Date: 2004-05-04
From: John's Hollow Shelter, VA

To: Day 49: Brown Mtn Creek Shelter, VA
Miles today: 17.6

Given my rather slow and painful progress on the day before, I was determined to have an early start on AT Day 49, but the windy and surprisingly cold (38-degrees in clear skies) conditions caused some delays and I didn¢t hit the trail until 6:30 a.m. Unfortunately, since the damaged tendons in my right ankle/shin still hurt bad, I was forced to continue with my mega vitamin I regimen and to walk as carefully ¢ and slowly ¢ as possible. Happily the thousand-foot climb up Bluff Mountain wasn¢t too bad and when I reached the summit I had a snack and took pictures of the Ottie Cline Powel shrine. The latter was placed there in memory of a four-year-old boy who in 1890 died at this spot after wandering seven miles away from his school on a fire wood hunting trip. Later on I ate lunch at the Punchbowl Shelter, named in honor of a lovely little pond, teaming with frogs ¢ Virginia Peepers ¢ and other critters located a few feet away. At this shelter I also once again met up with Sugar Daddy as he hobbled in with an ice pack on his right knee just as I was leaving.Shortly thereafter I met a local AT volunteer trail worker (65 year old male) who today was out on a Morel mushroom hunt with his dog. We had a nice chat and even though I left before he did, I was surprised to see him waiting for me where the AT crosses the Little Irish Creek (not only did he know some short cuts, he also had a truck parked on one of the Forest Service roads) so he could show me several examples of his harvest.   Although I¢m convinced that I am not yet ready to trust my own judgment in picking out these fungi as I wander through the Virginia woods, my new friend assured me that the effort would be worthwhile as they are very tasty when cooked properly ¢ one more example of a new outdoormanship skill for me to learn.I next set out for the Pedlar Dam where the AT goes over a narrow concrete bridge close to and directly below the dam¢s overflow and where the ¢mushroom hunter¢ told me they were working on a new rout for the AT that would stick to the wilderness and avoid this up-close-and-personal view of the dam ¢ too bad as it was an interesting site. I also hope that the walk around the Lynchburg Reservoir created by the dam¢s blocking of the Brown Mountain Creek will be retained since it was quite pretty and not too stressful. The same could also be said for the pleasant walk along the Brown Mountain Creek where there were signs telling the interesting story of the freed slave community that dwelt there from the Civil War until the end of WWI.Although it was only 5:00 p.m. when I got to the Brown Mountain Creek Shelter, I had already hiked 17.6 miles so I decided to stay for the night and rest my aching right foot/shin. Perhaps to show off his bravado; however, shortly after I arrived at the shelter, Sugar Daddy hobbled in with ice still packed around his right knee and announced that he was only going to rest a bit and eat and then ¢climb the mountain¢ to sleep just off the trail. Well I am not used to turning down even implied challenges, but this time I am proud to say that I did not take the bait ¢ and as will be explained below ¢ this may be one of the reasons for my subsequent miraculous recovery. Shortly before Sugar Daddy set off on his evening hike, two other ¢new-to-me¢ NOBO AT through hikers, Einstein (mid 20¢s male) and Scorpion (mid 50¢s male) showed up at the shelter and decided to spend the night. To be honest, it was nice to have some company after hiking alone ¢ and in pain ¢ for two days¢¦