the market and he cooked a wonderful dinner of spaghetti with sauce with ground chuck and grilled onions. We talked more about plants, the weather, and global warming. Around the time of my nap he had asked do I want to spend the night. At first I was like I should rest for a bit and the keep on walking but with how tired I am I decided I'll stay. After dinner he had to run out and feed the animals for a neighbor who was away. I crawled into bed which is so comfy by the way and am settling down. I've decided I'm leaving everything and just taking this mattress with me back on the trail tomorrow.