Date: 2008-05-20
From: Pearisburg, VA

To: Tenting near Bailey Gap Shelter, VA
Miles today: 22.9
Weather: light rain

I had lots to do this morning, so I got busy early and packed my backpack, got everything ready for the next few hundred miles, all while I was drinking coffee.I had a good sit-down breakfast at a family restaurant in Pearisburg, VA. I had a couple eggs over easy, homefries, bacon, biscuits and gravy, and toast....along with more coffee. :-)I picked up a couple egg, cheese and bacon biscuits to pack out for lunch.I got all that done and Mrs Gorp dropped me off at the Trailhead at 9:15am.I REALLY, REALLY have to thank Mrs Gorp for going out of her way to pick me up in Pearisburg for Trail Days, then dropping me back off in Pearisburg today.She still had a 12 hour drive to get home in VT. All I had to do was start climbing a mountain and listening to birds.I've got to say that I had a chance to look up the brown thrush I've been talking about. I had computer access, so I checked it out and found out it is really a wood thrush I've been talking about.Maybe Mrs Gorp can add a link and you can listen to what I hear while I'm walking through the woods. You just need Real Player on your computer and you can enjoy the music of a wood thrush. Mrs Gorp.....please! :-) Wood Thrush Song: http://tinyurl.com/65kywo http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Wood_Thrush.html#soundI had met Bird Legs and Mountain Dog at breakfast this morning. They have section hiked everything south of here on the Trail.It's a cloudy, wet, overcast day and it was 51 degrees when I started climbing.I started seeing lots of low bush blueberry bushes that had lots of small berries just about bb size. Can't wait till I can start grazing on blueberries during the day.I stopped at a nice little spring about 3/4 of the way up the mountain. I dumped out my town water and drank half a liter of good mountain spring water, then filled one bottle and walked on.I got up on top of the ridge and saw V8, Auntie Mame and Uncle Tom walking south.I had met Uncle Tom in Maine last year. He was just out for a few days down here with his wife....Auntie Mame.It was pretty breezy up on the ridge and it kept trying to rain, but it ended up only sprinkling a few times.The temperature stayed in the 50's all day and I only saw the sun for about a minute....the rest of the day was cloudy and windy.I stopped at Rice Field Shelter for lunch. I had the two sandwiches I packed out and some Fritos.I looked through the register and saw that lots of the hikers I had been around before Trail Days were now anywhere from one to three days ahead of me.I met A Low Hawk just as I was leaving the shelter.Walking without my coffee isn't so bad! I walked about 8 miles when I started thinking about that and don't miss it yet. :-)A thick mountain top fog rolled in about 1pm and hung around for an hour. The winds died down for that hour too.I started thinking about how Mrs Gorp didn't want me for a partner in Trail Jeopardy at Trail Days. She doesn't have any faith in my recollection of the AT.She picked Garlic Man for her partner and they did great! They came in 3rd......out of 3 contestants! :-)[Transciber's note: ATC handicapped us before we even began the Trail Jeopardy Game by subtracting 100 points for each completed hike of the AT. Garlic Man and I began with a MINUS 400 score. Had Stumpknocker been my partner, we would have started with a MINUS 800 score. Garlic Man and I came out of the hole and ended with a positive score of something like 120. We had the largest deficit to overcome. We only lost by about 90 points to the winners.] I got a new Mountain Hardwear shirt at Trail Days. Mrs Gorp said my old Mountain Hardwear shirt stunk and she made me throw it away. I wanted to save it for my ol' buddy Chief because it would make him look and smell more experienced. Ha!I have to admit that after three years of Trail use, it was time for a new shirt. :-)The wind picked up again for the rest of the day after I walked out of the fog.I walked past Symms Gap, then the Groundhog Trail.I've been seeing quite a few white trilliums today. There are still some azaleas in bloom and some of the mountain laurel blooms are just about ready to open.I made a 500 foot climb up to Pine Swamp knob. This morning's climb was about 1,500 feet.I walked by the Allegheny Trail, and then started going down off the ridge.I came to a stream, so I filled up both waterbottles for the night.I walked on and found a spring, so I dumped the stream water and filled both bottles up with spring water.Aboman came walking by and headed on to Pine Swamp Branch Shelter.We talked when I got there and I found out he knows Bama....she hiked the Trail a couple years ago and we had met then.I got a picture of Aboman right in front of the roofless shelter. I guess a tree fell on it and I'm guessing it will be rebuilt.I ate dinner there. I had an 8 ounce can of Bushes Baked Beans, sardines and Fritos, nuts, raisins, cheese, a chocolate chip cookie and a Rice Krispy Treat.I know that anyone who has been reading my journal for the last couple weeks is thinking to themselves right now; Stumpy had those Rice Krispy Treats because....he deserved it! :-)I walked on and when I was climbing the hill a few miles later, I heard a crack about 100 feet away. I was trying to figure out what it was, and then a few seconds later, a big ol' tree fell.I usually see or hear one or two trees fall each year out here in the forest.I got to Bailey Gap Shelter and saw lots of the hikers I had seen at Trail Days....Kyonite, Sunkissed, Sunbeam, Zack, Mike, Bus Driver, Barley, Rain and a few others.I remembered lots of rocks for the next few miles with no good flat spots for the tent, so I walked about 100 yards away and set up for the night.It really felt good to be walking again after taking the time off for Trail Days.....BUT, Trail Days was a blast!Another great day on the Appalachian Trail. :-)