Date: 2007-05-20
From: Damascus, Virginia

To: Lost Mtn. Shelter
Miles today: 15.8

May 20, UnCertainHappy birthday, Shannon!Today was quite different. I hiked by myself for most of the day, only seeing about six people all day. It felt really odd not having Certain with me so we could discuss the mundane issues we discuss - like foot pain, water sources, and rocks. There were many times today I wished she were with me and then got sad realizing she's not. It's just so nice to have someone with you who has already moved past all of the silly stuff. It was hard not to have someone to share things with - like my excitement about walking through tunnels of blooming rhododendron or seeing a deer on the trail.Fuzzy Monkey and I took a taxi into Damascus this morning. Mayo and Cobweb were supposed to join us but Mayo had a migrane so they passed on the ride. We left the hotel at about ten to nine and got into Damascus shortly after 9 a.m.I lost Fuzzy Monkey immediately when I stopped to talk to Kokopelli and I thought he was ahead of me on the trail but I'd later find out that wasn't the case. The first part of my hike today started on the streets of Damascus, rounded onto the Virginia Creeper Trail, and past VA58. I finally made it into the woods around 9:30 a.m. The trail started uphill right away - a must when coming out of town - but didn't end up being that bad. It evened out for quite a while until the climb to Straight Mtn. There were approximately 73 switchbacks and I thought they might never end. But, I was pleasantly surprised when I made it to Saunders Shelter earlier than I thought. It was about ten after one and I'd already hiked over nine miles. I was excited! I decided to hike the 0.2 to the shelter to check the register and have lunch. I was the only one there until Fuzzy Monkey popped in. Apparently he'd stopped to make a call in town and had actually gotten on the trail after me. I ate my PB&J, Fuzzy fixed his blisters, and I gathered up some water. Shortly thereafter, I left and Fuzzy and I leapfrogged for the rest of the day. I didn't see Fuzzy again until the pond where he stopped to look for water. Just after that I saw a deer on the trail. She wasn't even scared either. I took several photos and she just stood there. I hiked on until the AT joined the Creeper Trail again. I parked it on a park bench so I could get junk out of my shoes and rest for a bit. It felt so good to sit.Fuzzy popped out again and we hiked most of the last two miles to the shelter together. He lost me as we climbed uphill though and I'm guessing he pushed on because he wasn't here when I arrived around 5 p.m.I was greeted with a big smile from Yellow Jacket and she said she'd been thinking about me all day wondering how I was doing and whether I was depressed about Certain leaving. It felt so nice for someone to be concerned, I really appreciated that. I told her I was depressed but hopefully it's all for the best. I really appreciated Yellow Jacket's concern though. She and Take It Easy are really great.I set up my tent and had some dinner and hung out at the picnic table for a while. I am here tonight with Yellow Jacket, Take it Easy, Melk, JB, Mayo, Cobweb, Young Eagle, Big Brother, Cuyahoga, some crazy guy named Soot, and Red'sMan and his son.Soot has been firing up odd conversations all night and everyone here is getting a kick out of it. He is crazy and is giving us lots of material for jokes.I had a good night and am really glad to see familiar faces here at the shelter. Hope tomorrow is more of the same.- Sound of someone snoring. Post Trail Thoughts:I think I was nervous to write about it in my journal for fear that Soot would read it but, man, that guy was something. Have you ever met anyone that just didn't have a filter? He managed to jab at every single person there that night and we all found a lot of humor in it. He made fun of people in Virginia because he said they were dumb - so Take It Easy and Jellow Jacket, from Newport News, VA were victims there. He told Melk she had was wearing the colors of the sea but managed to say something derogatory about it being related to art. He took issue with my "new-fangled" pack. He rubbed J.B. the wrong way IMMEDIATELY when he walked up to the shelter because he started asking J.B. a million questions before J.B. could even take his pack off. I can't remember what he said to Cobweb and Mayo but it was all a hoot. I was glad to have friends that night!