Date: 2015-05-23
From: Spy Rock

To: Devils Backbone Brewing Company
Miles today: 19.4
Weather: few clouds

I almost froze my butt off last night. I left the fire and crawled into my bag, and it was COLD and WINDY. I wasn't going to die, but I was uncomfortable and tired and just wanted to sleep. So I took out my emergency heat-reflective blanket and swathed myself in it inside my sleeping bag.I woke up nice and sweaty and damp and gross. All the moisture my body lost during the night seeped right into my clothes. Gross. I tried to air out a bit in my tent but had to pee so badly I headed out into the chilly morning and freeze-dried as I hunted for a good pee spot. On a similar note: I have not had to dig a bathroom hole for like a week now. So many perfectly placed shelters. I love it!I started hiking wearing both of my jackets and socks on my hands. It was freaking cold. But I warmed up as always. Chris and I started the climb up The Priest mountain and stopped at The Priest Shelter. An awesome section hiker there gave me some Starburst, which I greatly appreciated since my snack supply was dangerouslky lowThe shelter register was full of nhiker confessions, some of which were hilarious. "I never hang a bear bag." "I dropped a honey bun wrapper and didn't pick it up." "I sometimes put in my earplugs and pretend o listen to music so I don't have to talk to people."I confessed to actively trying to outrun people on the trail. In related news, Columbo has started his "thru-hike". This makes me anxious. I don't want to encounter him on the trail. I know that it will cause drama and fuck with my head (excuse the language but that is definitely the best word to use in this case). I don't want that. I just want to hike, and enjoy the hike. MY hike, not anyone else's.I worried at first about letting him know where I am. I don't know if he would try to catch me or respect my space. I almost decided to stop posting my locations on the journal. I know he knows about it because after I posted about chasing my lost socks, I got a text, "Glad you found your socks."I mean, I knew it was possible he would read it. This journal is on the internet, where ANYONE can find it, after all. I did feel a little guilty and emotionally terrible that day, anyway, though.So now there's that. More potential drama. Red Panda just can't seem to outrun it. I told Chris my boy trouble stories the other day. Then I spent the rest of the day thinking about them. At one point I almost panicked, thinking, I have no idea how to be in a relationship. I don't know if I want to be in a relationship. Ever. But what if I do?! I have no idea how to deal with all of this. But then I was like... dang it, I am on the AT. I am not out here for a relationship anyway. I can worry about all that crap later. Then I felt better. Until I got more boy texts. Lesson learned: don't give phone number out to anyone on the AT unless TOTALLY sure they aren't going to pursue me.Okay, back to today... We climbed to the summit of The Priest and then headed down. It was a little rocky. I totally fell.And when I say fell, I mean I really fell. Tripping forward, into the trail, then OFF of the trail. On the side of a mountain. My feet were in the trail, my body perpendicular to it, my head downhill. Fabulous. Bertha anchored me down like a fat blue sack of bricks. I unclasped myself before struggling up to regain my bearings. Chris held out a hand to help me up, but I was so awkwardly positioned that it made more sense to pull myself back onto the trail. Luckily no one else was around to witness my off-trail tumble and scramble. A few guys trail running passed just after I righted myself, and all I could think was "Thank the AT gods they didn't come five minutes sooner to see me take that freaking spill.".I was fine, though. I scraped my leg up a bit but otherwise managed to recover pretty quickly. I may be a crybaby, but no little stumble-tumble is going to take this hiker down! Of course, just as my last scrape was finally healing, I added another one. I will have so many AT scars. The other day, Luke the trail angel kind of looked at my legs and was like, "You don't need any medical help or anything?". He might have had a heart attack if he saw the state of my toes... thick yellow nails, totally dirty, covered in blisters, duct tape, and sticky adhesive residue... very becoming of a lovely young lady like myself.I slung Bertha back on, and we continued. Near the bottom o he mountain, we stopped at a stream for water. While Chris filled his bottle, I checked the elevation chart in the guidebook. We still had more than a mile of downhill, and then another huge goddamn mountain to climb."This is going to suck." I groaned. I was tired after freezing through the night and long days of hiking. I also hadn't had enough dessert the night before, since I binge-ate all of my M&Ms in Glasgow. Another lesson learned: Red Panda cannot survive on the AT without copious amounts of M&Ms.So I was grumpy and dreading another climb. Chris basically told me, in MUCH kinder words, "Red Panda, quit your goddamn complaining and suck it up. We climb hills like this every day. It's not going to be hard." Although part of me felt like shaking him and screaming, "I HAVE BEEN HIKING NEARLY TWENTY MILES A DAY FOR FIVE AND A HALF FRICKING DAYS AND MY FEET HURT AND I AM TIRED AND I NEED CHOCOLATE. IF I WANT TO COMPLAIN ABOUT CLIMBING A FREAKING MOUNTAIN, I WILL COMPLAIN ABOUT CLIMBING A MOUNTAIN!"I knew he was right, though. I am on the trail to hike. And it is awesome. Every day. Even the big hill days (I mean, mountain days!). And I felt bad for being a childish complainer. He shouldn't have to deal with my complaining. I don't know how the poor guy isn't sick of me yet, after hiking with me for a week. I shut my mouth and continued down the hill. I also later apologized for my bout of grumpiness.And then, at the bottom, the answer to our trail prayers. The AT Phenomenon struck again! We reached a parking lot to find a cooler and box of snacks for thru-hikers to enjoy. I drank a bottle of ginger ale before Chris even opened his. I devoured a can of Pringles. I ate Oreos. I ate blueberry Fig Newtons. I gorged myself on glorious, wonderful, much-needed trail magic. Other hikers showed up too late to get any Oreos - we polished off the rest of the half-eaten package SO FAST. My food stock had been so low, the timing couldn't be better. I wasn't in danger of starving or anything, just being a little hungry for a day or two. I am always hungry anyway.But that trail magic made all the difference. I felt relieved. My body felt better. I had more energy. My attitude immediately recovered, and I reverted from Red Panda GrumpyPants to Red Panda HikingEnthusiast. Chris clearly underwent a similar change, and we departed from that magical cooler feeling much less terrible and grumpy. Indeed, as we crossed the road and headed back into the woods, Chris captured my feeling very nicely, calling, "I feel GOOD!". And we POWERED up the first half of that mountain. I had SO MUCH ENERGY! I even kept up with Chris the entire way to the next shelter.We stopped there for lunch (even though we had just consumed like 1500 calories each). As I ran off towards the privy to pee, a hiker who was there when we arrived called, "The privy's occupied!". I groaned loudly and yelled " I'LL JUST PEE IN THE WOODS!" And redirected to a new route to take me out of sight. It is so hard to find good places to pee. Especially today. There are a boat load (like a Carnival cruise boat load) of people out on day hikes and weekend camping trips for the long weekend. I probably gave out a hundred cheery "Hi! How are you? Have a great weekend!" greetings to passing hikers today. It is great to see so many people enjoying the trail, but it is extra hard to hide to pee when you are surrounded.As I was returning from my pee in the woods, Chris was talking to some southbound hikers. They asked if I had a trail journal. They knew me from the internet! It was WEIRD. But cool. I forgot their names, which makes me sad. I forget everyone's names. Chris keeps seeing people and saying things like, "Hey! You were at that shelter with us two nights ago, right?". Meanwhile, I don't even recognize the person he is talking to. I can't keep track of all the names and faces. But if you are reading this, nice lady I met at Harpers Creek Shelter today, it was nice to meet you! It made me happy to know that a fellow hiker is enjoying my journal!I took advantage of the break time to clean the blood off of my leg. At the trail magic cooler, Atlas had stared at it and asked, "Do you need something to clean that up with?!". I just shrugged and said I didn't feel like digging to the bottom of my bag for my wet wipes and I'd take care of it at lunch. And I did.Atlas is funny but seems like a nice guy. He is middle-aged, a bit chubby, but with a kind face. In Glasgow he pitched his tent in the most inconvenient spot right in front of mine, and between my tent and Chris's hammock, despite the fact that there were plenty of other spots available. We passed him today laying splayed out on the side of the trail on his back eating lunch. He hikes in a black long-sleeved shirt and long black pants. I have no idea how he isn't DYING in this outfit all day. I get ridiculously hot and sweaty in my light T-shirt and spandex shorts.At this point, due to fat, chafing thighs, I have given up on running shorts and switched to tight spandex shorts. I do not really like giving people such a look at my butt and crotch, but on the trail, and especially in the summer heat, practicality and comfort and NOT CHAFING beat modesty.After our break we went to conquer the rest of Three Ridges Mountain! A long, steady climb. We passed TONS of people. The AT is usually like a country road, not too much traffic. Today it was a highway. We passed a group of Boy Scouts. When we reached the top, we found another group of Boy Scouts lounging around on the rocks and grass. Chris talked to them about Scout things, and their chaperones/parents/scout leaders gave us MORE SNACKS. I ate a pack of trail mix right there. And it was GOOD trail mix, more candy than nuts and raisins. Thank you, Boy Scouts!Despite climbing two huge mountains, we were once again making good time. We pressed on, passing MORE Boy Scouts. Like fifty Boy Scouts in one day. It was crazy.We reached Reid's Gap on the Blue Ridge Parkway, and a group of friendly women throwing a Bachelorette Party offered to drive us to our goal destination for the night: the Devils Backbone brewery, six miles down the road. A southbound hiker had told Chris about it the other day. It wasn't on our radar, and I wasn't interested at first. I was surprised that Chris was at first, too, since neither of us drink, but he had asked, "Do they have good food?".Considering the state of my food bag, I was happy to stray off trail for some real food. Hiking with someone else is not great for my budget... I never would have come here alone. but my tummy is happy, and soon I will be on my own again and can return to my frugal ways.The brewery is much bigger than we expected. They are super friendly to hikers. We got free stickers, are camping in a field next to the brewery, and can enjoy a $5 hiker breakfast in they morning (Chris is REALLY excited about this... apparently the dude really loves breakfast). The place is under construction and the new, additional buildings will include showers and laundry facilities for hikers. Super cool.For dinner, I had nachos (split with Chris), and a burger with sweet potato fries. I also had WARM COOKIES with ice cream for dessert. Chris is a bad influence, hahaha. It is like he eats nonstop. And I tell myself, "Hey, if he's eating, I can eat, too!". I am sure this will eventually cause me problems...I am thankful for amazing timing, anonymous trail angels, and kind people all over the trail. I am grateful still that I have a drama-free friend to hike with. I am thankful for good food and a chance to sleep a little later tomorrow, since breakfast isn't until nine. I am thankful that the journey continues to be wonderful, and inspiring. I am thankful to wake up to fresh air. I am also thankful that my feet haven't fallen off yet.