Date: 2003-07-10
From: Lambert's Meadow Shelter

To: Daleville, VA U.S. 220
Miles today: 9.4
Weather: scattered clouds

Erin says:Oh, sweet Daleville, how I have missed thee. I sit and write in the wonderous air conditioning. Ahhh... and my belly is full from the buffet at Teng Fei chinese a stone's throw away.Today was really hot. Again. I am trying to get used to hiking in the HOT weather. I can't believe how quickly I can manage to drink my 2 liter water bladder. It used to be that I could hike over 15 miles on one bladder. Now I tend to rip through it in under 7 miles. Yikes. The section hiking couple with the 12-year old at the shelter were up and out this morning pretty early. We heard them shout a goodbye to us as they walked up the trail. We lingered in our tent, not quite ready to be assaulted by the heat and bugs. It was also nice to enjoy being back in our tent since it was our first real "camping" experience since our return.The hike into Daleville took longer than we wanted or expected. The trail passed over Hay Rock and Tinker Ridge - miles of steep, rocky ups and downs. My legs felt shaky and I rolled my left ankle a few times. My whole left leg seems to be weaker this time around. I know I couldn't have lost that much muscle mass in our break! I think part of it is that my pack is about 5-6 lbs. heavier this time. Craig and I switched our gear around so that I am carrying more base weight. Plus I brought my Tevas along this time and a ridiculous amount of socks. So I am still getting used to the extra pack weight. We'll see if it is my undoing.Craig and I took many short breaks along the route. We were high above the town of Daleville - we could see it below.   So tough, we wanted to be there already! We could see the Kroger grocery store and the Mill Mountain coffeehouse that promised us iced coffee goodness. The jagged rocks made the hiking cumbersome and clumsy. At some point close to the end I managed to get a strange butt cramp as were descending a particularly steep slope. It hurt very badly, but left us both giggling. We stopped to that I could stretch my legs and butt. I ended up hiking the rest of the way into Daleville with some sort of weird galumphing (?) stride. Me looking silly once again.The kicker of the hiking day was that I managed to lose my sports bra. How is that possible you ask? How can you lose something that belongs securely on your body? Yeah, well, I took the bra off during one of our rest stops. I and it were soaked in sweat and I wanted a little bit of "breathing room". So I decided I would actually hike for a little while without the bra on. I looped it around the straps on the side of my pack, but it somehow fell off without Craig or I noticing it. Usually I can sense when something has come off my pack. (Unless you count my coffee lid way back when.) So I have now officially lost 2 things near and dear to me on the trail. It was a great hiking bra. And any female hiker out there who needs to wear a sports bra can understand the hurt and pain over losing such a fantastic garment. It even had a V-shaped front vent. Oh, sadness. Luckily I have another sports bra with me that was part of my town/swimming clothes. It will make do for now. And I learned my lesson - I won't try to lash anything super important on the side straps of my pack. Translation: keep the bra on, yo.The last mile to Daleville brought us through fields with blackberries. Yummy! We also crossed over Tinker Creek, which we could tell had recently flooded its banks. Luckily, we had no trouble crossing it. We arrived in Daleville around 3pm and headed straight for the convenience store 200 feet from the trail. Craig and I both got Starbucks frappucinos in the bottle. A little caffeine fix after a long, trying day. I managed to yogi a coupon from the woman behind the counter at the convenience store for 15% off a night's stay at the Econolodge. Good to know that merchant's nearby a motel often have special deals. Hikers take note!