Date: 2004-05-13
From: Kimberling Creek VA 612 to VA 606

To: Sugar Run Gap - Wood's Hole Hostel
Miles today: 11.9

Day 60This was our last day of hiking as the Slack Pack. In the morning we got to meet Tillie the 87 year old owner of the hostel. Tillie and her husband Roy, found the homestead in the late 1930's during his study of Elk in the area. Tillie's husband past away in 1987. Tillie opens the hostel every year for two months, the cost - a donation. She takes ¢reservations¢ for a breakfast of up to 8 hikers each morning for $3.50 per person.The plan today was to hike from VA-606 to Sugar Run Gap where Woods Hole Hostel is located. Rooster stayed behind with Lady Kritter and they were going into Pearisburg to run errands and then meet Bear Tracks and I back at Woods Hole Hostel. Sanguine and Riva Queen were planning to continue into Pearisburg via the AT. Shortly after leaving the trailhead at VA-606 we came to a blue blaze trail that lead to Dismal Falls. The falls were only .2 miles away but, hearing the report from Lady Kritter on the trash, I decided against wasting time going there. We passed the 600 mile mark at the trail junction. As always we celebrated with high-fives with our walking poles/sticks, took pictures with the numbers 600 written in the trail with twigs. The 4 of us had lunch at Wapiti Shelter (named in honor of Roy's work ¢ wapiti is the native American word for elk. Another trail shelter in Georgia called Woods shelter is in honor of Roy and Tillie). Due to our different hiking paces, we knew this would be the last time together as the Slack Pack. We said our goodbyes, gave hugs of encouragement. Bear Tracks and I were on our way. That afternoon weather had set in with lightning and thunder accompanied by rain. The wetness did not deter our spirit as we hiked back into Woods Hole Hostel for the last time. Rooster and Lady Kritter had been to Pearisburg, ran their errands and washed AWOL¢s truck. They returned to Woods Hole waiting for our arrival and had a great time visiting with Tillie and her grand daughter Neville.After helping with a few errands for Tillie at Woods Hole, we loaded our gear with Rooster and Lady Kritter and left for Pearisburg. Met hikers in Pearisburg needing a ride to Damascus for Trail Days and drove on to Damascus. Finally, by 12:30, Lady Kritter and I were snuggled in a Holiday Inn Express and AWOL was reunited with his pickup.Notes from Trail Widow:Today was another l-o-n-g day. We drove Riva Queen, Sanguine, Bear Tracks and KrispyKritter to today¢s drop off point and said goodbyes to the girls. They would continue their hike instead of returning to Damascus for Trail Days. Rooster and I headed to Pearisburg and downed breakfast at Hardees. We found the car wash. The front of AWOL¢s truck had more wings than American Airlines. We¢d been plummeted by hoards of flying critters the night before. The rest of his truck was coated in a heavy dusting from the roads, the bed comically designed with footprints and handprints from all of the loading and disembarking over four days. Forty-five minutes later ¢ and that¢s a lot of quarters ¢ we decided to head back to Wood¢s Hole, a respite of relaxation, for the rest of the day and wait for the guys to hike in. I brought the truck to a screeching halt up Sugar Run Road and Rooster jumped out with his camera chasing she-turkeys through a field trying to get a picture. It was so picturesque and such a beautiful day I parked the truck and we explored the area for a few hours. A lonely chimney stood like an obelisk off in the upper field surrounded by boulders that had tumbled down the mountain eons before. Climbing on the boulders we sat and shared philosophy and perceptions. Another wonderful friend made, Rooster provided a captivating afternoon. It was so nice just to take the time to appreciate our surroundings rather than pass through with a quick glimpse on the trail bound by a predetermined deadline.The sound of water beckoned us to a beautiful stream. We chose a perch on a large rock in the center, the water forking around us providing a cool mist and a lulling sound. We enjoyed the captivating view downstream under a canopy of trees. Everything was busting out for Spring. A curious butterfly landed on both of us and then homesteaded on Rooster¢s thumb for quite a while. She was ¢eliminating¢ a fluid from her torso then sucking it up off his finger with her proboscis. We watched in fascination. It was time to head back to Wood¢s Hole as the boys should be hiking in within an hour.The skies began to darken ominously when we arrived. Neville greeted us and invited us to the front porch where Tillie joined us. The rain came down so hard we could not hear ourselves for the steady downpour on the tin roof. (¢Oh God,¢ I thought, ¢Krispy hates lightening!¢) Tillie invited us in so we could talk. What an honor! An hour later, the skies had emptied and the bedraggled boys arrived with smiles. Another hour of errands for Tillie ¢ I emptied the old refrigerator for the new one just arriving (how it was delivered on THAT road I¢ll never know!). KrispyKritter and Bear Tracks, joined by a few other hikers, were just about dry after dragging tree limbs to the back of the property for Tillie. Off to Pearisburg to pick up more hikers looking for a ride to Damascus and Trail Days.   We collected Beast and Gaia and waited another hour; those who were late were left behind. We said good-bye to Rooster who would wait for his ride from Roanoke to take him back home. His section hike was over and he looked forward to seeing his wife again. It was an hour and a half back to Damascus, about 8:45 when we arrived. A quick stop at Side Track Caf© to drop off Bear Tracks, Gaia and Beast turned into a half hour of introductions to hiker¢s I¢d only read about in Krispy¢s journals. Plans were made to meet with several the next day and catch up on adventures. We heard the clattering of hooves behind us and turned to witness a local group of riders in an all-out gallop down the main street on horseback. We arrived at our hotel in Abingdon by 9:15 and called AWOL¢s room. It was good to see him again and hear about his hike. Off to our rooms at 10:00. Ours looked like a tornado hit it. We had all of Krispy¢s equipment, Bear Tracks equipment, and my stuff ¢ everywhere. Kritter showered long and hard while I ran to the third floor to do laundry. By the time I was done, Kritter was desperately trying to keep his eyes open before we crashed at 12:30. It felt so good to snuggle. We¢d be up again at 6:30. What a day!