Date: 2019-05-01
To: Pearisburg, VA
Miles today: 90.2

The weather is turning decidedly warmer, but before doing so, it threw another cold, gusty, wet day at me. I packed up one morning in the rain and was wet and cold six miles later before I reached Chestnut Knob Shelter at the top of a mountain. A former fire warden cabin, it was unusual as a shelter because it was made of stone and enclosed on all four sides with a door entrance. I burst in and slammed the door against the wind and rain to find a half dozen hikers from the night before. It felt like a movie where people are trying to survive a winter storm at the top of a mountain, and don't know whether to brave the elements or slowly starve to death. I chose to head out again, at one point falling on a wet, slanted rock, and reached the next shelter by 430. So cold and wet that my fingers would not work, I put up my wet tent and immediately got into my dry sleeping bag for the night, for the first time eating a few bars instead of cooking dinner. Nonetheless, the AT again favored me when the next day proved to be cool but dry.I know I don't get enough calories on the trail, although I don't feel ravenous. However, given the opportunity, I can eat prodigious amounts of food. A recent exemplar was at an outpost that featured the "Brushy Mountain burger", a large enough hamburger by itself, but which then surpassed all expectations by adding a 3/4 inch thick slab of grilled bologna, and served with a knife and fork because it was too big to bite into. I completed the meal with fries, soda and a milkshake. My other notable gastronomic achievement was at a deli. I was hoping for a 12 inch sub, but they only served sandwiches, so I had one...accompanied by a half gallon of chocolate milk, which I finished in one sitting.I need to be more careful in my planning on Guthooks. On three different days recently, I did not pay enough attention to "off trail mileage", adding an extra mile round trip in order to reach water, the deli/campsite, and a hostel. Some are necessary, some can be avoided, and others might not be worth the effort.One night I set up my tent at a campsite along a ridge line, and realized it was the first time I had camped alone on the AT. I camped alone more often when I was on the Northville Placid Trail for two weeks last August, and here I've been on the AT for over 50 days!At the deli, I paid for a campsite and shower. When I asked for a towel, the owner gave me one while looking me in the eye and saying "make sure you return it", dispelling any thought I may have about packing out a wet towel and giving the thoroughly worn out, seedy towel, complete with holes and rips in it, to my wife for her birthday. (Great! Now what I do I get her?!) On the plus side, the shower was wonderfully hot, but the mirror over the sink was only functional if you were six and a half feet tall. From my vantage point, the mirror only showed the paint peeling off the ceiling, though some may say that's a damn sight better than looking at my face!In talking on the phone with a sister, I mentioned that with all the time I had to think, I should be a genius by now, but that I hadn't reached that mark. She said I must not be thinking about the right things. Apparently "I'm tired...my feet are sore...are we there yet?..." are not stepping stones to higher critical thinking skills. Guess I won't be a genius anytime soon!Sometimes the southern dialect gives me pause. Growing up, a hocker was what someone spit out of their mouths. Occasionally, in one of these small towns, I will be asked "are you a hocker?" I have to remind myself not to cringe and say "No! I am NOT a hocker!", and instead put a smile on my face and respond "Why, yes, I am a HIKER!" The truth is, southerners have been notoriously polite and kind to the hikers passing through or visiting their town.It is interesting how random connections can be made with other hikers. Three brothers, all in their 20's, are hiking and invited their retired father to join them ("because I have a higher limit on my credit cards", he quipped), an altogether wholesome group of guys. They were raised in Franklin, PA, the very same small town that my father grew up in. When asked how they all arranged to hike the AT, they responded "we all quit our jobs!" In addition, I recently met First Grader, a retired first grade teacher my age from Grayling, MI, which is just miles from Heart Lake, where my father took the family for two weeks every August for what were the best vacations ever. Other hikers I have met include Ranger (Albany, NY) and Robocop.Milestones reached include an 18 mile day (15 is more my style), and 1, 2 and 4 hour speed records to get to the outpost for the burger before they closed. I have crossed both the quarter way mark for the AT as well as the 600 mile mark.Today is a zero day for me. Tomorrow I am renting a car to drive home for my daughter's graduation this weekend when she receives her D.P.T. degree, and I will not return to the trail for a week to allow sufficient time for my family to (1) recognize me, (2) recall my name, and (3) tire of my presence and beg me to return to the trail. I will not be including those days at home as part of my log. Today is day 57; my first day back on the trail will be counted as day 58. Maybe before I leave home to return to the trail, I should remind my family that, like Arnold Schwarzenegger, "I'll be back!"