Date: 2010-06-20
From: Rock Spring Hut

To: Elkwallow
Miles today: 0.0

20 June 2010, Elkwallow   We woke up early this morning when other hikers got up around 5 am. Without knowing what time it was we ate and packed up. When we got to the trail head we looked at the time and it was 6:45. I have never started this early before.   We made it to Skyland resort and went to the restaurant. They had an all you could eat brunch going on. That was perfect for us. After breakfast we all called our dads to with them a happy father¢s day. My father was not home so I left a message on the answering machine.   From the resort we started climbing Stony Man. We did not actually go over the summit but there was an overlook coming down Stony Man and it was there we ran into a snake. I do not know what kind it was, it was black with what looked like an orange ring around its neck. The thing was about 12 inches long. I wished I had taken a picture but it never crossed my mind.   We all pretty much split up after that a said we would me at the Pinnacles picnic area for lunch. Spoonz was ahead of me all day until that point because I had a blister on my right heal that was hurting. I found Spoonz at the Pinnacles picnic area, I ate some peanut M&M's for my lunch and drank some water with flavoring added to it and took some vitamin I. Wallflower showed up about 1/2 hour later.   I headed out before everyone else because of the blister that was bothering me and I also wanted to get a head start. After I got to the first overlook there was two couples on motorcycles that asked where I was hiking to and where I had come from. When I told them they were amazed and took my picture with them. One of them gave me some beef jerky. Just as I was leaving Sweat Tea's husband Gene pulled up and asked if we need anything or a ride anywhere. We declined and started hiking on.    We got to another overlook later in the day where we all met up before we had to walk through a tunnel. One lady asked Spoonz where we were hiking to and if she was worried about hiking because she was a woman and started drilling her with questions. Another lady there asked where we were hiking to and when we said Maine her response was "get out of here". We told her we were serious and she was totally amazed at us. After a break we waited for Wallflower to show up. Then we walked down the road and through the tunnel.   When we got to Thorton Gap we were trying to decide on hiking to Elkswallow wayside or hitching to it. Our mind was made up when a lady walked up with a camera with a large lens on it. Wallflower started asking her questions about the camera. She also asked us questions about our hike. Before we knew it she was offering to take us to the wayside.   When we got to the wayside we ate and socialized with all the other hikers there and then just laid around relaxing. We were going to stealth camp up the trail head someplace because it was getting too late in the day and we did not have time to make it to the next shelter. We walk a little up the trail but could not find a spot but there were not good spots to set up camp. We went back to the wayside and asked the people that worked there what we could do for camping. They suggested Mathews Arms Campground. We put on our packs and started walking to the road to try to hitch to the campground. Just when I put my pack on there was something on my pack that stung my right elbow. I threw my pack off and walked real quickly to the store and asked for some ice and put it on the area. Then we put our packs back on and walked to the road and put our thumbs out. The first SUV that came by was a couple I talked to at the lunch counter who had offered me a ride to the campground earlier but I had declined because we had planned to stealth camp. They loaded all three of us in and took us to the campground and drove us around until we found a site we liked. The lady gave me a couple of Benadryl¢s for my sting. What a great couple. That was two trail magic¢s today.