Date: 2011-06-08
From: Bryant Ridge Shelter

To: The Peaks of Otter Lodge
Miles today: 10.0

Day 79 - I slept well and got up and had breakfast and was on the trail at 7:00am. I would have liked to have started a little earlier but it sure beat yesterday's starting time. I again loaded up with water. My plan was to attempt to get 15 miles in today but the weather forecast out of Roanoke said it was going to be in the mid-90s so I knew I had my work cut out for me. The heat was compounded with the fact that I had to climb Floyd Mountain which was a 2,923 foot climb from where I was starting. Around 7:30am I heard this noise to my right, down the hill and saw a bear cub scooting down a large oak tree, jumping from 3-4 feet from the tree to the ground and scampering further down the hill. It happened so fast, I had no chance to photograph it. The tree was 150 feet away and I would say the cub was 2-3 years old. I believe it was too large to have been born this year. I stood there making sure that the mother was not around or if there was another small cub hanging out. That was my first sighting of a bear so that was pretty neat. I got to Cornelius Shelter at 10:00am, having traveled 5 miles since starting this morning. My pace has really suffered with the heat but I am OK with it and not trying to push myself given the hot conditions. The trail, starting yesterday at VA 43, took a wide 15 miles path away from the BRP. At Cornelius Shelter, it finally starts to parallel with the parkway again and one can hear the vehicle noise. By mid-afternoon, I could feel myself deteriorating again, not as bad as last week but on the verge. I had been drinking every 15 minutes so I felt like I had done all I could do from a hydration standpoint but it was so blasted hot. I knew I was not going to get in my 15 miles, so once I got comfortable with that I started thinking through alternative plans. The one that I liked the best was to try to get to the Peaks of Otter Lodge and get into an air conditioned environment. Fortunately again, I had cell phone service and was able to call and make a reservation. At 2:50pm I exited the woods onto the BRP at milepost 76.3. I had travelled only 10 miles today while hiking 7 hours. I was beat but not cramping. There is no shoulder on the BRP; the grass goes right up to the asphalt. Not wanting to sit in the freshly cut grass, I just sat down on the parkway. It is illegal to hitchhike on the parkway but I surmised if I was arrested, wherever they took me was probably air conditioned so I thought seriously about it. I figured if I sat there long enough someone would certainly stop, even a park ranger. However, I was nasty looking, given the sweat pouring off of me and my clothes; I knew no one would want me in their car. So, I decided to fix that. Traffic in both directions was scarce so I just stripped right there and changed my clothes and took off my boots. Afterwards several cars had passed going south but no one even slowed down. I was 10 miles from The Peaks and there was no way I was going to walk. So, if I cannot legally hitchhike maybe if I looked hurt and needed assistance that might work. So again, I sat down on the parkway, looking at every southbound vehicle as if I needed assistance. Bingo at 3:20pm a couple from West Virginia in a pick up truck stopped and asked if I needed help. I responded that I needed to get out of the heat and asked if they could be so kind enough to take me to the Lodge. With some trepidation they said yes but I would have to ride in the bed of the truck since there was no room in the cab. That was no problem for me even though I had changed clothes. Yet another mini-prayer answered.  I got to the Lodge, checked in, and still saw people in the restaurant. I asked if they were still serving lunch and they were so I went directly in and had a Reuben sandwich and plenty of water to drink. I was pretty aggravated because I was incurring some cramping of my hands while I ate. Again, nothing like I experienced a week ago but enough to know that this could not continue. I got to my room, showered and in 2 hours went back and had dinner. The spasming was getting worse in my hands and fingers but had not affected my legs. I had to alternate between my right and left hand while eating a delicious pork roast and baked potato. I slept well during the night but woke up knowing that I needed to figure out what was going with these spasms and lack of energy. After some telephone calls, I will be heading to Kingsport and have a doctor appointment Monday morning to try to get to the bottom of this. So, until then, I am off the trail getting checked out and hopefully will return by next week. Thanks again for all your notes of encouragement and prayers, I appreciate them.