Date: 2003-07-23
From: Maupin Field Shelter

To: Paul C. Wolfe Shelter
Miles today: 16.1
Weather: broken clouds

Erin says:Oh, what a long day!!! It rained on us last night off and on, and we delayed in getting up so that the rain would stop. It was really nice having hot coffee this morning. The morning temp was a tad cooler today than it has been.I left out ahead of Craig and wound my way off the shelter blue-blazed trail back to the A.T. I climbed for a while on the trail and then descended to Reeds Gap. The morning sky had turned a deep blue filled with puffy white clouds. The A.T. at Reeds Gap follows alongside a meadow filled with gorgeous pink and periwinkle flowers. I need to find out what these are! The A.T. at Reeds Gap parallels the Blue Ridge Parkway (BRP) for .6 of a mile before actually crossing the BRP. I decided to walk the BRP. I gorged on blackberries along the way. The views on the side of the parkway to the valley down below were gorgeous. I found myself soaking everything in and having one of those "life is fantastic" moments.Craig and I met up at Three Ridges Parking Overlook and walked the BRP instead of the A.T. for 4 miles. The views from the road were great. The BRP has many overlooks. We climbed the whole time we walked though, and I knew my feet were going to be hurting by the end of the day. We also saw a black snake in the grass alongside the road. It slithered off into the woods quite quickly. We got to Dripping Rock Parking Area and climbed back onto the A.T. Our climbing on the BRP should have been our first clue that the elevation profile on the map we have was not correct. We started into the woods to climb Humpback Mountain thinking it would be a gradual 8-mile ascent and descent. Right away we began a steep, rocky climb that did not fit what the map showed us. This would continue for the rest of the day. We climbed up and down extremely rocky trail. Our feet were being pounded to a pulp. Humpback Mountain is an especially unspectacular section of trail. There is a blue-blaze that takes one to the "Humpback Rocks" according to the A.T. Companion book -- to provide a bouldering opportunity. However, the A.T. "circumvents" the rocks for whatever reason. Well, we should have taken the blue-blaze because we ended up going up and over tons of rocks anyway. And we didn't get but a few views. One of the cooler views was of the Wintergreen ski resort off in the distance.The trail went on and on forever and we were growing very tired. We stopped to rest in a rocky dry riverbed (the trail) and watched a young deer checking us out nearby. We pressed on to the Paul C. Wolfe Shelter and arrived at 8pm. However, on the final descent to the shelter, Craig got stung 3 times by yellow jackets buzzing near a hole in the ground along the trail. I had warned him of the bees, and he side-stepped them, but they came after him anyway. A little drama before dinner. Craig got stung and I was up ahead. He shouted out, "RUN!" -- and I did. We both started booking it down the trail to escape the bees. It worked.The Paul C. Wolfe Shelter has a modern design with a loft, windows, and a sloping roof over an expansive porch. Very nice. Craig set up the tent down below by the creek while I made dinner. I made tuna wraps for us with 2 sweet and spicy marinated tuna packets. I added dried veggies, peanuts, and crushed up cheddar triscuits. It was one of the best trail meals we've had! Yum!The Navy guy that we've seen the past 2 nights is staying at this shelter too. He made a great fire out front in the pit to keep the bugs away. Craig and I have retired to the tent early tonight. We are exhausted. Our feet are sore. Craig is asleep already. I've been reading my book -- The Climb by Anatoli Boukreev. I'm almost done. I'll have to try to find a new book to read in Waynesboro. We're headed there tomorrow.