Date: 2006-06-06
From: Fullhardt Knob Shelter, VA

To: Cove Mountain Shelter, VA
Miles today: 19.9
Weather: scattered clouds

Day: 81Date: 6/6/06Start: Fullhardt Knob Shelter, VAWeather: breezy, blue skies, perfectFinish: Cove Mountain Shelter, VAMiles: 19.9Cumulative A.T. Miles: 739.2Branch: Today was our biggest day yet. Yeah! Even though the miles only say 19.9, I'm calling it a 20-miler. I know we walked more than 20 miles today if you count mileages to shelters and to water. Even better than our first 20 mile day, today we reached the 1/3 point on the trail! Praise God for getting us this far.This morning was most likely the last time in a while that we'll see the group of younger people that we've been hanging out with. They were up pretty late last night sharing 5 liters of wine and dancing on the roof of the shelter. So, I don't believe that they will get very far today but you never know. Sara and her dog, Toby plan to get off the trail on Friday. We will definitely miss her.The wildlife sightings were pretty cool today. We saw several deer throughout the day. Some stared at us inquisitively while others bolted as soon as they heard us coming. Countless chipmonks and squirrels ran around the trail today. We even saw a huge turkey. I felt like Snow White on the the Disney version of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs as she wandered through the woods surrounded by nice, happy little creatures.While the miles were quite easy today, by the time we got to the shelter my feet felt like two balls of angry nerves at the end of my legs. I got some new shoes yesterday, so it will probably take some time to get them broken in. So, by the time we got to the shelter, we were both exhausted. We pulled in, Clay set up the tent and hung the bear bag while I cooked some tortalini and mashed potatoes for dinner (by the way, tortalini is a winner on the trail!). There was no energy for socializing with the very nice section hikers in the shelter (There were no other thru-hikers than us at this waterless shelter tonight. Clay carried in an extra 2-liters of water.). After dinner, we immediately went to the tent and Clay has been taking great care of my ailing feet. I'm sure we'll sleep well tonight.Clay: After Trail Days a lot of people dropped off the trail and, as we go north, even more people are dropping off the trail. People are cetainly segregating into "tribes". It is sort of like being on a live version of the reality television show Survivor. Right now we are loosely a part of a young group in ther twenties and we are loosely part of a group in their sixties. These two groups are separated by about a day. So, any time that we want to visit the younger or old tribe, we either speed up or slow down. We are welcome in both.The older tribe was recently formed and is composed of Bigfoot, Grey Goose, Handlebar (because of his mustache), and Veto (because he saus "no" to a lot of opportunites). Handlebar is sort of the leader of the group. Since he has been leading the group, they have been very consistent in doing their daily miles. They eat at 5:30 PM, look at their maps until around 7 PM, they go to bed around 8 PM and they get up around 5:30 AM. Since this group formed, while they accept us, they are not as open and fun as they used to be prior to this groups recent formation. Maybe they are just more serious about their hike nowadays. We are trying to catch and surpass the older group this week. Tonight they are three miles north of us. They are camping next to a stream. In order to catch them we will have to hike 17, primarily uphill miles tomorrow over Apple Orchard Mountain (4200') and under the famous Guillotine (a boulder we will have to walk under).The younger group that we temporarily left this morning is much different. They sometimes go to bed around 11 PM and get up later. On other days they will go to bed early and get up early. They are a fun group composed of Sarah (and her dog Toby), Mary, MacEnzie (or Mac), Beernuts (or Jedadiah), and Dan (he's an Eagle Scout). The drama in this group is interresting. Sarah is leaving the trail soon because she's joined the Peace Corps. If Beernuts and Mary become an item, then who will Mac and Dan hike with? They are a very fun group and we love being around them. We wished that we could have told Sarah goodbye this morning but we did not want to wake her. We hope the best for her. We will probably see the rest of this group in the Shanadoahs or soon after.If we continue to push another day north past the older fellows, we will catch a druggie group--the "First in Flights". They smoke marijuana during the day and at night. Although the members of this group are nice, it's difficult to hold conversations with someone that is stoned.A day past these guys is Model T (69 year old, 3-time thru-hiker who has written 2 books) and Ranger Dawg (Retired Army Special Forces). We feel like we are loosely a part of their group too. I absolutely love Ranger Dawg. These guys hike 15-17 miles a day, they rarely take a zero, and they are our gauge showing our progess. If we get too far behind them, we get worried. We never get too far ahead of these guys. After tomorrow, they will be 1.5 days ahead of us. We hope to catch them. Their schedule is our schedule.So, in summary, the group that is most south is the young people, then the older guys, then the druggies, and Model T is most north in our range of groups we are hanging out with.