Date: 2004-03-31
From: Rice Field Shelter

To: Pearisburg (John and Jenny's in Blacksburg)
Miles today: 7.3

Blacksburg - John and Jenny4/1, 9:30AM - John and Jenny' houseThe wind continued to blow much of the night while I was sleeping in the Rice Field shelter. It was actually a pleasant sound. Later in the night rain started falling, making loud but soothing sounds on the metal roof. And each time the weather changed, the metal roof would shift to accommodate it, producing a low creaking sound which I also found relaxing. And when the wind died down I could hear the switch engines' whistles down at the Celanese plant in Pearisburg, comfortingly reminding me of my childhood days near the B&O tracks in Beltsville when I could hear train whistles all night.Yet, with all these comforting sounds, I did not sleep well. I have been pondering why since then. It wasn't the cold since I was not any colder than many other nights on the Trail. It wasn't the weather, since I was only 7 miles from town, all down hill, and even if it snowed I am an experienced snow hiker and anyway had enough food and fuel to last for almost two days if I had to hole up in the shelter for that long.No, I figured out, it was that my watch had stopped and I didn't know how much longer I had before morning (even though I knew in my head that morning would come around at the same time as usual, whether I knew when that would be or not). I was also concerned that I had made a time commitment with John (son of my high school friend, Hazel) and his wife Jenny to be in Pearisburg at a certain time, but the weather made me unsure if I could meet that commitment. This compulsive relationship with time is one thing I would like to outgrow on the Trail, so I'm sure it will come up in this journal many more times before I am done.As I was starting my waking up process just after I could detect the first light of dawn, the rain stopped and the wind was no longer blowing. I was optimistic about my hike for the day, and relaxed a bit. But when it got light for me to actually see out, I discovered the reason for the quiet was that it was gently snowing.Now, I don't mind walking in the snow, rather I somewhat enjoy it. My only concern at that moment was getting back into the clothes wet from the previous day's rain, since I have not had to do that so far this hike. But after dawdling a bit I finally did it, and put on a couple layers of insulation to keep me warm while I packed my pack. Even though my clothes had dried a bit overnight, they were still a little damp, so I was very appreciative that the modern synthetic wicking fabrics could actually still keep me warm while wet (cotton won't do that).When I got on the Trail, the walk into town was pleasant, even snow was falling and there were up to 2" of snow on the ground. I was warm, relatively dry, and not getting any wetter since the downhill walk wasn't exerting me any. And the light covering of snow on the ground and on tree trunks made for a very lovely scene to be walking through. By the time I got to town four hours later (and 1500' lower) it had warmed up enough so there was no snow on the ground, and precipitation had nearly stopped. And since I would be getting into town over an hour before I had told John I would, I was very relaxed in my mind.The way I could estimate when I was getting to town, about half way there I met a thru-hiking couple, Dusty (he) and Lefty. They of course had a watch and could tell me what time it was. They also told me it had only taken them 46 days to get to Pearisburg from Springer. That went well with another time concern I have, which I will share in a later entry.After getting into town when expected, I went to check out my mail drop at the Pearisburg PO, and met two more thru-hikers there, Brother Man and Cool Hand Luke. Brother Man and I went for a beer (only the second morning beer of my life) and lunch while waiting for John, and he even came with us to Blacksburg to visit Blue Ridge Outdoors here, known to be a good outfitter.After that it was off to John and Jenny's for the usual laundry and shower, plenty of good food and drink, and conversation with a hiking friend of theirs, John, who incidently does a very nice home brew. And as you know, a bit of a late to bed as I caught up on my journalling.(By the way, I am having some trouble with the InterNet connection here, so haven't been able to reply to many of your guest book entries. Hope that gets solve this evening, since I don't expect to have any InterNet connection at my next town stop, Atkins, so won't be on-line again until Damascus around April 14.)See you on down the Trail------------------------------Have you ever said g'day underwater?www.pocketmail.com