Date: 2004-06-17
From: Pinefield Hut

To: Big Meadows Campground
Miles today: 28.6
Weather: light rain

In the morning at Pinefield Hut, Will (or maybe Pony Express) got up early and was the first to leave. We said goodbye knowing we would never see him again. He said we probably would because he had to take 10 days off with his cat. Well, we'll see. This would turn out to be a very tough morning for me. It started out fine with the usual breakfast and packing. The sun was shining and that was sure nice. Then the call of nature came. This was a good thing because it hadn't come since before the all-you-can-eat in Waynesboro. That was the day before yesterday. Usually I need to dig a hole after about an hour on the trail everyday. Actually it's possible things haven't been right since before the big meals at the B&B the day before that. So needless to say there was hope for relief in my stroll to the privy. It was a nice enough privy, the standard pit outhouse. I sat there for a while but nothing would come out. Oh well, maybe later.The packing ritual was resumed but only to be interrupted by a more hurried jaunt to the privy. No luck again. This was getting painful. There were several trips to the privy each feeling more urgent than the last. It was as if my lower intestines were turning inside out but their contents were just to big to fit. I was near tears. I was looking pretty angry back at the shelter. Folks asked what was wrong, but my mood wasn't one for talking. All kinds of horrible scenarios were going through my head. One thing was for sure, there would be no more over eating for this kid. Most everybody left before me due to my many privy delays. It was time to get on with the day despite my discomfort. This promised to be a long hiking day too and with a late start. It was a good hiking day. The trail was good and seldom gained or lost much altitude at a time. I was in the zone as Buick would say but he was well ahead of me. Chances were good that we wouldn't see each other all day. We had both talked about going to Big Meadows Campground on the Skyline Drive for the night. That would make it a 28.6 mile day. The campground had a store, showers, laundry and a pay phone. Sure, why not.A couple of miles down the trail the urge to purge returned. Fortunately the terrain was good for a mad dash into the forest. The hole was dug quickly. The squat was instantly rewarded. What a relief. I know this sounds strange but this was an important event. If you can't go, you've got to stop and get off the trail. I was ecstatic.20 miles into the day I stopped for lunch part 2 at Lewis Mountain Campground. The store was a bit off the trail but not too far. There were some other hikers hanging around on the porch and using the phone. We talked some over lunch, snacks and ice cream. One of them said he had seen Buick an hour ago heading north and not stopping at this store. That sounded about right. Some car camper guy was leaving his cigarette burning in the ash tray by the door as he went in to shop. I asked him to put it out. He got all pissy, talking about freedom and rights and such. What about my right to clean air. Breathing is pretty important to a thru-hiker. Grrr.It was after 6pm and time to leave the campstore. There were more than 8 mile to go. Yeah. It was a good haul on easy grades. The trail was so smooth it was even possible to look around instead of just watching the ground three feet in front of my boots. The did of course present some hazard especially this late it a long day. Legs learned to lift feet only enough to skim above the trail. That meant the slightest deviation in the treadway surface, a barely protruding root or rock, could lead to a trip. It would make me laugh because it was so silly to trip here after successfully negotiating the many significant obstacles on other parts of the trail. Fortunately there were no falls.My arrival at Big Meadows Campground was greeted with the last light of the day. That was pretty good for a 28.6 mile day with a late start. There was no message on the bulletin board at the campground office from Buick but he had to be there. A park ranger showed up but hadn't seen him. The ranger did show me on the map where most thru-hikers camp. After dropping my stuff on a site I went back to the office to pay up and leave a note for Buick. There was a second ranger there now who had seen Buick. She had pointed him to the store which was a mile up the road. Unfortunately it would have been closed by the time he got there. Oh well.It's amazing how few photos were taken today. It's due to the lack of views and the fact that my mind was so focused on hauling. Talk about being in the zone. It felt so good.Back at the site it was dark by now. It was time to pitch the tent and make dinner. Then it was up to the laundry and showers. Buick was there doing his laundry. He had gone up to the restaurant for dinner. It sounded like a pretty fancy place. He told me of his out of place experience at the restaurant. I washed my socks, threw them in a dryer and headed for the showers while he waited for his laundry to finish. Then we headed to my campsite and he pitched his tent there too. It was a beautiful starry night.