Date: 2004-07-17
From: Limestone Springs Lean-to

To: Brassie Brook Lean-to
Miles today: 8.7

Another late start (11:30), so I'm missing the Salisbury post office, but I doubt there was anything there for me. I can always check by phone.It felt good to sleep in -- it's Saturday, after all -- and do my back exercises at a leisurely pace.Salisbury is a cute little town. The fancy coffee shop behind the pharmacy has GREAT iced coffee (it's good to be back in New England!) and grilled sandwiches. When the kids behind the counter found out I was hiking the A.T., they gave me a free coffee refill and threw in a bag of chips with my sandwich.I just made some phone calls from the pay phone outside the general store and am having my chicken sammy on a bench in the 30-foot-square veterans memorial park next to the graveyard. Lots of American flags and Kerry/Edwards stickers around as well as "Be patriotic: Vote Bush out" and "Support our troops: Vote Bush out" posters and bumper stickers -- my kind of town!On my way into town, I stopped to chat with one of the hikers I met last night at the shelter site, Deb. She's also a teacher and is out section hiking with friends for a few days. She loaded me up with healthy snacks that she won't need -- honey sticks, granola bars, fruit leather -- hooray for that! She also gave me some packets of facial cleansers that have honey and olive oil in them -- might save those for town use; otherwise some bear might mistake me for a honey-glazed donut.Very tempting to spend the night at the White Hart Inn, which has hiker rates, but I need to get my miles in. This would be another great little town to visit for a weekend getaway, though.I have a 1600-foot climb ahead of me this evening -- the chicken pesto sandwich will get me there.9 p.m.: Missed my trail turn coming out of town and lost an hour or so of daylight, so didn't get as far as I'd hoped, but the first 1000 feet seemed ridiculously easy with protein in me.Met Cotton on his way into town. Haven't seen him since Pearisburg. He says he's slowing down, too -- stopping to smell the roses. Nice to see a familiar face.Stopped in at the last shelter, Riga, to say hi to Deb, get water, and check the register. Zippy and Switchback passed through four days ago -- no use in trying to keep up or catch up with them -- they might as well be on another planet. Still, it's comforting to me to see the names of people I know in the registers. I feel their presence on the trail ahead of me, as if they might be just around the next bend. I think that's why I never feel lonely -- or even alone -- out here. I'm just part of a long, spread-out parade.The plat du jour is the rest of my broccoli (about to go bad) in pesto mashed potatoes. Bon appetit!Glad I stopped at this shelter when I did. Heard thunder in the distance and made it here before the cloudburst. Lightening has struck very near by twice already. Luckily this shelter is 100 feet or so below the nearest high point. I've got the shelter all to myself tonight and feel a bit like a teenager who just got her own room for the first time -- I'm spread out all over the place, eating in "bed", and I'm going to leave the dirty dishes out in the rain! Yep, just me and several thousand of my nearest and dearest mosquito pals!Had a hard fall this afternoon and badly bruised the butt of my right hand -- it's a big purple and blue splotch now. Nothing broken though -- that's a blessing. I heard that Silver Girl broke her leg, so she and Flyin' Brian are off the trail.I miss Riva Queen and Scholar. Wish they'd come back to the trail. Miss Pokey and my cabana boys, too!I could swear I hear distant music, voices, even footsteps -- must be ghosts of all the ants and mosquitoes I murdered today, coming for their revenge. Or maybe it's just Saturday night in the valleys.