Date: 2005-04-25
From: Wapiti Shelter

To: Pearisburg
Miles today: 16.2
Weather: few clouds

Wapiti Shelter (605.5) to Pearisburg (621.7) 16.2 milesGot on trail at 6:45 & arrived Pearisburg at 3:30. I pushed hard all day. There was a long, hard, knee jolting downhill into town¢¦at least 2000 feet drop in about 2.6 miles. I went slow-slow. It took about a 1 hour & 45 minutes and was very tough on the legs. I had just gotten into town and a boy about 12 asked if I needed help and he help direct me towards downtown. I walked about 60 ft & got a ride from a man driving an antique 1954 Ford car with the hood off. He was working on it. He took me right to the Holiday (not Inn) Motor Lodge on the main drag. I got one of the last 2 rooms. It was kind of a dump. No shampoo, poor bed, shower head broken, shower did not drain well, and hot water ran out quickly. Went out & bought shampoo & liquid plumber for shower drain and locked key in room. I had to get an extra key at the desk. Reported broken shower head & they replaced it which also made the hot water last longer. Definitely a couple of steps up in comfort. Visited ATM ($) & Save-A-Lot food mart (snacks & more Liquid Plumber) & dollar store (snacks & candy) & Magic Store (wipes & shampoo). I am now at the Laundromat near the fire station doing laundry¢¦everything but shorts & rain top which I am wearing. There is no car rental place in town, so I am paying $40 for a shuttle to & from Blacksburg tomorrow for boots & water filter & new rain top. The trip is about 25 miles one way & the driver waits an hour. Personally, I think that is reasonable. Bodey & his 2 hiker buds are in town too at the laundromat now & are looking for a place to stay. They have been at the same shelters with me for the last few nights. They are loud. Even with my poor hearing, I could hear them for an hour before they arrived at Wapiti Shelter. Bodey even smoked in the shelter & I was way too nice about it. Life is simple here on the trail. You get up, build you pack and then walk/climb/descend. It is never easy, never a walk in the park. It is just very hard, hard and less hard. In town, you eat, clean, rest, and resupply. There is lots of time to think, but you can never stop watching your footing. The trail is frequently rocky and runs on rocky ridges. Pretty much the trail is where civilization does not want to be (lots of ridges and mountains). You also have to continually watch for white trail blazes. If you miss a blaze for trail shift and lost you are. Some shelters are nice. Most are OK and some are just nasty, mud hole, pig pens. I need to start tent camping more. It frees up mileage considerations more, but I want to shelter in bad weather and would miss the social life in shelters (most of the time). I notice in my handbook that I am already past my 9 week goal. I do need to cut back on my mileage.I¢m thinking about Chinese ayce buffet for dinner then Dairy Queen for dessert. Yum, yum. Ice Man is taking a couple of days off to go home. He lives in Virginia. He is a much faster than I, even carrying 8-10 lbs more pack weight. If I work hard and the terrain is good, I can go 2 + miles per hour. Ice Man goes 3 + miles per hour. He does 3 steps to my four.We had light snow last night but it is supposed to get better. My hair is really getting long. It gets dirty and greasy. I need a barber. Have not found one yet. Will look again tomorrow. Will check out sending you camera disc tomorrow too.