Date: 2009-06-15
From: Sarver Hollow Shelter

To: VA 620/Trout Creek
Miles today: 14.9

Because I had arrived so late and I had pulled some big mileage, I stayed in my sleeping bag and the early afternoon. Magma Orphan, Walking Home, and The Jefe had also slept at the shelter the night before, but they were sleeping when I had arrived. Smiley and his dog, Peaches, had stayed behind for some time and we ended up talking for much of the morning and early afternoon. Smiley is such an interesting character (I talk about him a bit more in a previous post). I finally was on the road by 2:00 pm and I immediately hit a tough rock section on top of Sinking Creek Mountain (3,450 ft.). After passing Niday Shelter, I saw this black rubber piece off to the side of the trail. When I looked closer, it turned out to be another huge 5 ft. black snake just hanging out. I decided to just observe its beauty from afar and keep hiking. No less than .5 miles after leaving the shelter, I met FIFO, who was out doing a section hike. He first introduced himself as FIFO, followed by: ¢Fucking Idiot From Ohio¢. I had a chuckle at that one. After meeting FIFO, the rain started POURING down. I had to scurry to get under some heavy trees so that I could get my rain gear and my pack cover on. At VA 621, I saw EO (Extreme Optimist) and his trail twin, Odin. Odin had sought shelter underneath the river bridge, while EO had set up his tent footprint as a tarp to keep the rain away. Very innovative. He explained that several people from his group got off the trail and that he and Odin were back on the trail after a week in Blacksburg and in good spirit. Once the rain had stopped, I sat my weary legs on the trail and began to eat some food. More bloody Oysters!!! Ahh, just thinking about them makes me sick. But again ¢ good protein. I ascended from 1540 ft. to 3100 ft. up to Audie Murphy Monument. Audie Murphy was the most decorated American soldier of World War II, and his single-handed capture of a large number or German soldiers made him a legend. After the war, he starred in many Hollywood war and B-grade western movies. He died in a 1971 plane crash near the site of the monument. Upon reaching the top of the trail, I was absolutely drenched with sweat and water from head to toe. I was so frustrated with all of this ¢wetness¢ that I decided to take off all of my clothing and hike naked. The Summer Solstice, June 21, the official day for hiking out on the AT, was still a few days away, but I didn¢t care. I was going to have my own Summer Solstice. Let me tell you ¢ it was so refreshing letting it all hang out. I had concerns about chafage, so I applied some baby powder and allowed for the wind to come through to dry off all of my sweat. My concern was running into a pack of Boy Scouts or even a fellow thru-hiker. Geez, I would have scarred them for life. I ended up hiking for about 4 miles in the nude and I¢m glad that I did. I arrived at VA 620/Trout Creek, where I saw Jedi again and met Wheelz, Cookie, and Cookie¢s dog. We had heard that there was a group of Boy Scouts at the next shelter and that it probably wouldn¢t be worth the climb ¢ especially as darkness was right around the corner. So, I stayed put and set up my tent. I was hoping that it was not going to rain that evening, but around 1 am, the rain came down in torrents. Again, without a ground floor, I run the risk of having water seep underneath my tent and onto my sleeping pad and sleeping bag. Throughout the night, I kept having to re-position to prevent this from happening, but my efforts proved futile and I became soaked in the end. Note to self: do not tent when there is going to be a heavy downpour.