Date: 2009-05-19
From: Pearisburg, VA

To: Pearisburg, VA
Miles today: 0.0

SO last I left yall I was sitting in a restaurant in Troutdale, VA. Since then I have been up and down, back and forth, and everywhere in between on a number of different levels. From Troutdale I hiked to Atkins, VA. I stayed at a great hostel there called Happy Hiker Hollow, run by two former hikers--Rambunny and Aqua-- who are just phenomenal. The place is really nice and they feed you AYCE dinner and breakfast. The next morning they drove me north to Bland, VA and I hiked Southbound for 3 days to get back to Atkins. Why, you ask? Well, aside from wanting to get back to my SoBo roots, Atkins was a good place for me to get picked up to get driven back to Damascus for Trail Days, and it gave me an excuse to stay at Happy Hiker Hollow again Have I mentioned I like to eat....? The hike was nice, I crossed paths with a bunch of people I've met who were a bit confused by why I was going "the wrong way." I am far from a purist and am taking full advantage of this whole "hike your own hike" mantra. Thursday at noon Fred, Low, and the Buzzard arrived to pick me up and take me back to Damascus. SOOOO good to see them. Rather than camping in Tent City which tends to be an all night party, we threw down off the Virginia Creeper trail next to a really nice creek in some kind couple's yard. A bunch of other people camped there too, and though we enjoyed ourselves, it was a mellow setup. The weather was not supposed to be particularly nice for the weekend, but low and behold! the days were gorgeous, though it rained two out of the three nights. Let's face it, being in a tent for two in the rain for the night is not such a bad thing We didn't get overly involved in the Trail Days events, but we saw lots of good people from this year and last and enjoyed ourselves thoroughly if I do say so. Saturday night it struck me that I was going to have to hit the trail the next day and that my fella and everyone would be departing. With the highs come the lows...I was not very fun to be around Saturday night and it took a bit of Sunday morning until I started to deal with reality in a more accepting and friendly manner. The weather was not good Sunday, so between that and just needing some more time to get my head together I ended up staying at the Big Walker Motel in Bland and hitting the trail yesterday morning. It was sad to see everyone go, but such is life.Yesterday and today have been beautiful weather-wise. Cool, sunny, and dry. I snagged some trail magic (jelly beans and Moutain Dew) at the trailhead in Bland which helped kick off a good day yesterday. I pulled a marathon day to get to Wapiti Shelter for the night. The shelter is the scene of a double homicide in 1981. After getting paroled, the man went back up there a couple years ago and shot two more people, though the second pair survived. I was a little skeptical about staying there, not knowing what to expect. The shelter is really nice actually. It has a beautiful water source and a nice layout all together-- not scary at all, though I did keep my knife and pepper spray in my pocket just in case someone wanted to take a third go 'round at the whole shoot-the-friendly-camper thing. Note to all-- if you are looking to spend a night at a shelter on your own in the first 600 miles of the trail, stay at Wapiti...not too many people are keen on staying there.   I enjoyed my night alone, made my first campfire EVER which was lovely, enjoyed a couple mice who couldn't be bothered to scamper over me so much as stroll, and woke up to a surprisingly cold morning. The cold convinced me not to get out of my bag until 7:20. I should have known that would be the beginning of a not-so-stellar day. The hike took forever despite my efforts to walk quickly. I'm feeling like I'm on the verge of coming down with something...that icky, not specific "I'm sick" kinda feeling. There was about a two mile stretch where the trees were just full of hanging inchworms. I can't decide which is worse--having worms falling on me or having their webs wrapped all around me...you decide. I finally hit Pearisburg where I got a ride to Walmart. I do not like Walmart. I will typically do anything to avoid patronizing Walmart. However, that's where the guy was going, I needed food, and there was supposed to be a .25 mile trail to the hostel from there. The hummus at Walmart sucks and the "trail" to the hostel was more of an overgrown, unmarked field where I had to bushwhack through thorns and barbwire. You know you're having a bad day when you start fantasizing about hike-ending injuries that will not leave you permanently disfigured.... Oh, and on my walk to the library I got a bloodynose....cheers!Sorry to leave the update on a negative note, but that's where I stand. I am lonely I've met lots of really great people but have not settled with a crew. Rolling solo can be weary, especially shortly after being surrounded by people you adore. I'll bounce back...