Date: 2018-06-04
From: Mount Rogers Visitors Center

To: Stealth camp site, Mile marker 547.2
Miles today: 13.5

I¢m feeling much better today than I have for the last week. The crew I¢m running with now includes Train Wreck, Spoon and a maybe another Aussie, BrennO. I say ¢maybe¢ because BrennO is truly hiking his own hike and enjoys hanging and hiking with many people. He¢s a good guy and I hope he hangs with us for awhile.Having poorly for the last several days I wasn¢t sure how far I¢d feel like going today. I certainly wanted to do at least 7 miles, see how I felt before deciding to go any further. Everyone else was looking at anywhere from 13 to 17 miles, depending on how they felt. Unbeknownst to me and to Train Wreck to the exact degree, there was some late night socializing going on with several crews last night and the only ones that made it to the shuttle stop this morning at 8:20am were Train Wreck (TW) and me. The shuttle driver was not socializing but even he didn¢t show up even the shuttle up, so TW and I headed for the the highway, stuck out my leg and thumb to hitch a ride 6 miles out of town to the trail head. Within 10 minutes we were picked up by the Smyth County prosecuting attorney. Mr. Blaylock is an 11th generation Virginian; England, 1640. After 5 miles I was feeling pretty good so TW and I decided to separate and meet for lunch at a one room school house 8.5 miles in, where incidentally, the local methodist church stocked wooded boxes inside with trail magic. The building was quite quaint and pretty much like every other one room school house I¢ve ever seen...one room. This one did however have two outhouses, a boys and a girls, a list of punishments in terms of ¢lashes¢ for both boys and girls and acceptable school and social behavior for teachers. The trail magic was slim pickin¢s but none the less appreciated. TW and I ate lunch and prepared to head out when other hikers began to show up. I was distracted by the others and sat around and visited as TW got back on the trail. I stayed for another 40 minutes and during that time the wife of the methodist minister showed up with a resupply of trail magic...water, soft drinks, cookies, candy and protein bars, fresh fruit (!), and medical/hygiene supplies. They restock every afternoon from April through June as a part of their ministry to hikers; there are also some devotional materials available. It turns out that the minister of the church¢s great, great, great grandfather built this school and was the first school master back in the mid 1800¢s and the school was used through 1939. Thank you West End United Methodist Church!Before I got to the school house, I detoured just off the trail to visit a settlers museum. Though closed for the day, I walked the grounds taking photos of the various buildings and farm equipment from an era long gone and mostly forgotten. Mrs. Lindemood believes that her father-in-law may have been born in the Farm house though not raised in it.I caught up with TW at a stealth campsite after almost 14 miles. It was an incredible day to hike, clear and breezy with temps in the low 70¢s. The landscape and trail conditions varied throughout the day. Hardwoods, towering pines, hillsides in the forest covered with ferns and vast grazing pastures with an occasional giant oak tree out in the middle and cattle scattered here and there. The trail was a mix of rocks and roots, leaves and needles, both damp and dry and of course mud. Sometimes the sun just can¢t get inTo dry things up. I also crossed more roads today than any other day...two track, service road, highway, rail road and I even went under Interstate 81.Having crossed so many roads and working pastures today, places me not far at all from civilization. As I lay in my tent at 9:30pm, there are more noises out here than I have heard on the trail at this time of night...the sound of children playing and their laughter carrying across the pastures...farm dogs barking, perhaps rounding up the cattle from the fields or just hungry and waiting to be fed...a motorcycle racing on a country backroad while a tractor trailer downshifts on the distant interstate...finally, a low flying helicopter flys right overhead, drowning out everything else. It¢s now quite.The rest of our crew never showed up this evening, however several other hikers have so the grounds are full. Maybe they¢ve found a place earlier on the trail or perhaps they never made it out of town. Either way, that¢s how it is out here and I¢m certain I¢ll see them again soon.It¢s 11:00 and it¢s no longer quiet. Though the children¢s laughter is silent, the dogs are once again barking and the helicopter made another pass. That can only mean one thing, MANHUNT!