Date: 2008-05-02
From: Dicks Dome Shelter VA

To: Sam Moore Shelter VA
Miles today: 15.8
Weather: scattered clouds

Day 75 ¢ Friday May 2 ¢ Sam Moore Shelter VA ¢ Miles Today: 15.8 Total Miles: 988.0After our late night partying at the bonfire, we had a sluggish morning. Brakeman said he had problems clearing the cobwebs in his head, but we had a delightful morning. It was about 59 degrees when we got up at 6:15. It was already light! And everything was dry! Wow, what a nice change of pace to break camp with everything being bone dry and without the need for headlamps. The morning was a pretty leisurely morning. We didn¢t hit the famous 13-mile roller coaster until lunchtime. Today we did just the first 7 miles of the roller coaster. It was a little bit tough because the heat of the day had arrived at the time we were on the ride. It was in the low to mid 80s by the afternoon and I believe we had 4-5 inclines and declines before we hit the camp. Grasshopper arrived with very pink cheeks!Today was an interesting fun day. We flip-flopped with Chris several times throughout the day and he is just a joy to be around. He's full of energy and smiles. His energy and enthusiasm is passed on to everybody he's around. He took his lunch break at a shelter visiting an older couple that was there. They were in their 60s. He thinks they've been on the trail for over a week, but they just started in Harper's Ferry, which is like a day and a half away. The old couple said they are doing ¢25% hiking and 75% camping.¢ So funny. If they're going to make it to Georgia, they're going to need to rearrange the order of those priorities. Chris said it was comical to watch them ¢ constant negotiation mixed with bickering, as they were packing. It was lunchtime and they were just still packing to leave the shelter for the day. Very interesting couple. Wish we could have met them! We were resting by a creek when Chris came up and said, "You know, I just met this old couple¢¦." I thought for sure he was getting ready to trash talk us as the joke is that we are old enough to be his grandparents. We are actually double his age. But the ¢old couple¢ he was referring to was the folks at the previous shelter, not us, this time.Chris is quite the character to be around. He's extremely knowledgeable of the outdoors. He has told us that the flower that we've been calling the palm tree or umbrella, which now has a white flower blooming on it, is called an Autumn Apple (actually later we would learn it¢s called Mayapple) as in the fall an apple looking fruit appears on the plant, but it's not edible. He also showed us morel mushrooms. During the day he gathered a couple cups of them to go along with his dinner tonight. When we arrived at camp he gave some to us for our dinner! He also took Brakeman around the camping area to show him how to harvest more. The mushrooms were a delightful addition to our dinner. We¢d like to make them part of our daily diet!   He said people harvest 5-gallon buckets full of them! Apparently we'll see them for a bit longer on the trail. Some folks have said that they grow as far north as Harper's Ferry but Chris knows they grow as far north as his home in Toledo. We'll have to keep an eye out for them and see how much we can harvest. It's interesting. We're learning a little bit about plants, birds and flowers. We just might be educated by the time this trip is over. Had some excitement on the trail today. There was a note in the middle of the trail stating, "Please Beware - Rattlesnake seen at 12:30 underneath a log up the trail on the left". We looked for the rattlesnake but didn't find him. Too bad, I hear they taste quite good ¢ like chicken. We could have added him to our dinner. Oh well, maybe next time. There were actually 2 notes left ¢ one north of the sighting and one south of the sighting. The funny thing is that the notes were flip-flopped. Our northbound note stated to look for the big log on the ¢left¢; the log was on the right. The southbound note stated to look for the big log on the ¢right¢; the log was on the left. Oh well, the intentions were good. The directions, not so good.Tonight, we¢re at Sam Moore Shelter. It's has a lovely tent site and creek. It also has a picnic area with it's own pavilion separate from the shelter, which is the way all the shelters should be so that eating and cooking are not done near the sleeping area. We had a delightful hour and a half sitting around the picnic table with Chris. He is applying for a Game Warden position in Ohio. He has to go back June 2 to take a test. If he passes the test then he may be called in for an interview. He's thinking he has a good chance at the job, as he has the experience they are looking for. The bad news though, is if he gets this job, it means his trail adventure for this year will end. We're really hoping that the selection process is stalled so that he can complete the trail. We keep telling him he needs to slow down because if we could complete the trail together, we could all drive back to Pennsylvania together and then he can figure out how to get from Conneaut Lake to Toledo which is just 4 hours away. It would be real sad to see him leave the trail before his Katahdin summit. It was a very hot sticky day so after dinner we took our sponge bath. We're now in our tent and believe it or not, it's 8:30 already! It¢s 70 degrees but there's a nice cool breeze blowing. We have the vestibule doors open enjoying the coolness and are getting ready to crash soon. We're eating as much as we can during the day and we still have quite a full food bag considering we only have a day and a half left.   We've tried to share some with Chris but his food bag is extra full, too. So we're all trying to eat as much as we can. Sounds like most of the guys have lost about 10 pounds. The pack hip belts no longer fit a lot of hikers, so we're not the only ones experiencing these challenges. Grasshopper's feet, or more specifically her left foot, which took a beating in Shenandoah and is very tender on the bottom, started to feel a little bit better this afternoon. We're hoping that after a few more of these shorter 15-mile days that her feet will be ready to roll with no discomfort. I think that's it. Tomorrow will be a big day for us - we'll actually cross over the 1000-mile marker. Life is going great and we are still having a blast. Goodnight from nearly the end of Virginia! Wow!