Date: 2016-04-19
From: Waynesboro - Quality In 

To: Skyline 92.4 - Back To Waynesboro
Miles today: 14.1

Meet Linda and Bob. They were my trail angels today. They were driving south on Skyland Drive when a stranger on the side of the road put out his hands and begged them to stop. They stopped and, after listening to my plight, agreed to let me in their car - eventually taking me back to Waynesboro, my starting point for today's hike.I was aware of the big fire in Shenandoah National Park. A sign at the self-registration entry point for Shenandoah National Park instructed me to call the same hotline number I'd called yesterday. The news about the fire hadn't changed and I was good to hike to my destination today and instructed to call again tomorrow for information regarding the existing closure area of the AT due to the fire. AT thru-hikers were being allowed to walk on Skyland Drive to bypass the 4-mile section of the AT that was closed.So my focus was on my knee. It seemed a bit better than a couple days ago, presumably because of not being used for a day and instead being iced a number of times. The trail consisted mainly of dirt. There were a couple climbs that surprised me from the perspective of how vertical they were. The descents were vertical too. My knee held up until it didn't. My knee locks up after a stop of more than a minute. The restart usually takes a couple minutes but then I'm able to hike without pain at a 2 mile per hour pace. Except that I had one sequence that took a good 10 - 15 minutes of confusing, painful hiking.After 8 miles a spring finally was available to provide the day's first water source. I could see a woman sitting. The woman turned out to be Blissful, a ridge runner specifically sitting there to provide new fire information that was just one hour old. The AT closure area had expanded. I could still stay at tonight's destination but would be stopped 4 miles later. I hiked on with Blissful asking about my leg after watching my laboring departure.My progress was fine. I got a message from Who-Dat that he was returning to the trail but would be limiting his miles to 15 per day, presumably due to his recent bout with shin splints. I spoke with a group of 3 male section hikers and then one female hiker. They were going south and so we exchanged water source and camping site info.It was the middle of the afternoon and I was comfortably hiking at a pace that would give me time to eat dinner and get settled for the night. I went to check my maps and went nuts when I realized that they'd fallen out of my pocket. I have the same maps as a pdf file but have my notes on the paper version. I dropped my pack and started to go back to find them. I hated the idea of littering the trail and wanted my maps back. Ten minutes later I turned back and accepted that it was foolish to spend up to an hour and a half to go back to the last point that I recalled using them.MT was sitting on the side of the trail enjoying a break for food. We talked about the fire. Last night, he had stayed at the shelter I was headed to. I pointed out the very visible white smoke that consistently appeared on the opposite side of the ridge line that was one valley away. MT took my info so that he could get my maps back to me if he found them. I noticed a voicemail from Rambo so I listened to it as I walked away from MT. Rambo wanted to let me know that he and two others he was with, Bonnie and Clyde, had just been shuttled off the AT by a park ranger. He was still with the ranger and informed her of my location. The instructions were to stop and turn around. The fire area was expanding. I should get to Skyline Drive and try to hitch a ride south or stay on the road and expect that a ranger would eventually come along to drive me out. So I turned around and saw MT again. I was ecstatic when I saw two cars going south.Not sure what will happen tomorrow. I told Beth I was safe and would call the hotline in the morning for current closure info. I'll then use a list of Waynesboro shuttle drivers to see if any is available to shuttle me north of the fire for a fee. I don't think the AT closure area will be open for days so I'll deal with the missing section later and can speak with Appalchian Trail Conservancy officials in Harper's Ferry. I'm sure there will be a good number of thru-hikers who will have to skip some miles because of the fire.Thanks to Linda, Bob, and Blissful. I needed their help today.