Date: 2014-06-12
From: Jim and Molly Denton Shelter

To: Jim and Molly Denton Shelter
Miles today: 0.0

Granders is having a whirlwind tour of the AT this week, seeing a bear on his first full day on the the trail, a rattlesnake on his second, enjoying fabulous views from the Shenandoah ridge, visiting the waysides in the park, and putting in an 18-mile day yesterday. And today, unfortunately, he's experiencing the dreaded Noro virus. Shortly after dawn, he began visiting the privy and throwing up behind the shelter at regular intervals, and he's now asleep beside me in the shelter. There's only one thing worse than being sick on the trail, and that's seeing your child sick there. But if I had to pick a place to be holed up along the AT, the Jim and Molly Denton Shelter would be high on my list.It's hard to predict when he'll be feeling well enough to hike again. The original plan had been to stay at the Bears Den Hostel Friday night and hike with Helen across the 1000-mile mark and into West Virginia on Saturday. That would have required covering the remaining 28 miles to the hostel as an 18/10 or a 10/18 over the next two days, given the location of the intervening shelters. It's possible, if Granders feels better late this afternoon, for us to go five miles to the Manassas Shelter today and push for 23 tomorrow. It all depends upon how quickly he recovers from this piece of crap virus. Unfortunately, since this shelter is located in a hollow, I'm getting no cell service and therefore can't communicate any of these contingencies to Helen. Maybe that's a good thing for her sake.With lots of time on my hands, no place to go, and nothing to read besides the shelter log, which I just finished, cover-to-cover, there's not much to do but write. So sorry if this journal entry gets a bit long today.I've been thinking recently about what conditions affect the difficulty of the AT. First would be the steep up and downs, which we experienced in Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Southern Virginia. Going up a steep slope is obviously difficult, but coming down can be just as slow. The condition of the trail also plays a major role. When the trail gets rocky, it not only slows you down, but also hurts your feet and, as Granders found out, destroys your shoes. In contrast, when the trail runs through a softwood forest and is covered with a bed of pine needles, walking there feels like you're wearing bedroom slippers in a carpeted house. Heat is another factor. Early on, before the leaves were out in Georgia and North Carolina, my pace would slow in the afternoon when the temperature would climb. With the near constant shade we've had in the "green tunnel" through Virginia, the heat hasn't been a major issue for me. Finally, there's the humidity, which has been in the upper 90s the last few days and makes hiking not only unpleasant but at times treacherous, with the damp rocks and mud threatening to send you to the ground with every step.Prior to hitting the trail, I read a lot about the "Virginia Blues," the feeling of despondency that afflicts hikers in this state and accounts for the second of three waves of high attrition, after Neels Gap in Georgia and before Pennsylvania. By Virginia, the AT honeymoon is over. At 544 miles, the state is by far the longest along the trail and seems endless to some. And then there's the Trail Days factor. I suspect many hikers make it just across the border from Tennessee into Damascus, get caught up in the revelry of the three-day festival, and never regain the momentum necessary to hike out of town.I never experienced the Virginia Blues. Instead, I've thoroughly enjoyed the state, it's variety of scenery including the appearance of farms, fields, and long ridge walks, the Shenandoah with its wildlife and waysides, and the wonderful trail towns of Damascus and Waynesboro. It was great seeing my wife, Tor, in Roanoke, and I love having Anders with me now, though I hate to see him sick. And although I'm looking forward to moving on to West Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania, I have nothing but pleasant memories of my month in Virginia.It was a long day sitting around the shelter, hoping that Anders would soon be feeling better. I watched a succession of hikers stop by, including Pockets, Scout, and Chinook. By mid-afternoon, it was clear we were staying put for the day, because he still couldn't hold down water. By late afternoon, people started rolling in to stay for the night, and I had to deliver the bad news that they'd have to use the shelter at their own risk. Now that it's dark, it seems like Anders is starting to recover, so I'm hopeful he'll feel well enough tomorrow to at least hike out a few miles to civilization.