Date: 2016-04-19
From: Pass Mtn Shelter

To: SNP: Gravel Springs Hut
Miles today: 13.1
Weather: light rain

Day 913.1 miles in 8 hoursPass Mtn Shelter (942.9) to Gravel Springs Hut (956)Warm, but overcast due to the forest fires south in the parkDinner: Awesome chicken Parmesan rosaWildlife: Deer, Barred Owls (in tree by trail and drinking at the spring by the hut), Skunk, massive grasshopper hatchHikers: Several sectional, 3 SOBOsToday¢s first seven miles was much easier than yesterday¢s 1.7 mile descent to Thorton Gap. Heard more about the fire today¢sections are closed and hikers will need to be rerouted. Rangers confirmed that some sections will be allowed to burn. The missing woman is still missing and my hut mate tonight said he heard there was a suicide note. Still rumors at this point. The hazy skies were a relief today for my skin, being the delicate flower that I am. The back of my legs are as red and blistered as my hands and they are tougher to protect. All I have for pants are black wool long johns and weren't a great option in yesterday¢s heat. Stopped at the Elkwallow Wayside at noon today after banging out the first seven miles. En route I met Mike, then ¢Dorothy¢ (of the red shoes), both having started flip flops from Harpers Ferry heading south. Oh, Dorothy¢¦I wish you had been heading north! I enjoyed our 5 minute conversation in passing and me thinks we would have had fun together. Thus far I¢ve encountered only one other north bound Flip Flopper, ¢Turtle¢ back near Big Meadows. He was mightily burdened and as his name suggests, I don¢t expect to see him anytime soon.Mike and Dorothy have helped solidify my trail name to ¢Hacknee.¢ Arachne requires a complicated explanation and Sam pointed out how my name could easily evolve based on my first few days of hacking bronchitis and my hurt knee. As fellow flipfloppers they listened to my story and provided the feedback I needed.During my lunch break, I charged up my phone (see you do look for outlets almost more than you do for your next water source), ate the last of my 4-day old pepperoni, and wrote some journal entries on my iPad. Once at the summit near Matthew¢s Arm Campground, I was able to get a signal and give Sam an update about the fire and me not being the missing woman.The last few miles to the shelter were downhill and full of interesting trail side rustlings. I noticed the sound of raindrops falling when the sky suggested otherwise. I stopped. The raindrops stopped. I walked and the pitter pattering continued. Stopped again and realized there were thousands of tiny grasshoppers in the leaf litter and I as I passed them, it triggered movement. This continued for some distance¢a wave of raindrop sounding grasshopper hoppings. Just before reaching the hut, I noticed a barred owl sitting not 20 feet away. Only when my phone camera making that stupid camera click sound, did it fly off.This morning I looked in vain for the phone preference to silence the ¢shutter.¢J. from Washington, D.C. was already in residence when I arrived and the cocktail hour begun. I guess vodka doesn¢t weigh that much. I waited to see if anyone else showed up, plus wanted to gauge what this alcohol-packing hiker was all about, so I started off making dinner first before committing to staying in the shelter. J. also had a charger and wanted to know if it was okay to listen to NPR or some podcasts. Okay, he¢s sounding safer... So we ate our dinners listening to an episode of This American Life. In the woods. In the middle of almost nowhere. J. made an over-the-top fire, explaining he had to, being an Eagle Scout and all. We're ad the hut journal warning of a resident skunk, talked gear, travel and some politics. Right at dusk, another hiker showed up and set up his hammock nearby. I unrolled my sleeping bag and decided I probably wouldn't be murdered in my sleep by an NPR vodka-imbibing Eagle Scout.Musings: Apparently one can immediately gain my trust simply by being an NPR listener.