Date: 2006-11-29
From: Dripping Rock, Va

To: Spy Rock, Va
Miles today: 24.3

I woke up at 5am and was glad it was morning already. I felt like I had plenty of sleep last night. I had 1 1/2 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, some nuts and the last half of a Coke I had left from last night for breakfast. It was a mild morning...I didn't even need a jacket. I packed up and was walking about 1 1/2 hours before sunrise. I just felt good and wanted to get in a few extra miles today so I can get into Glasgow a day early. There were a few patches of ice left around and a little more tree damage in the first 6 miles, but that got better after Reed's Gap. I heard an owl early on in my walk this morning. I also could see all the lights of a city in the valley below. I got to the side trail to Maupin Field Shelter and decided to go ahead and walk down to the shelter in hopes that Goatmilk was still there. He was and we talked for about 20 minutes. I signed the register and saw where he made an entry last night when he got in. He said that his backpack was sexy and his Nalgene water bottle was sexy. I asked him what in the world he was talking about and he said he just couldn't think of anything else to write about. I told him that I thought he's been in the woods too long and he should hurry up and get done walking so he can get back home with his girl friend. :-))) There was a youth group there also and the head guy was making pancakes. Ahhhh, they looked good. I headed on thinking Goatmilk would catch up to me before long, but I never saw him again today. This is a harder section than what I've been used to because of Three Ridges and then The Priest. My knees were glad when I finally got to the Tye River because of the steep down off Three Ridges. There were lots of leaves in the Trail and that made for a slippery ride down the mountain. :-))) I crossed the Tye River on a suspension bridge, and then started the 4.5 miles, 3,000 foot climb up The Priest. I had been out of water for a short while and was glad to get to Cripple Creek...about 1/3 way up the hill. I stopped there and ate a late lunch and drank plenty of water. I had something for lunch that was really good...a can of tuna that was Thai chili tuna. It had a nice flavor to it. It was so warm out that I took off my outer midweight shirt and kept just my lightweight shirt on. That almost never happens this time of year. Those two shirts just seem like they go together because I always have the two of them on. I climbed up to the lookout and stopped again for a short break. I climbed this mountain last year and it seemed like a breeze, but I was working a little harder at it this year. :-))) It was still better to be climbing because my knee that I banged up a few weeks ago likes climbing better than descending. I got to the summit of The Priest and kept on walking. I walked by the side trail to Priest Shelter without stopping. I descended into a couple gaps, and then climbed up by Cash Hollow Rock, before climbing the rest of the way up to the summit of Main Top Mountain. I came down off that and found a nice spot to set up my tent a little ways away from Spy Rock. I crawled in the tent and snacked on some cheese, some Fritos and some nuts for dinner. My legs got a good workout today on those climbs. :-)))