Date: 2007-07-10
From: Jenny Knob Shelter

To: Sarasota, Florida
Miles today: 34.8

I was able to hitch a ride to Damascus, VA with a friend before leaving Bland, VA. This was on the day before my last entry. It was 80 miles away by road, but he was coming back by Bland so could drop me back at the motel I was staying at. This gave me an opportunity to stop at the Outfitter in Damascus and get my water pump/filter repaired, which was damaged while at Chestnut Knob Shelter. While in Damascus, I had to walk to the laundromat there, about 1/2 a mile. On the way I had a rather severe heart problem. This is a repeat of events that occurred before I even started the hike. I had it occur several times during the hike, but it was very minor and I decided to ignore it, but in Damascus it really got my attention. Additionally, I wasn't carrying my aspirin, which I had been carrying all the time, just in case.Up until this point, I had been trying to decide if I should get back to Sarasota and get things checked out, this was an event that had me leaning towards that decision. The next day, I was fine, but the two following that had the same symptom show up, so Sunday I decided it would be in the best interests of all that I head home and get things checked out.I was staying at a marvelous hostel in Pearisburg, VA and hooked up with two others doing a thru-hike, "Little Engine" and her husband "Caboose". They were leaving the trail for a few days to go to a family event, so we left together on Monday morning via a local shuttle driver and then a bus from Virginia Tech College to Roanoke, VA. At the airport in Roanoke I made a feeble attempt to catch a flight home, but in this Homeland Security World that we now live in, I gave up on flying and rented a car and have arrived home in Sarasota, Florida. Today I am just going to catch up on some rest and sleep, then tomorrow start the investigation into my heart problems with the doctors.Since it is so late in the season, I doubt I will make it back to the trail this year and will pursue finishing the last 1,600 miles next year. There are a few advantages to this:1. When I rejoin the trail, I will be able to do it at a time when there are a good number of thru-hikers going through Pearisburg, VA, perhaps the beginning of June. It has been a lonely hike thus far, since the main body of hikers start in Springer Mountain, GA in the March/April time frame, so I have been lagging behind most of them. Had I started when I really want to, things would have been different, but as mentioned in my early postings, I had the medical problems and heart problems which delayed my start.2. I can regain some weight! This morning I weighed 167 pounds, which is less than I weighed when I graduated high school (174). When I started the hike, I was 188 lbs. If it were earlier in the hiking season, I would have the option of taking a week off here and there and just resting, eating and putting on more weight, at this late point, I don't have that option. I knew starting out that my weight loss would be an issue and had hoped to at least make it to Harpers Ferry, WV, but that was not to be the case. 3. I can hopefully get these medical issues put to rest once, and for all. I didn't really want to be a burden on some poor fellow hiker finding me in the woods with a serious medical problem, or as a body laying there, it would spoil their day! Anyway, as things stand, my hike is on hold for the moment, probably until next June. Thank you everyone for the support comments and emails. Over the next few weeks I will try to catch up on them, there are many hundreds to answer, maybe even a few thousand at this point. Just think, I have only done about 622 miles so far, and there is another 1,600 to go! I have had sooooo many adventures already, it is difficult to imagine what the future holds.As time permits I will put up more photos. If you haven't checked them out, do so, just click on the photo button on the left of the page. The Copperhead snake on this page darted between my feet just a few days ago. On the next hike, hopefully I can bring a camera with a telephoto, too many of the animals just don't show up well with a standard lens. The momma bear and three cubs is a rare event, I really wish I had a telephoto for that encounter!Thanks all, and stay tuned.Dennis "K1YPP" Blanchard (Kay-One-Yellow-Porta-Potty)