Date: 2008-05-01
From: Pass Mnt. Hut

To: Tom Floyd Wayside
Miles today: 23.6
Weather: light rain

We all hesitantly woke up at 6:30a because yesterday kicked our butts. I had totally forgotten about this last night, but Pass Mnt. Shelter is known for the "Kissing Tree" (It's a tree which looks like two trees kissing)! I took some pics of it and then we began packing our bags. By 8:05a, we were all packed and on the trail. The climb up Pass Mnt. wasn't that bad. The terrain was soo kind, we reached the Elkwallow Wayside, the last chance for us to get one of those [legendary] Blackberry Shakes, within no time. Now, we remembered what had happened at Big Meadows and decided to wait until 11-ish to order so that we could get some [veggie] Burgers too. Well, wouldn't it be our luck, but the cashier informed us that their shake machine was down and being cleaned. So, it wouldn't be producing Blackberry Shakes for another hour. An Hour?!? Needless to say, we were all pretty upset about this situation...we had gone through the entire SNP and not had the opportunity to drink one of these shakes!!! This didn't make sense to me...When I worked at Burger King, we had to clean the shake machine every night to assure that it was operational for business the next morning...why couldn't they do the same? Well, how do you think we handled this disappointment? We bought [Junk] Food to eat. I bought a Rootbeer, Cupcakes, and chips. Then, I joined Yeti, Stovie, Toddy Bear, and Shepherd at the picnic table as we all ate, even though it was drizzling. In order to keep moving, we all went to the bathroom and discovered some amazing things: 1) The bathroom was heated, which would have been a great place to eat and 2) The bathroom contained two urinals and a stall...one of the urinals was right beside the commode and in the same stall!!! Could you imagine having to go to the bathroom soo badly, that you are using a urinal right beside some stranger/family member while they're dropping a 2-sie?!? After warming up for a bit and ranting about how upset we were about the shake situation, we decided to keep hiking north. As we were preparing to leave, Crash arrived. He had appearantly hurt his knee and had to catch a ride to a nearby campground for some nights. Well, Toddy Bear, Yeti and Shepherd were all packed, so they left me and Stovie--who was rearranging his pack--with Crash! After finding out that he had hitched a ride to this wayside, Stovie and I bid him good bye and tried to catch up with the other 3 guys. It wasn't until the first peak of Hogback Mnt, however, that we caught them and then all hiked together! Once you reach this point...even climbing there...the hike isn't too bad. I did, on the other hand, think that the Hangliding launch site was pretty neat and joked with the boys about using the Tarp-Poncho as a hanglider. Also, there was a nice view of the valley below.While we were taking in the view at Little Hogback Mnt. Shepherd and Stovie had decided to press on to the shelter. So, Toddy Bear, Yeti and I took our time and began discussing how ridiculous it is " to go light." I know everyone has their own opinions, but we three were pretty unanimous on 90% of the discussion. When we reached the shelter side trail, we saw Stovie and Shepherd standing there. Well, they explained that the shelter was 0.2miles off the trail and didn't think it was worth the detour for a lunch/water break. They did, however, pitch the option of us eating at Hogwallow Springs because our guidebooks and map showed a water source directly on the trail and this would only leave us with 7.5 miles left for the day! When I heard this, Stovie and I "took off." With the greatest of ease, we scaled South and North Marshall Mountains. Even though the climb up North Marshall was really, really rocky, the view was well worth it. On our descent, Stovie and I had somehow missed the spring and when we reached Hogwallow Gap, we decided to take a break--we were moving at a 4.2-->4.3 mile per hour pace!!! When Shepherd, Toddy Bear, and Yeti arrived, we asked them about the spring and they told us that they too had "missed" it. After eating a Clif Bar, Shepherd decided to press on towards the shelter so that he could get off his feet because his shin splints were killing him. As usual, we enjoyed this break in true Team Deutschmark fashion by "Lolly Gagging" around! Then, Toddy Bear and Yeti decided to press on while Stovie and I took our time enjoying a nice walk. When he and I reached Compton Springs, we found a very nice water source and we gathered some water. Since I have a pump and Stovie has a SteriPen, we were able to drink our water immediately after gathering it and then gathered some more. While Stovie was performing some treatments on his blisters/feet, I decided to eat some more of my snacks...Hey, I have to lighten my pack, right?Once we got to Compton Peak, we dodged some bullets and began "re-hatching" some of Lonewolf's stories about when he was atop Roan Mnt...Hey Stovie, remember the size of those snowflakes? How about the fact that he wasn't "really" on Roan, but in a dumpster? As we were leaving the park, I became slightly sad because I realized that I am only 100 miles away from having to get off the trail to start getting things ready for school. Also, the sun was nicely setting behind the mountains and there was not a single car in either parking lot or road...we were in complete solitude. Oh! We did, however, follow a trail which was painted with yellow/white blazes. So, whenever a hiker asks if we ever yellow blazed, I can tell them, "Yup, I'm a yellow blazer and so are you!!!!!" The minute we left the park, Stovie and I knew immediately because the trail went from gentle grade and filled with pebbles to a descent among "boulders." When Stovie and I were within "eye shot" of the Tom Floyd Wayside, we thought it would be funny to try and "Stealth" Toddy Bear, Yeti and Shepherd. So, we grabbed twigs, grass, and any other fallen down material and tried to sneak in. It must have been Toddy Bear's amazing Stealth-dar, because they saw us and busted our stealthnology wide open!!! Once we arrived, we were greeted by a Swiss SOBO hiker named Michael, and Squire, a NOBO who's hiking the same way The General is (See entry when we entered Waynesboro). Then, to all of our surprise, Crash rolled in. Oh! Now for a quick, funny story: Toddy Bear, Yeti, Shepherd, Stovie, Squire and I were all sitting on the U-Shaped benches on the shelter's porch eating/brushing our teeth. While Toddy Bear was brushing, Michael--who was in the shelter--decided to drop trou and he and I happened to glance over at the same time and then immediately looked away. Well, I don't think these were Euro-briefs, but they were some pretty funny looking undies, and when I looked up at Toddy Bear and grinned at him, letting him know that I experienced the same thing he did, the spit out his toothpaste and was laughing!!! On another note, when I read The Appalachian Times, I learned that Shepherd was planning on getting off the trail at Harper's Ferry for many reasons...even though we haven't been with him very long, I'm pretty sad to know that he'll be leaving soon! Also, While I'm writing in my journal, Crash is sitting right in front of me telling me how much PA sucks, especially the rocks and how awesome NJ is. Also, he's trying to bait me into asking him questions so that he can allude to how much PA sucks and how awesome NJ is. Well, it sounds like the mice are out and I don't want them all over me again...Night!!!