Date: 2010-05-16
From: Trent's Grocery - VA 606

To: Wood's Hole Hostel - Sugar Run Gap
Miles today: 13.9

The trail started out easy and we did not rush as we felt lazy and had confidence that the 16 miles we set out for ourselves could be easily accomplished. We stopped at Wapitia Shelter for lunch. This shelter is said to be haunted because there were 2 murders that took place in this area. A man who had murdered 2 other people was released from prison after 15 years. Upon his release he went to the Wapitia shelter. Here he met two fishermen who were fishing in nearby Dismal Creek. After spending the afternoon talking with these men, he shot them dead when they went back to fish. Later that day he was arrested and died the very night he was placed in jail. It turned out the man was mentally ill, and of course got no treatment in prison. He thought he owned the trail and it was his responsibility to protect it and all the creatures associated with the trail. I watched a TV show on these murders, but did not tell Carol for obvious reasons.As we hiked along Carol noted we were at the top of a mountain so she pulled out the cell phone and called Chris Pipas who we thought may be in the area rock climbing, (he was not) and then Andrea. After about 15 minutes we resumed hiking. Very soon after the phone call we heard some distant thunder and we looked up and then quicked our pace. The tent was still wet from the rain last night and I needed to have about 30 minutes of setup time to dry it. If not we could fit in the shelter, although it was 6 miles away.The thunder continued and got louder and there were flashes of lightning. Not the dangerous type of lightning but it got our attention. Soon a light rain was falling and we covered our packs. We did not put our rain jackets on because it was warm and with a rain jacket on you get wet from the inside as your perspire. We continued to hike at a quickened pace as the rain became harder.Soon the breeze picked up and the rain was coming down as hard as I had ever experienced. I started to get cold, and when I get cold I know Carol is already cold. We were still 3 or 4 miles from the shelter. I knew that hypothermia was going to become an issue very soon as the temperature had really dropped. I started to feel emotional because hiking the trail was my dream and now I had put Carol in this potentially dangerous position. Just then I turned back and asked her if she wanted to try to find the Woods Hole Hostel and she said yes.Just as she agreed to this I was faced with a 4 foot step down from a rock. My focus was elsewhere, and I caught my toe and proceeded to fall the 4 feet off the rock. I tweaked my left knee by hyper flexing it (bending it too much) and landed on my right hip (hip replacement). Carol let out a loud scream that was drowned out by the wind and rain. I lay there for 5 seconds expecting a searing pain as my bones shattered but it did not come. She came down the rock and assisted me to my feet. I was Ok. The pain in my knee was an old familiar one I had, had before. I knew it would go away in a day or two. There was a rock ledge next to the trail and we crowded under to get our rain jackets on for warmth and to look in the guide book for the location of the hostel. After getting the jackets on and calculating we needed to travel another mile to get to Sugar Run Gap Road we hurried along the trail.My calculations were incorrect. We must have been hiking faster than I thought bcause within a quarter mile we emerged on the road and saw a sign directing us to the hostel.We walked as fast as we could to the hostel where we were greeted by Neville. She told us there was no room in the house but we could stay in the barn loft (converted for hikers to stay in). After looking at us shivering in the doorway, and my dirty clothes from the fall, she invited us in and let us shower in their personal area of the hostel. We change our clothes and she gave us a warm drink of herbal tea. Our wet clothes were also laundered and dried. We had a wonderful meal with Neville and Michael and several other guests.We stayed in the house until around 930 PM when we took all our wet gear and quickly headed through the rain to the barn. There were two young hikers already in there, and they had left the king size mattress for Carol and I. We got out our sleeping bag liners and pull some of the wool blankets up over us and lay on the bed ready to sleep.As we lay there holding hands, I could not help but reflect on the travelers prayer given to us at St. Thomas Aquinas Church prior to our hike. The road appeared exactly when needed, and now we were comfortable in a barn. The symbolism did not escape me. The Canadian Geese (Never quit on a bad day - Bison 2009 thru hiker)