Date: 2008-07-26
From: Blackrock Hut

To: Pinefield Hut
Miles today: 13.2

Apparently more hikers came in during the night. I watched a number of them walk pass the hut while I was having breakfast. Only four of us stayed in the hut.I can¢t stand the smell of cigarette smoke but I¢ll make one exception¢¦smoking in the privy. This morning I went in after Midnight and gratefully thanked him for smoking. Later after everybody left, I had to go back to the privy. It was so bad (the smell), that I had to tie my bandana over my nose. That is the first time I had to do that, ever.Once I got on the trail, I noticed another controlled burn on both sides. What was amazing to me, was that lots of sassafras plants were flourishing in the burnt areas.One of today¢s sight-seeing spots was Blackrock. Eons ago it once was one huge rock cliff. Then it broke into a jillion pieces of large rocks, covering acres downward.I¢m keeping a tally of bear scat. Bear scat #10 was so impressive, that I took a picture of it. It was brick-red, probably from all the red berries the bear has been eating. A day hiker passed me going the other way. I told him about the bear scat and he told me about the coyote scat that I would see ahead on the trail. Now I can identify coyote scat.I was surprised and pleased to find last night¢s people all hanging out at the Loft Mountain campstore. Everybody, except Hope, was drinking 65 cent beer in a can. I bought one and joined them to their cheers. Everyone was astonished how cheap the beer was. The soda machine cost $1.50. I only had one and then went back inside to buy a few groceries. The other inexpensive item in the store was the Mountain House freeze-dried dinners. Way cheaper than what outfitters sell them for. I bought the Chili Mac one for dinner.I originally planned to stay at Loft Mountain campground. But it was only 6 miles to the next hut and doable. After having several beers, the others planned to go to the next hut too. Midnight left when I did and was quickly out of sight. Mary and Eric left after me and soon passed me.I felt like I was walking down a green corridor. The trail was mowed 6 feet wide and had tall bushes on each side. Many of the bushes were blackberry bushes. These berry bushes slow me down. Later on I came to another corridor that had blueberry bushes on each side. How distracting!Up ahead I was surprised to find Midnight, Eric, and Mary stopped on the trail. Midnight had been waiting for a bear to move off the trail. He was a yearling and was having too much fun playing with another bear and sitting on the bushes while Midnight watched. When I caught up with them, I craned my neck to see around Midnight and Eric. I saw a bear¢s behind casually walking down the trail. Midnight and Eric cautiously followed at a distance and then came me and Mary. After awhile the bear took a left turn off the trail and into the bushes. We all went on our way.I discovered a new plant. It¢s tall and it looks like it has light green fuzzy pickles growing near the top. I took a picture.Later a bee stung me! How dare him. I haven¢t been stung since I was 10 years old and then only because I accidently stepped on him while barefoot. While hiking I have a pink bandana tied to my pack strap for my drippy nose. It was brushing my arm with each step, so I would not have felt the bee land on my forearm. I think he got brushed by the bandana and it confused him. I felt the sting, looked down, and saw a big fuzzy yellow and black bee. My arm feels sore where he got me, but I had no other reactions. The funny wierd thing is that just right before the sting I was thinking about someone I knew decades ago who was afraid of bees¢¦It was a fun, enjoyable evening at the hut with Midnight, Doc Harley, Eric, and Mary. Hope was there too but she doesn¢t say anything. Not only did Eric and Mary drink 12 beers between them at the campstore, they lugged 12 more beers to the hut. They never appeared drunk.I actually hung a food bag on the bear pole, but I was having problems with my second bag. I do not have any upper body strength and my arms were getting rubbery trying to lift the heavy metal pole. Midnight came to my rescue and placed my second bag up on the hook.Hanging my food in Shenandoah is a new concept for me. Four years ago, Pirate was my hiking partner and I followed his example of just keeping my food inside my pack. The thing is, just don¢t tell that to the others in the hut. They¢ll think the bears will come in the hut and get them.Sightings:Bear scat ¢ 11Coyote scat ¢ 2Deer ¢ 2Bear - 1