Date: 2007-06-16
From: Fish Hatchery Road

To: Maupin Field Shelter
Miles today: 18.2
Weather: overcast clouds

A beautiful day dawned - clear and cool, a refreshing change from the brief rainy spell. In fact we have been truly blessed as hikers by the weather, with the recent rainy spell being the first continuously wet conditions of the hike. The occasional thunderstorms are sometimes a nuisance and sometimes a blessing, but they always give you a chance to dry out before they strike again. The first thrill of the day was rock climbing at Spy Rock. It was a good thing the climb itself was exciting, because the view was of total fog below the rocks. In fact fog moved up to Spy Rock itself while we were there. Interestingly, Tater and Blackfoot had camped there the previous night. Next, I played keep-up with Chaco and Radar, though they kept losing me on the uphills. They ended up stopping to talk at a trail crossing, at which point I caught up with Moose and hiked with him for the first time. He is an interesting guy who is thru hiking the AT for the 4th time, and hiked the PCT with DOT and Alden. Very quiet, but interesting when you can engage him in conversation, much like Alden. I asked for tips about hiking up hills, and he noted that a rhythm is important (though admittedly difficult to maintain in rocky areas) and good posture. I realized that I really lean into uphills in order to use my poles more powerfully, but when I experimented I could quickly see that a more upright posture may be a better way. Something to work on, because my uphill speed is still extremely slow, even though my downhill is very fast. I saw 2 deer on the trail who really didn't want to get out of my way. I kept walking toward them until finally they ran off. When I got to where they were, it looked like they had been munching on blackberries - pretty strong motivation not to leave, I guess. Other wildlife included an adult rabbit, a baby rabbit and molehills. Not real exciting since these are things I see in suburban Maryland, but I guess that is to be expected. It reminds me that I've been seeing squirrels, millipedes, ants, beetles and butterflies the entire time, as well as the usual selection of birds I've been hearing and seeing, but they seem so "ordinary" even though the are truly forest creatures. At camp: Radar and I caught up again at camp. We debated going to Rusty's Hard Time Hollow, an AT tradition but I am a man with a mission - I must be in Waynesboro by Saturday to meet my family. Getting to Maupin Shelter was stage 1 of 3 and I successfully achieved it, but Rusty's was 5 miles out of the way which would endanger stage 2. Still, I want to hear from those who went if it was worthwhile. Radar had a conflict of some kind as well. I did have a senior moment as I arrrived at camp. One of the hikers got this big smile on his face when he saw me and I thought, I know this guy. But I had to ask his name. E.Z. Duzit, the same person I hiked with for 3 hours yesterday! So, my memory has not improved during the trip. Also at camp ultimately were Chaco, Chopsticks, and Jet Jumper(a section hiker who spent 4 days at Rusty's). Comet was talking about slack packing the Shenandoahs in 2 days (53 and 54 miles respectively) with Chopsticks and Alright. Sounds cool but perhaps inviting trouble. I can't wait to see how it goes. I slept in the shelter because of the threat of thunderstorms.