Date: 2018-05-05
To: Dickies Dome
Miles today: 14.0

Sat Day 82 5/5 I went shopping hungry last night, never a good plan. I wonder if I packed too much food for 3 nights and 4 days. We'll find out because I'm going to be eating voraciously the first two days out. I'll just trying to lighten my pack by eating all the food. Up at 3, called the Yellow Cab at 4, on the trail at 4:10.My goal today is Dick's Dome shelter, mile 984.9. Mr Jimmy says that it can get flooded in heavy rains and be difficult to actually get to the shelter. We'll see how that plays out. It is supposed to rain today. It's a 15 mile plan today. I hike the first two hours by headlamp. The Smithsonian Institute maintains a large fenced area for different animals for the Smithsonian zoo in Washington. Once a year they let the locals in to see the animals.It's a very nice cool temperature when I start to hike. There's a smattering of rain. I do have my rain cover on my pack. It's a nice morning. I make the first climb easily. I come to a sign that says spring. I'm not sure how far you have to go. I take a few steps down to see. You have to take like 25 steps and there is the water. It's 6:30 so I take a break. I eat a lage muffin and drink a liter and a half of water. My next break is 10:15 I'm past the Manassas gap shelter. There was an opportunity for water there but I passed it. I come accross 2 women who had hiked the roller coaster in the two 90 degree days. We chatted for a bit you're tough if you like the roller coaster at 90 + degrees. They asked about how small my pack was. We talked about pack weight. I am now trying to hack the weight down. I came through the forest which is loaded with Trillium flowers very pretty three leaf flowers, with 3 pedal flowers coming out of three leaves. Come in a variety of pink, white, and rose. It's pretty much as far back along the trail. I can see the Forest floor is loaded with them, very nice. I had one of my muffins and my 2nd break.Now I'm having a big Honey Chrisp Apple. Going to eat as much as I can, when I get to the shelter. I an now taking some longer brakes. At the first break there was a Boy Scout Troop just down from the spring. The leader of the scout come up to the spring. I spent probably a half hour maybe 40 minutes. We're just chatting about gear and camping and hiking.Dennis Wilson Trail Magic plastic tote. Drank a liter of Gatorade. I stopped at Virginia route 55 Manassas gap, and chatted with a guy getting ready to do his bike trip. He talked about how 20 years ago he could go out his door or not see a car. Now he has to drive all the way out here and he still worried about the traffic. We had a nice chat about bikings. Also saw a nice suspension bridge that had stone a buttisies on the banks and steel guridders. It was the first time I had seen a Bridge built like that for foot traffic on the trail.Got to Dickies dome at 5 after 12. It's a cool day perfect hiking day. I hike the two tenths of a mile down to Dickies dome. There is a wide stream that goes right 10ft maybe 15 ft from the shelter. So it could get where was too wet to get in here. The small shelter is a G ADESA Dome. I'm alone, and get water. I'm going to comence to eat a lot of food make my pack lighter first day out. First i sleep for an hour. You eat the most food on day one. You don't want to eat the same amount each day. Well I am pleased with the amount of food that I ate today. I am staying at Dick's Dome, which was built in 1983. I realized that 2 tenths of a mile away there was a beautiful new shelter built by the Potomac Trail Club. One of the nicest shelter that I stayed in the whole 11 weeks. Had a quite afternoon of listening to songbirds today. The afternoon was very nice. I was alone. No one came to the shelter. Trying that my bibbi bag tonight n that's a work in progress. I tried not using my sleeping bag to see if I would be warm enough to send the bag of home. I could not. I could see my breath this morning when I woke the next day. Really a very pleasant moment to reflect all day.