Date: 2008-05-04
From: Dick's Dome Shelter

To: Crescent Rock
Miles today: 21.5

We woke up and did our normal ritual. Having overpacked on food, I ate 3-4 bags of oatmeal and a pack of Pop-tarts. When we reached the spring, the 3 guys were getting water, but I was looking for where SET couple had tented. While in the Sky Meadows State Park, we were walking in these very nice meadows! The sun was nicely shining and I wished the entire trail could be like that! When we reached US-50, we crossed the road and saw SET couple waiting for their friend. He arrived, his name is Uncle Wiggly, and delivered their sandwiches. While Uncle Wiggly and Snickers were talking, Energizer turtle told us that she was gonna cut her miles down to 12-15 a day because she wasn¢t enjoying the 20+ mile days¢¦I don¢t blame her, the trail is all about enjoying yourself!When we reached the Rod Hollow Shelter, we saw 2 girls on a day hike, along with their dog and one of their boyfriends. We all chatted for a bit before they left and we found trail magic of canned fruits and chocolate. I ate a 16 oz can of Mandarins and 2 four oz containers of OJ. Whoever did this, thank you so very much. As we were packing up, Strides rolled in and began reading a book, but told us that he would catch up to us soon. Within minutes, we read a sign that welcomed us to the ¢rollercoaster¢ and we prepared for the ride¢¦oh no! After hiking for about an hour we stopped for another 1 hour lunch break atop one of the ¢peaks.¢ While eating, Strides laughed at us and kept walking. As we were about to leave, 2 funny SoBo¢s with rugs attached to their packs walked by. The description Stovie used is very befitting: It looks as if their packs exploded on their backs and they had to use rope to hold it all on there.Before reaching VA 605, we met 2 section hikers who told us that they had just passed Mini-Van and Roundhorse stocking on the Morrell Mushrooms which are in bloom! When we were within 1.5 miles away from the shelter, we ran into a young couple. They looked as if they were high or something, but to each his own! We continued walking and when we got near Bear¢s Den Hostel, we saw lots of day hikers out. When we got to Snicker¢s Gap, we all ate a Snicker¢s Bar and this older fella came by and told us that we should definitely sleep atop at crescent rocks because it was nice. We got to a spring and filled up to our maximum capacity and then walked to the VA-WV border and took many pictures. The funny thing, however, was the reverse side of the sign that SoBos will read that says, ¢TN Border 535 Miles.¢ For a hiker, that sign has to be pretty depressing to read, but we did finish VA in 1 month like we said we would!!While taking our pictures, we saw a couple named Aaron and Laura approaching us. Wow! These two are ultralight to the max. Aaron is hiking in sandals and it looks like he is carrying a school bag and Laura, who¢s carrying a Granite Gear pack like mine, doesn¢t even look like we have the same pack because her's is so small. At first, we didn¢t think they were thru-hiking, but once we talked to them, we quickly dismissed those ideas. They¢re a really interesting couple because they started March 10, have hiked the PCT and caught up to us!!! We got to the top of the rocks and then set up our cowboy campsite (where you sleep underneath the stars). While we were preparing dinner, Aaron and Laura sat down on the cliffs to enjoy the view. They moved on before we had the chance to offer them water so they could camp with us. After cooking dinner, we decided to sit on the cliffs and watch the sunset while eating! It was well worth doing a short day! Now, Stovie and I are sleeping on a slanted hill, our campsite, and are preparing for bed as a creaking tree looms over us. Well, time for bed!