Date: 2006-11-30
From: Spy Rock, Va

To: Saltlog Gap, Va.
Miles today: 31.2

I woke up at 4:40 this morning and knew I wanted to get as close to Glasgow as I could today. It's supposed to rain tomorrow and I would like to be sitting in a motel room most of the day. :-))) I had 1 1/2 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and some orange flavored Sparkle Caffeine Drink for breakfast. I got packed up and was walking by 5:15am. It doesn't start getting light out until about 6:40am and the sun rises at 7:10am, so I was using my headlamp for an hour and a half. I was walking along and a deer that must have been bedded down near the Trail jumped up and ran off. That made my heart skip a beat. :-))) There has been a little more tree damage in this area from the ice storm. It was just starting to get light out when I walked by the side trail to Seeley-Woodworth Shelter. I didn't stop, but I figured Goatmilk walked into there last night. I couldn't disturb him and his backpack...and his Nalgene this early. ;-))) I'll bet he wishes he never wrote in that register yesterday that he thought his backpack and his Nalgene were sexy. ;-))) I walked by Elk Pond Branch and thought about getting water, but decided to wait. I did get water about a mile later from a small stream, but that water tasted like a pine tree had fallen in it. It's been foggy out all morning. I almost feel like I've been rained on because of the fog being blown by the higher winds today. I climbed 500 feet up to Wolf Rocks, then descended 500 feet to Greasy Spring Rd. I kept on descending another 400 feet down to Saltlog Gap North, and then climbed 500 feet to Tar Jacket Ridge. I could see where they've been working on a new Trail up there. I'm not sure why because there doesn't seem to be anything wrong with the old Trail. I descended Tar Jacket Ridge 500 feet to Hog Camp Gap, then climbed 500 feet to the summit of Cold Mountain. It's too bad the fog was so thick because I like the views from this mountain. It was really windy up there too, so I was pretty wet from the fog being blown into me. I descended 500 feet to Cow Camp Gap, then climbed 600 feet up to the summit of Bald Knob. This section almost seemed like it could be called the roller coaster...nothing long or steep, but lots of 500 foot ups and 500 foot descents. I descended 2,000 feet to Rat 60 and sat down on the picnic table there and ate lunch. I tried looking pathetic, just in case someone had a Coke for poor little me, but it didn't work. :-))) I did finally walk out of the fog that had lasted all the way to noon. I had two peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, some Cheese Nips, a Milky Way and another glass of that Sparkle Caffeine Drink Mix to hide the piney flavor of the last water I got while I sat there. I hike on, descending another 700 feet to Brown Mountain Creek Shelter. I stopped to get water from the spring, but it was just a puddle and wasn't flowing, so I passed on that. I did sign the register and used a few smiley face stickers. I also left a note for Goatmilk saying that if he didn't spend so much time alone with his backpack and Nalgene, he might have caught up to me today. :-))) I walked on and soon found a small stream flowing into Brown Mountain Creek, so I stopped and got some water. I walked along that creek for a while, then crossed the creek on a footbridge and eventually walked away from it. This is a nice area with some side hill Trail that I like walking on. I could see Lynchburg Reservoir for a while through the leafless trees. Next was a 1,200 foot climb up Rice Mountain, then in a few miles I got to a piped spring right by where the Trail crosses the Blue ridge Parkway. I always stop at that spring and fill up with water because other than Punchbowl Shelter (which I never stop at) there isn't any water for about 10 miles heading south. It was getting dark out when I was at the spring. I felt good and still wanted to get closer to Glasgow for an easy day tomorrow, so I started climbing the next mountain up 500 feet to Punchbowl Shelter and walked right by it without stopping. I climbed another few hundred feet to Punchbowl Mountain. There were some nice spots to set up a tent, but I still wasn't ready to stop walking tonight. I climbed another 600 feet up to the summit of Bluff Mountain. That climb got me back up into the heavy fog and wind. It was hard to see with my headlamp, but the Trail was worn enough so it was easy to follow. I started down Bluff Mountain and had to be real careful because the fog had gotten all the leaves in the Trail wet and it was steep enough that I was sliding some of the time. I got down 500 feet to the first gap, but it was so windy that I kept walking. I descended another few hundred feet to Saltlog Gap South and found a nice soft spot to set up my tent. It was still windy, but not quite as bad as up higher. I ate the rest of the cheese I was carrying once I got into the tent. I also ate more Fritos and some nuts, then brushed my teeth and fell asleep. I only have a 7.5 mile walk to the trailhead at Glasgow in the morning. I have under 100 miles left for this thru hike...84 miles left to be exact!! :-))) I can't believe this hike's almost over already. Ha!!...only taken me nine months so far. ;-)))