Date: 2016-04-14
From: Helvey's Mill Shelter 

To: Dismal Falls
Miles today: 18.0

The sunlight was streaming in this morning. This shelter faces east. I was somewhat amazed at how bright it was getting up. Better get used to it as the days grow longer. Everybody was packing up around me and I, as usual, was slower than everyone else in that regard. I packed up my bag and pad before heading the long trek down to the water source, a task I had left for morning when I assumed my feet would be less sore. They were, but it was still a ways. The two Manhattanites were out quickly. Her name is Homemade because she sewed and made ultralight gear for personal use before ultralight gear was really sold by anyone. Quixote and Audubon were long gone, and soon the trio headed out a few minutes before I was finished packing. Slug was a bit behind me. The morning was nice and easy, but long, along an up and down ridge to the next shelter, similar to yesterday morning but with much better footing. I leapfrogged a bit with the trio and ended up being right in front of them, feeling like a Tour de France rider getting pulled back into the peloton. We all stopped for a break at a road crossing and were disappointed when the man parked there with the truck did not have trail magic for us. It was turning into a gorgeous day. Bill Nye found a skeleton (probably a deer) and Judge - now going by Uncle Frito - affixed a small bone to his pack menacingly. We all paced each other up the next mountain until I stopped to make a sign on the ground at the spot where the trail hit 600 miles! The other three moved on. At the crest of the mountain just .1 onwards, I found another 600 mile sign! But my sign is bigger. And actually at 600. Hurmph. I am curmudgeonly about this sign making thing. We all stopped in for lunch at Jenny Knob Shelter and talked a lot about Scooby Doo. I impressed on Grandma the importance that he see "Scooby Doo and the Gang meet Mama Cass," just an absolute triumph of a made-for-TV movie from the 70s. As we packed up, two hikers I haven't met came up, Rabbit from Germany and Palindrome from New York. They began March 9th, and are moving very quickly!! I like to think that without my five days off, I'd be right where they are, but I may be kidding myself. The four of us set out together from the shelter with me in the lead and paced each other up the next climb. Soon we all separated, and then I took a break and was passed by Bill Nye. My feet were getting very sore by this point, and the terrain at the top of the ridge was Sharp rocks and narrow tread. My feet's endurance to soreness seems to have been very diminished by my time off. Fortunately most of the rest of the hike was along woods roads and flat even ground. I scared the crap out of Bill Nye when I passed him, and after a lovely bucolic meadow - Slug's favorite - and the first big suspension bridge we've crossed, we found ourselves at the road crossing for Trent's Grocery, where we knew we could get sandwiches and other snacks! Audubon and Quixote were there and headed out towards the restaurant just before me. I stashed my pack up the hill and just brought my phone and wallet and some other things and began the half mile road walk. Hitching did not work. I finally pulled up to what looked like a gas station. It was essentially a gas station that also sold burgers. I ordered at the register. The service was extremely slow, but the double bacon cheeseburger was pretty damn good. The other three showed up soon after. Uncle Frito got the last burger patties, leaving the other two to pizza and corndogs and chicken sandwiches. Slug showed up soon, as did Unicorn, a hiker I haven't seen since Mount Collins Shelter, who is covered in Marine Corps tattoos. I bought some honey buns to finish off my meal and after a very casual early dinner packed up to go. I had not really been sure what my plan would be throughout the day. I kinda wanted to make it into Pearisburg tomorrow, but that meant missing out on Woods Hole Hostel, one of the most well-like hostels on the trail. It also meant a 24+ mile day tomorrow, which I knew was not going to make my feet happy. But what sealed it for me was when I told Frito where I planned to stay, he informed me that they don't open until May. The hostel where I wanted to stay in Pearisburg was going to be closed and the other option was way across town and apparently not nice. Sooo I decided for the sake of my feet and that I really like the group of hikers I've fallen in with, I would stay at Woods Hole tomorrow. So that meant that tonight I didn't have to push to a further campsite of Wapiti Shelter but instead could stay right near Dismal Falls, one of the best swimming holes on the trail, with apparently some great camping spots. And with only 1.8 miles left to go (and a shorter day planned tomorrow) we thought it would be fun to pack out some beers for tonight. I grabbed two tall boys and waited while the other guys packed up (they did some actual resupplying, which is pretty doable, despite its only being s gas station) and then walked back to the trailhead with them. They kindly waited for me as I refound my stashed pack and got reddy to go. Bill Nye and I pulled ahead of he other two and spent the next forty minutes talking about megaviruses, retroviruses, neurovirology, the nucleus accumbens, gravitational waves, James Joyce, Jose Saramago, and Toni Morrison. Bill Nye is quick as a whip and smart as hell. It just seems like he knows and can talk confidently about everything under the sun. Soon enough we hit the side trail to the falls and without hesitation turned down. Multiple people had scrawled notes on the sign to the effects of "great watefall, great camping." We were quickly met by a sprinting Audubon and a bemused Quixote. Apparently they made their way to the next campsite, set up, then headed down to see the falls, and realized that this campsite was way better. No idea why Audubon was sprinting. At the water, Palindrome and Rabbit were already bathing and welcomed us down. The sun was about to hide behind the mountains, so I decided against jumping in. But after setting up my tent next to Palindrome I went and soaked my feet (and put my beers in a wading pool to cool off). Frito showed up soon enough already halfway through a Budweiser he cracked a mile back while waiting up for Grandma. Audubon and Quixote shared some chips and salsa with us while we soaked our feet and talked. Grandma came over soon. Apparently he had been hanging out at a tent site. I get along very well with this little crew. Slug showed up soon enough and was his usual incredibly enthusiastic self. If Slug likes something, he goes on about it. Slug likes this campsite. I wasn't all that hungry, so I just snacked instead of making dinner. I figure if I can save a few of my Mountain House meals (which I don't expect to find in Pearisburg) I'll have a better time on my way to Daleville. I also drank the beers. Duh. Unicorn and his buddy showed up and he took a GoPro video of himself jumping off the rocks into a pool of water (and pissed off a few locals who were fishing). The other three guys decided to camp out across the river (accessible via a large log, which Bill Nye basically runs across, or by fording, which Frito and Grandma did. Bill Nye carried grandmas stuff.) Lightning showed up later in the evening, after what I supposed was a 27 mile day! He camped at the first possible campsite at 15 miles yesterday. I hung a bear bag and retired to my tent for the evening. Tomorrow looks like a pretty simple 13 mile day up to Woods Hole. I hope they've got enough space: a lot of folks are hoping to roll in there tomorrow night. Then I think the plan is to do 10 miles to Pearisburg, eat lunch and resupply and then head out. It's another 90 miles to Daleville past that, so another heavy pack is in my future.