Date: 2015-07-25
From: Graymoor Spiritual Life Center

To: Shenendoah Tenting area
Miles today: 17.5

I woke up at 5:30 and felt refreshed. I had fallen asleep with my phone roaming so I burned down the battery a little. I walked over to the pavilion to recharge my battery, cook breakfast, and watch the rest of the sunrise. It was amazing to gaze out at all of the tents, all inhabited by hikers, some new to me but many of them people I have leapfrogged since GA. It makes me feel incredibly powerful to have kept up with some of these young kids, and I realize that they probably feel incredibly the opposite. They are quick to tell me about the gazillion days they took off to go to DC or New York, and of course that explains it. I believe I am in a bubble now, and it is interesting to be around so many hikers when for so long I didn't see many people.We hiked out of Graymoor without visiting the monastery or seeing the monks. We did see a few nuns out on morning walks and jogs as we exited the grounds. They wished us a happy and safe hike.Back into the woods, the trail started out playing nice but soon returned to rocks and climbs. At one road crossing, an ambulance and a fire engine, along with many cars were parked on the road. police cars too, and all had their lights on. A crowd had gathered. We heard as we passed through that a rescue was taking place, of a man living in the woods in his tent, not a hiker. About a mile back in,we came across a large group of rescue personnel carrying a stretcher. On it a man who looked a lot like a hiker. He didn't seem injured, maybe sick or dehydrated, looked to be in his 60s. The rescue guys put the stretcher down to take a break. It was rough terrain to be doing what they were doing and not all of them were in hiking shape. They made us go off trail to pass so we wouldn't bump the guy on the stretcher. I liked how well they took care f him.Soon after, we came to a stream. We chatted with a couple of hikers for a minute, then I hiked out. The trail became a rock jumble and somehow I tripped. I fell fast and hard, directly facedown like a bag of cement. My thighs landed on a large rock with a sharp edge, my body in a leafy dirt area, head less than in inch from a huge rock. It happened so fast, I landed so hard, that I just stayed still in the ground, assessing the damage. D.No and C.Shell were behind me and helped turn me over and get my pack off. The only damage was huge scrapes and bruises on the front of each thigh where thy landed on the sharp rock. Other than that, I was ok. We looked ahead at the rock jumble- the place I landed was the only soft dirt area we could see. I feel very fortunate! It was sort of miraculous....maybe the safety blessing from the nuns...?I think part of the tripping problem is that my right foot inhabits a shoe that is two sizes too big to make up for my larger left foot. It is like a floppy clown shoe.The trail continued rocky and with climbs and I was feeling exasperated with it. When will the rocks stop and give us a break?We stopped at a park with a concession stand, ate a cheeseburger, chatted with hikers. One couple was doing a flip flop hike from Harpers Ferry. They had decided to quit today, they were not feeling it. Harpers Ferry is around mile 1023 and the park where they were sitting was 1423. They had walked 400 miles, through what I consider the most annoying part of the trail. Annoying because of the relentless rocks. Not sure 400 miles of that and that alone would keep me on the trail either.We didn't swim in the lake, but hiked on with our destination a campsite with a pump for water. The trail smoothed out, the rocks gave us a break and the walk was stunning. Gorgeous trees, deep woods, and a path that became a ridge overlooking drops into the lush forest below. Lots of day hikers out today, and I noticed I show off when they are present, taking the hills fast, passing them all. It makes me feel good, and I generally can't pass other hikers so this is my chance to feel fast!We got to the site and I set my tent up under an awning next to the boarded up building, in case it rained. I tried to hang my bear bag and the rock bag pelted backwards and nearly hit a guy named Wreck in the head as he sat innocently at a picnic table 15 feet behind me.C.Shell, D,No, and I sat cross cross applesauce under the awing and drank some sleepy time tea, looking forward in the AWOL book. As we always do, We oohed and aged at the elevation lines in New Hampshire.We will be in Connecticut tomorrow. Woot-Woot!   Now I sit under that awning- it is the next morning, and a big storm has rolled in. I am snug and dry and so is my tent. We will hike out when the big orange blob on the radar passes us- and we have a deli in our future today