Date: 2011-07-05
To: Steak and Baked Potatoes
Miles today: 0.0

I've had an eventful couple of days recently. First, I've had a surprise visitor from Austin join me on the trail. Her name is Brenda, and from our best reckoning, we haven't seen one another in nearly 10 years. As happens sometimes, our lives took us in different directions and we simply lost touch with one another. She decided to check in on me to see what I was up to these days, and after a bit of searching she came upon my blog. She read it in its entirety one evening, turned to her husband and told him that she was coming to join me for a few days, effective immediately. She posted a comment on my blog asking if I'd like her company. Naturally, I was delighted and told her so. I assumed that she meant that she'd like to join me at some future point. I thought that there would be an exchange of phone calls or texts until a plan was formulated, then she would join me. The next day I got a text from her husband that she'd be in Pearisburg that day around 5:00. I got the text at about 2:00, when I got a signal on the mountain I was hiking at the time. I was shocked, but delighted. What a surprise! And I love that sort of spontaneity! She drove 23 hours straight to be with me, not stopping even to eat! I am honored at that level of friendship. Thank you, Brenda! You're a gem.At any rate, Brenda and I met each other in Pearisburg at around 6:00 or so that evening. We stayed in the nicest hotel in Pearisburg, the Rendezvous, which was a total dive. No AC, almost no water pressure, closet-sized rooms, but what the heck...I'm used to dives by now, and Brenda is unfazed by such things. We had a great time catching up and preparing to hit the trail the following day. I found a local who happily agreed to shuttle us ahead to Catawba (for a handsome fee, of course). Our plan had been to hike south from Catawba back to her car in Pearisburg, about 4-5 days' hike. Well, you know how plans go in my life. Boy do I have a tale to tell today!!! Fasten your seatbelts, folks, it's going to be a bumpy ride!The day began beautifully. The sky was a clear blue, and the weather was actually hot. I usually spend so much time under the canopy of trees that sunshine is not an issue, but that day we hiked over several meadows and pastures, and I found myself wishing for sunscreen. (Don't tell my dermatologist, who admonishes me to wear it every day regardless...) Brenda had the privilege of experiencing numerous fence stiles as we crossed over private properties. We found some wild berries and ate them with delight. (Later a local told us that the black ones were raspberries and the red ones were wine berries. I'd thought that they were blackberries and raspberries respectively, but whatever you call them, they were a sweet treat on a hot day.)After we crossed the last sun-bathed pasture we started up into the mountains. We climbed maybe two smallish peaks then began an ascent up a taller peak. Meanwhile, the sky had begun to darken. Frankly, we hardly took note of it because by then we were back under the canopy of trees. Soon, however, the wind picked up a little. I was grateful for the drop in temperature. (Foolish me, when will I learn to read the signs?) Are you getting an idea of where this is going?Shortly thereafter, it began to drizzle. It was such a light rain that it never even reached the ground. It hit the canopy of leaves overhead and had almost no impact on us whatsoever. I turned to Brenda and asked her what she wanted to do...make a shelter or keep hiking? She said, "What would you do if I weren't here?" So, being the genius outdoorsman that I am, I said, "It's such a nice gentle summer shower, let's just keep hiking for a while." VERY soon thereafter, and I mean mere minutes, the sky just opened up and dumped on us. We were saturated within moments. The rain was coming down in BUCKETS! I scrambled to make us a shelter using my tarp and the skills I'd learned from my trail friend Scratch, and we settled in as best we could. Just then two young day hikers, Troy and Michael (local high-school seniors), came hurrying down from the mountain. I heard them exclaim in relief as they spied our shelter. I told them to join us under the tarp, and the four of us shared some dramatic moments. The rain picked up even more, the wind ripped the stakes out of the ground, and each of us held the tarp in place as best we could as we waited out the tempest. We were saturated and cold, but we were laughing despite ourselves. In situations like that, you have to look for the humor. The storm took a turn for the worse, and lightening struck so close to us that there was no perceptible delay between the flash and the boom. Brenda looked at me several times with raised eyebrows and we burst into laughter. Troy kept cracking jokes. Poor Michael fell silent, and I could see the fear in his eyes. We all felt it, but tried to bury it with humor. I can honestly say that all four of us were in fear for our lives. It was bad. And we're not talking about a strike or two. The lightning struck time and again for nearly an hour. Michael told us that God wasn't going to take him yet, because He'd put to much work into him already. I hoped Michael was right. More than anything, I just hoped that if "it" happened it would be fast. I reassured myself that with a lightning strike, I likely wouldn't feel any pain. So we continued to hold that damned tarp in place and look to each other for humor and companionship while we rode out the storm. Thus was the third time on the trail that I had the feeling that I might not live to see tomorrow. It changes a person.There was a momentary break in the storm, and we took advantage of it. We knew that the last place we should be was at the top of a mountain, so we helped one another to gather our gear as best we could, then we hightailed it on down the mountain (difficult for me as I had a nice new blister on my heel, compliments of my new boots). Just as we made it down, the sky opened up again. We spied an old dilapidated barn in the nearby hay field and made a run for it. I'd never have considered going near such a structure before, because it looked like it could fall over at any moment, yet under the circumstances it was our only option. We gratefully took shelter under that canted roof, and breathed a sigh of relief. Just then I noticed the cows we were to share our shelter with. I exclaimed, "oh look, pregnant cows...asleep!" Duh! They weren't pregnant. They weren't asleep. They were DEAD and bloated with the gasses of decomposition. Even more exciting, they were oozing fluids in bubbles of death gasses. It was lovely. Oh how we laughed!We shared our shelter with those dead cows for I don't know how long. The rain and lightning kept pounding, and the jokes became progressively more demented. We discussed what we'd have to eat once we finally got out of there (ground beef, of course). In the meantime, Brenda took note of how cold the poor boys were and retrieved a space blanket she had. Being such a small blanket, the boys stood back-to-back so they could share it and afford one another their body heat, and Brenda wrapped them up like a twin baked potato (hence my sick jokes about eating steak and baked potatoes for dinner). Nobody could sit, of course, because there was manure everywhere, so we stood on the rotting floor of that barn and marveled at our strange circumstances. There was much laughter and hilarity at our unique position, and I am sure I speak for all of us when I say that we spent a day together that none of us will ever forget! And lest you think that I'm spinning a tall tale or exaggerating in the least, I took photos and video of the event, and I invited those boys to post a comment following this post, offering their perspective on the events of the day. By the way, boys, you two are awesome! Both Brenda and I enjoyed your company immensely, and I can't imagine better companions with whom to share a bonding experience in the company of dead cows!Being that there was no indication of the storm's abatement, Troy called his parents. There was a little farm road in sight, and we knew we could make a dash for it if the parents could come to rescue us. So that's what happened. As we waited for Troy's parents, we bid our farewells to the gals on the barn floor. I named them: Bessie, Flossie, Maisie and Daisy. I told the girls goodbye and bid them farewell, and we made our way to the road. The parents came, but there was no room in the car for Brenda, Tessa and me. They took the boys to Troy's car, and Troy came back for us. I told our foursome that dinner would be on me, in celebration of the fact that we were still alive. Troy drove us to Roanoke, and we went to Abuela's for some Mexican food (and a nice big Margarita for me.) Troy wisely requested an outdoor table, as all four of us smelled strongly of manure (and maybe death). I could smell the manure throughout my meal, but it just added to the whole experience!After dinner, Troy took us to Comfort Inn and Michael went his own way. We bid our fellow travellers goodbye, and enjoyed hot baths and warm beds. Currently our gear is spread out all over our room. Our manure-stained clothing is in the wash, and we are trying to formulate a new plan, as the weather indicates more storms all week! We still don't know what we are going to do, as we are stranded here with no car and the prospect of day after day of rain. I think we may take a break, as the blisters on my feet need some time to heal anyway, and my boots are saturated despite drying next to the AC all night. I can't put on wet boots over these blisters!I don't know what Brenda and I will do, but you can be sure that whatever we decide, there'll be much fun and laughter. I'll let you know once a plan is formulated. In the meantime, my Independence day was a memorable one, with dramatic fireworks compliments of Mother Nature herself! Yes, it's disgusting, but I actually did stand among and pose for a photograph with four deceased cows. How did you spend your Independence Day???