Date: 2013-06-25
From: Rod Hollow Shelter

To: Bears Den Hostel
Miles today: 9.9

I woke up a little before 6. I had slept so well. I was glad that I had opted for the tent vs the shelter. Chances of getting a good night's sleep in the tent, about 98%. Chances of sleeping well in a shelter, closer to 50%. I had to wake up Redspecs. He confirmed that hikers had come in during the night and were less than quiet. We were on the trail by 8.Straight away, we hit "the Roller Coaster." It's a 13 mile section of ups and downs. I had been dreading it. So much so that I loaded up on anti-inflammatories. But honestly, if they hadn't named it and put a sign at the beginning of it, I'm not sure I would have really noticed it. The heat and humidity of the day was what made it even a little bit uncomfortable. I took it slow. There were the inevitable rocks and ups, but it wasn't nearly as bad as I had expected it to be. I had built it up to be some great horrible monster, and it wasn't. But I still sweated like a pig. I drank water and drank water, and only managed to pee once. Sweat soaked through everything. Redspecs stopped to wait on me a few times to be sure that I was okay. Nice guy. He's offered to take some weight from my pack, but I steadfastly refuse. My pack is my burden. He gets annoyed with my lack of enthusiasm to take advantage of his offers to help (and has said as much), but I get annoyed by his offers. What can you do? I think we'll part ways in Harpers Ferry. I've enjoyed our time together, but I also miss the independence and simplicity that hiking alone offers.Coming up Buzzards Hill I was thrilled to see some blueberries ripe for the picking. I picked a few and marveled at their dusty skin. Only my fingers had touched them. I took a photo and then popped them in my mouth. Yummy! It's summer berry season About a mile later I was climbing up up past Sam Moore Shelter, and I felt a sharp tearing sensation in the arch of my left foot. What in the hell? The sensation lasted for about 20-30 seconds. I thought, Oh shit. What was that? It didn't so much hurt afterwards but tingle, tug and burn slightly. We passed a section hiker, Kebban. He said he'd had foot problems a few years before that had knocked him off the trail. So we pow-wowed for a bit. He was headed to the Bears Den as well and had a car. He offered to slack pack us to Harpers Ferry tomorrow. Wonderful!It was a hot, humid, sweaty climb up to the Bears Den Hostel. We followed the trail around to the Trail Center Area and were greeted by some beautiful stone buildings that had a very European feel to them. Smokes, Pressure-D, Turbo, Kebban and Kebban's friends, Paul and Rick were there. They pointed us into the stone building. I grabbed a cold soda from the fridge and claimed a bunk bed. The hot shower felt fantastic. I don't think I'll ever be able to appreciate a shower the way I do out here. I spent the rest of the afternoon eating everything I could get my hands on. A pint of Ben & Jerry's ice cream, pizza, GORP, bars of various shorts, more soda and gatorade. I also picked up a much anticipated package, my new hiking boots! I ordered the exact same pair that I had been wearing and had them shipped to the Bears Den. I thought it would take me a week and a half to get to them, but with the knee injury, it had taken me almost a month. It was such an interesting comparison to see the old, almost-1000-miles-on-them pair vs the new pair. They were so clean and they smelled so much better. Not to mention they felt so much cushier. I'm curious to see what affect they have on my knee and now my foot issue.