Date: 2007-05-17
From: Saunders Shelter

To: Elk Garden, VA 600
Miles today: 14.4
Weather: overcast clouds

I packed up a wet tent this morning, still wet from last night's hard rain. The weather was cool and clear, 41 degrees. Lots of Rhododendron were in bloom along the trail all morning. I also found a large patch of Lady Slippers with about 30 plants in bloom.After about 5 miles we crossed the VA Creeper Trail again and followed it for about a mile. Near the end we crossed a long bridge on a high trestle over Green Cave Creek. The trestle appeared to be all original timbers and was about 75 feet above the creek. The creek looked like a very nice little trout fishing stream. It had a posted bag and possesion limit of 6 trout and fishing was limited to flies and lures only.We stopped for lunch at the Lost Mtn Shelter. Over the next 5 miles we passed about 25 hikers headed for Trail Days. Many were social and wanted to talk so progress was slow. One hiker I met looked familiar and turned out we must have met early on. He left Springer Mtn the day before I did and hiked to Neels Gap. We must have crossed paths somewhere along the way. He thru-hiked in 1995 under the trail name Milifcri, short for mid-life crisis.When we crossed US 58 at Summit Cut, 2 cars were parked there with about 6 people waiting for thru-hikers. A woman named Tinkerbell was dressed up in a large fairy cape and she sprinkled "Katahdin Dust" (multi-colored glitter) on us as we walked past with wishes for a safe and happy hike! At VA 601 Kimo had his car parked there and handed us cold iced tea and ginger snaps before we climbed Whitetop Mtn.I went up the 1,800 foot Whitetop Mtn climb fast in the hope of getting to the VA 600 road crossing before 4.00 PM. 65 was rumored to still be handing out cold beer and cookies to thru-hikers there. He was rumored to be leaving about 4 pm. I was more interested in getting a ride from him back to Damascus than in getting a cold beer. After a 5 mile hike I got there about 4.30 and 65 had already left. But, as luck would have it, Milifcri drove by a few minutes later and agreed to take us back to Damascus! So we ended up getting both the ride and the cold beer we had hoped for from 65!Milifcri dropped us at The Place again and I set up my tarp tent in the middle of a line of about 20 other tents. Alpine Strider got a spot in the same room she had left yesterday morning with 4 folks we have met along the trail. As I was setting up, Bear Killer spotted me and came over to look at my tent. When I showed him my zipper problem he said the 6 Moon Designs guy had a booth set up in the vendor area and was probably still open. So I ran over and talked to him and he agreed to fix my zipper early tomorrow morning!When I got back to The Place a guy gave me his ticket to the 7.00 PM seating at the First Baptist Church Hiker Feed, so I ran over to the church, just in time to get in the long line.I ended up eating with Bear Killer and his son. Bear Killer is in his early 60's and is a retired respiratory therapist. He is a friendly and outgoing man with a pure white beard and a long white pony tail. his most distinctive trait is that he usually wears a long plaid woolen true Scottish Kilt, complete with wide black leather belt and pins. I've met him several times on the trail over the past few weeks. Many of the folks I stayed here with earlier in the week are staying for Trail Days so there are quite a few familiar faces at The PlaceBy dark it began to rain steadily in a manner that tested how well I seam sealed my tarp. Trail Days begins tomorrow AM and is the largest hiking festival in the Country. Over 10,000 people are expected to invade this little town of 2,000 permanent residents. It should be an interesting weekend!