Date: 2007-06-12
From: Laurel Creek Shelter, VA

To: Niday Shelter VA
Miles today: 12.4
Weather: scattered clouds

Man, today was one of those days where I should have just stayed in my hammock. It took me 11 hrs to go a meesley 12.4 miles, and here's some of the reasons why:Got up late (didn't get going till 9:00 a.m.!), Started hiking in the wrong dirction (my internal compass clued me in within minutes though), I needed to send off an email to handle some personal biz (the guidebook said a B&B was .5 miles West of a road when it was .5 miles East, so I ended up randomly approaching people's houses to see if I could use the phone, and after 1.5 hrs, I finally found a human being), I fell (slid and slipped on gravel-like rocks), I got caught on a ridge with a thunderstorm approaching (I ended up hiking back to a place where I could walk down the side of a mountain a bit, set up my tarp and sat there to wait it out), Ran out of water (taking shelter from the storm-that didn't really hit in my location afterall, I ate a dinner with no water and did not find water again until 3 hrs later), A tree fell on me (a strap from my pack caught a branch, the tree was about 20 ft high, but small in diameter, so when it came down, it freakin landed across my shoulders like a person carrying two water buckets on a branch!).So yes, one of THOSE days, which you'll have no matter where you are in life. I'll admit, the highlight was the tree falling on me. I laughed so hard, and as usual nobody was aroud to see it, and that one goes into the same category as the nite my rock (for bear bagging) flew out of the rope and landed ON the branch and sat there.There was a tough tough climb today to get up to the ridge. Southern VA is more rolling hills and short puds, Central VA (which starts in Pearisburg) has been steep climbs up to a ridge where you hike for several miles, go straight down and start up to another ridge. The topos look like a digital signal on a scope that you use to look @ wavelengths.People had left 2 warning signs on the trail about "big ass" rattle snakes being ahead. I unfortunately never saw one, but I hope I do soon. I did see another large black snake. She was so beautiful all stretched out on this huge rock slab.I also saw adult and baby deer today. Man, wish I had the agility of deer, they run so fast. One of them that I saw was in the middle of this meadow with really tall grass, so the deer was almost totally hidden, until it started running. It was so cool and when it ran, it looked like the antelope that "hop" high in the air when running from a lion.The deal with the email was that in the Companion, the "rule" is that anything to the left of the trail (for a NOBO) is always depicted as West, regardless of true west, and anything to the right is east. Well, someone got literall, because west (left) to the B&B really was taking you east on a highwy, and I think someone must have given true directions instead of thru-hiker directions. I was walking all over the place, and ended up @ this house (this is all farmers BTW) who had 2 sets of black bear paws hanging over the garage. Poaching is illegal, but unfortunately people do it, and they always display the paws. These people were not home anyways.I was finally getting discouraged, but just happen to see a man going into a shed, so I yelled at him. Charles, an old guy, and his wife, who had just had a hip replacement, allowed me to use their cordless phone to send off my email. THANKS CHARLES!! It was pretty hot today, it was 58 when I woke up, but it got into the high 70's-low 80's. Tree coverage drops the temps about 8 degrees, so I was grateful for that.Today's ridge was pretty tough because many parts required you to hike on giant rock slabs that were at a 45 degre angle. Rough on the ankles, but there were some absolutely stunning views too. When I heard the storm nearby, I was on one of these rock slab sections (making me the highest thing) and I watched lightening striking the top of the mountain ridge across from me, which is what made me decide to turn back a bit and wait for it to pass. Even if the storm isn't where you are, lightening can still be an issue. It ultimately just rained lightly, and the thunder started getting further away, so I knew it missed me. I did manage to eat dinner while waiting, which was this Zataran's blackened chicken ad yellow ice ready-to-eat meal, that just required heating up. I ate it cold. Would be better warm though.I didn't get started hiking after the storm until after 6:00 p.m. It just seemed to take forever to et down this ridge and o the shelter. I'll admit, I was yelling and cussing @ the mountain....not sure it cared though. LOLAt 8:00 p.m., I finally got to the shelter, and Shadow, Shia, and Ken (same 3 from last nite) were there. We talked for a bit, and Shadow likes to make fun of me because of my hammock and refusal to sleep in a shelter. Hey, don't know what you're missing till ya try it!! LOLIt's 9:37 p.m. and I'm beat. It's 67 and feels nice. Tomorrow is a new day. Hopefully there won't be an earthquake or an airplane won't decide to empty the contents of its lavatory over me or something. Oh, 3 months on the trail TODAY! Now do you see why I gave myself 7 months to do this? LOL~Certain