Date: 2004-05-30
From: Wapiti Shelter

To: Pearisburg, VA
Miles today: 16.2
Weather: light rain

I packed up, then made a big pot of tea to go with my solitary breakfast at the shelter. The rain returned for a while shortly after I started hiking. I had a mission today - to deliver a message to Tillie Woods at Wood's Hole Hostel.As I was leaving Damascus I met a woman on the street who said "Are you going to the Wood's Hole Hostel?" I didn't know for sure. "Well you go to Wood's Hole and tell Tillie that the Ankle Express said hello." I agreed. Ankle Express used to be an avid hiker, but an accident left her unable to walk well, and she now helps hikers and provides Trail Magic during the season.Wood's Hole is an old homestead from the 1870's, discovered and bought by Tillie and her husband in 1942 while he was doing a study of elk in the area. Roy Woods was Assistant Secretary of the Interior in the Carter administration, and a well respected environmentalist. He passed away in 1987. Tillie continues to come out and open the hostel during hiking season. Bunks are free, there's a solar heated shower, and the first 8 hikers to arrive can have breakfast with Tille for $3.50.I took the half mile detour down to deliver the message from Ankle Express, and had a long conversation with Tillie about hiking and the hostel. She's a very nice lady. While I was there a couple who are participating in a book project about the AT came up, and I had my picture taken with Tillie. Maybe someday it will appear in the book. I tried for a more focused expression than the one in the WhiteBlaze picture. The couple gave me a ride back to the trail.I stopped for food at the Doc's Knob shelter, flushing a deer in the process. Soon after I left there the rain returned in force. I normally string up my tarp and outwait the heavy thunderstorms, but today I knew that I had a hot shower and dry bed waiting in Pearisburg, so I kept walking, thinking to myself, "These little thunderstorms don't last long." The rain poured down. "I can dry off in town from this short shower." The rain bucketed down. "This is the cleanest my shoes have been since they were new in Damascus." The rain sheeted down. "I wonder if anyone has ever been caught in a flash flood coming down the trail." The rain monsooned down. The wet line crept up to the bottom of my rain jacket, and I splashed on with water running out of my shoes. "This is sure to let up soon." The rain came down in torrents. For over an hour it poured, then slacked off to a normal rain for another hour. I slogged along. Even after the rain stopped the trees continued to drip. It was a wet afternoon.I slipped and slid down the steep trail to Pearisburg, walked into town and got a room at the Holiday Motor Lodge, very glad to be out of the weather. I saw Dreamer, who had come over from Bland for treatment of a sore knee. After cleaning up I went over to the Sports Bar for a big hamburger and a cold beer. Augie was there, having taken a zero day today. She told me that Chris is off the trail for a week to attend his brother's graduation, Eelz left this morning, and Jordan will be back to the hotel tomorrow after a couple of days off. There was a note in the hiker register that Will left this morning. So I'm somewhat back in the middle of this group. Augie wil be leaving tomorrow.Back to the motel and off to sleep early, glad to be dry again. I'm taking a day off tomorrow, waiting for the mail on Tuesday.