Date: 2005-06-09
From: Powell Gap/ Shenandoah National Park

To: Lewis Mountain Campground/Shenandoah National Park
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

This morning we had grand intentions of getting started around 5am and hiking until noon to beat the heat. Well you can probably tell from the tone of this that we weren't able to get out of our tents and get going as expected. The issue wasn't a lack of motivation, but rather Bug has been battling chaffing problems since the all-night hike into Waynesboro. When the alarm went off, we re-evaluated and determined that it would be prudent to hold off hiking today.With that decided, the first order of business was to shower! We were both pretty stinky and were having a difficult time even being near our own person. Bug and I walked over to the bath-house where we each shelled out $1 for 5 minutes of hot water. It was $2.00 well spent because I think everyone around could attest to the fact that we smelled better!Once we had gotten clean, we came back and assessed the breakfast situation. It seemed a waste to have pop-tarts simply because the camp stove was out of commission, especially when there was bacon, eggs, and pancake mix in Mom's cooler/fridge. Bug rekindled the fire that had been going last night, and Mom placed water on the grill to boil. When the fire started to burn pretty well, it was pancake time. I believe Pinedragon said it best yesterday when he said that thru-hiking made you oh-so-grateful and more appreciative for car camping. Out came Mom's heavy cast iron skillet and Dad and Bug took turns making pancakes. We had our fill, but soon we began to see hikers. LB was our first hiker of the day and we made sure he got a good breakfast. I went up and placed a sign with an arrow stating "trail magic". Enough said, we were busy serving up either pancake breakfast with bacon or hotdogs until about 2:30 this afternoon. We were able to feed Snowbuuny and Hairball, Cycle Hiker, Patch, Pixie and Pinedragon, Hammer, Eagle Eye, Maniac, and a plethora of others.It looked as if it might rain, so we gathered up everything and put it away. Dad had gone to the campstore to do some laundry, so Mom, Bug, and I took the opportunity to pile into their massive tent and take a nice nap on the 7" thick, velvet-topped air mattress. I'm sure we all made a sight, the dogs, Mom, Bug, and I. I have to say though that it was enjoyable to lay there on a soft mattress listening to the rain pitter-patter on the top of the tent.Dad got back to the campsite after the rain had subsided and asked if we wanted to go grab some dinner. Mom was game, but Bug and I were in a sort of trance, so we continued to lay there. After awhile, we got up to walk the dogs and made a trip to the campstore. I bought an ice-cold IBC rootbeer and we had some yummy fritos. We also bought a big bag of jumbo marshmallows for roasting. We saw Bubble Toes and Rawhide when we were at the store and talked with them for a bit. Mom and Dad got back and had brought pizza and sprite which we immediately dove into. As we began to finish up dinner, Mom pulled out the Mrs. Edwards Key Lime Pie. I'd say this is definately the best trail magic ever! There were 2 or 3 slices of pizza leftover, so we took those over to Bubble Toes and Rawhide and invited them over for a marshmallow roast a little later.For the remainder of the evening, we were sitting around the campfire roasting marshmallows and getting to know each other, that is until the rain began to set in. At which point we all scattered. Now we are snug and dry in the tent. It is really coming down out there and I hope it stops by the time we start hiking tomorrow.