Date: 2003-06-02
From: Rod Hollow Shelter

To: Trail to Blackburn Center 
Miles today: 18.0
Weather: clear sky

Today was the rollercoaster. It was tiring, but not too bad. The uphills were steep at times, but not too long. Toward the end of the day, my feet weren't listening to what I was telling them, providing lots of small stumbles. And one fall. As my left foot was heading forward to take a step, the top of my foot hit a stick... a 5-foot long, 1" thick stick. My foot pushed it forward. For a few inches, then the far end of it dug into the mud, stopping the forward progress of my foot. I knew I was in trouble, and could do nothing about it. But fall. So I fell. My knee landed on a rock, but it's just minorly bruised and scraped up a bit. I enjoyed the rest on the ground, but had to get up to keep on going.Today was quite a lollygagger day. I didn't leave my sleeping bag until well after 8am, but we managed to get on the trail by 9:20. Shortly after starting, we came to a sign announcing that we were entering "The Rollercoaster". I had to get a picture there, since I love rollercoasters. Most of them anyway. Since the trail had been so well graded through Shenandoah, I guess it was time to get back to the mountains, and steeper climbs. About 7 miles into our hike, and 5 of the 10 peaks of the rollercoaster conquered, we stopped for lunch at Sam Moore Shelter. Dutch Tulip and Happy Pappy were just packing up after their lunches. It was a nice day, sunny and slightly breezy, and sitting at the table at the shelter was quite relaxing. Unfortunately I knew the rest of the coaster awaited me. I also knew there was a chance for a soda and ice cream 3 miles north at Bears Den Hostel. I left the shelter after lunch with that on my mind.Bears Den Hostel is owned by ATC, and is an old stone castle in the woods. When we got there, Hoser and Mr. Ed, Josh and Alicia were laying in the lawn, with sodas in hand. They directed us to the hiker day use area, where we found Dutch Tulip and Happy Pappy, who planned to stay there for the night. Sodas were 25 cents each! I planned on getting one, but Hotdog had a whole dollar and bought us two each. First I drank an orange soda, then a regular cola. Mmmm... love cold sodas! Hotdog and I sat on the lawn for a while, but decided we needed to finish off the rollercoaster and get to our home for the night. Hoser and Mr Ed were waiting until the hostel opened at 5pm so they could buy ice cream. It was 4pm when we left.I was getting worn out. On the climbs my legs and lungs got tired. On the downhills, my feet hurt. I couldn't win. Except for the views. There were only about 4 of them, but they were awesome views of Shenandoah Valley. I tried to take breaks at the views. I just can't get enough of a good view on a beautiful day! Those views are what makes the situation immediately change from tired and achey to wonderful and thankful.After wearily finishing the rollercoaster, I knew I had one more descent and one more ascent, but more gradual than most of the 10 encountered previously in the day. It was after that last ascent, when the trail was fairly level, that I took my fall. It figures that I trip and stumble over all the ankle bending rocks all day long, but get to level, dirt (well, some mud) trail and decide to fall. Oh well. I was due, and am glad I didn't fall forward on one of the steep downhills!We got to the southern sidetrail to Blackburn Trail Center about half an hour earlier than expected, and went 0.2mi to the northern sidetrail, to make tomorrow's hike that much shorter. I'm not going to like the 0.3mi steep uphill in the morning, but I am enjoying being here. As Hotdog and I were making our way to the hostel, Bill, who is the caretaker along with his wife Sarah, came out of the house and informed us we just missed dinner, but could have dessert if we wanted.If we wanted??? Silly question! We dropped our packs at the hostel, and went back to the house to find a bowl of green beans for each of us on the table. Josh and Alicia were there, plus Paul, a section-hiker. Bill told us that the only thing left from dinner was beans and we had to finish them. No problem. Then we all had ice cream, with chocolate syrup! Mmmm! That made dinner for me.Hoser and Mr Ed showed up much later, and are sleeping on the porch of the house, while the rest of us are in the bunkhouse of the hostel. This place is a Potomac Appalachian Trail Club facility, and has the bunkhouse, privies, a cooking area, solar shower, water, campground, tent sites, a pay phone, and provides dinner upon occasion. And it's all free, donations accepted. What a great place! The porch to the house is available for hikers' use, and has a swing, picnic table, and a lot of chairs. This would be a great place to stay a day or two to relax!But I have Harpers Ferry on my mind! After stopping at the Appalachian Trail Club's headquarters for mandatory hiker photos and looking at other hikers' photos, I will seek shower, laundry, and food, not necessarily in that order. I cannot wait to be clean, but food will probably come first!It's amazing to think I've been out here for 3 months, and, after tomorrow, will have covered over 1000 miles. It's strange, but the time has gone by quickly, and slowly at the same time. It is difficult to hike day after day, but the rewards keep me going. I haven't been on the AT much before this trip, and haven't been to a lot of the states I'll be hiking through. It's been a wonderful experience so far, and I'm sure it will continue to be so. The people I've met, even if just for few minutes, have been so friendly and nice. And the people that come to the trail to bring some Magic are special people. They can totally turn a bad day into a good one!I am so thankful for them, and those that send me good thoughts! After this trip, I hope I can pass that Magic on to others who are seeking out their dreams too. It has been and still is an awesome adventure, and I feel blessed to be able to be doing this. Lucky. That's what I am.