Date: 2008-04-25
From: Paul C. Wolfe Shelter

To: Waynesboro, VA
Miles today: 5.0
Weather: overcast clouds

As usual, we woke up at 6:30a, but we decided to take our time doing our morning ritual. Strangely, however, we were packed and on the trail by 7:05a. As we walked along, we passed an old cemetery, house foundations, and a chimney...remnants of the old settlers. I knew these weren't associated with the Civil War, but it felt good to let my imagination "run wild" with how these people survived during the war. So, we eventually reached Rockfish Gap, took pics, and then went to the visitor's center to call a Trail Angel to see it they would pick us up. After calling and waiting for Trail Angel Bryant, we spoke with the Keeper and I took a really cool picture with a life size replica of General Robert E. Lee. I never knew that he and I were the same height and that he was that skinny...It felt like history was "coming alive!!!" Then, the keeper informed us that those rock walls and remnants of buildings were from the early settlers. Appearantly, the early settlers were of Scotch-Irish Decent and decided to live in these areas because it was similar to the areas from which they came. As our trail angels were pulling into the parking lot, I picked up some pamphlets about VA History...this place is so historical!!! When Ann and Roger Bryant pulled in, we loaded our gear into their Jeep and admired his plate, which said, "PCT H[i]K[e]R." As we were riding, we learned that Roger had thru-hiked the PCT in 2003 with support from his wife along the way. Furthermore, he told us that comparing the AT to the PCT is like comparing apples to oranges (I think he was trying to say that the AT is harder)!!!! After giving us a driving tour of the town, he dropped us off at the laundromat. Since there was no bathroom in which we could change, we waited for the owner and other customers to look away so that we could strip out of our hiking clothes and into our rain gear. Okay...I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but whenever hikers go to the laundromat, they usually wear their rain jacket and pants so that they can wash their shirts, shorts, socks/liners, and underwear. Some hikers, however, bring a separate pair of clothes for this purpose, but we only brought one pair of clothes--to save weight--and ONLY wear rain pants and Jacket while at the laundromat ( I thought I would clear this up for everyone). While we were washing our clothes, this 20-ish and 40-ish year old women walked in to speak with their mother, the owner. Well, these women were overweight and wearing clothing which did not cover much. Their shorts were VERY tight and VERY short, the same with their shirts. So, I'm not sure if they were trying to "entice" us, but they kept bending over near us and talking about how tight their shorts were. Needless to say, we were NOT INTERESTED and GROSSED OUT all at the same time!!! This incident reminded me of a similar happening while we were in Pearisburg: While walking to the laundromat, a caravan drove by and three "husky" women stuck their heads out and were cat calling us and the likes. Well, they decided to do two more passes--a total of three--and keep "enticing" us. I don't know why, but for some odd reason, we seem to be popular with the "town" ladies...it must be our enticing body odor, dirty clothes, or mountain man-like beards!!!We gathered our laundry, still in rain gear, and walked over to Ming Gardens...a Chinese AYCE Buffet. Not knowing what to do with our packs, we carried them in and placed them at a table as we gathered food (We normally don't do this, but we wouldn't have had a good view of it from where we were sitting and didn't want to take a chance)!!! While we sat down to our first plate, we saw Roundhorse and MiniVan walk in. When they saw us, they asked their waitress/host, " Can we sit near our friends?" Wow! I never knew they considered us to be friends. This shocked me slightly because I noticed that they were becoming much kinder and they seemed to have gotten rid of their competitive attitude. I asked them when they were leaving and found out that they were pulling out to Calf Mnt. Shelter after eating. We bid them good-bye and then hustled over to the Post Office so that Toddy Bear could pick up his warrantied pair of Solomon Trail Runners and Yeti could check if his summer gear package had been bounced here. Unfortunately, Yeti's package didn't arrive, but Toddy Bear got his shoes and we laughed at the difference between the new and old. While they were handling their "business," I decided to head over to the Shenandoah Valley Art Center and look at the exhibits...there was this 18 year old girl who is very talented and I enjoyed looking at her work. After gathering our thoughts, Toddy Bear decided to walk over to his hotel to meet his friend, Mr. Hardesty, while Yeti and I walked over to the YMCA. Wow! This town really takes care of Thru-Hikers. Through a yearly, private donation, the YMCA offers hikers: 1)Free Showers, 2) Free use of their facilities, 3) The ability to leave and "guard" hiker's packs while they do town chores, and 4) Hikers are allowed to camp, for free, on a "knoll" behind the facilities. So, I made some entries in my trailjournals and Yeti and I "loitered" to pass the time. Then, we decided to head over to the Comfort Inn to see if Breakman and Grasshopper--friends of Yeti--were still there, and to check out which other hikers were around. As we were entering the lobby, I saw a hiker sitting on a bench who said, "Well, there's a face I haven't seen in awhile!" It was The General and he had decided, once he reached Damascus, to hike SOBO from Front Royal-->Damascus so that he could be there for Trail Days. He had, sadly, fractured his ankle when he entered the SNP and was laid up for 6 days so that it could try and heal, but he's been hiking 20+ miles recently and said his leg feels good--it looked pretty bruised up, but he's making it, eh? Then, Yeti and I headed over to the Walgreens to buy Q-Tips and toothpaste. After this adventure, we headed over to Save-A-Lot and bought a 2L drink and sat outside of the Rent-A-Center for 30-45 minutes while trying to wait out the heavy rain. The rain stopped and we decided to try a "shorter" route back to the YMCA, but we got a little lost. Well, as we were in a suburban neighborhood, the rain re-started and we took shelter underneath a tree/bush thing to try and wait it out. Well, Yeti and I decided to continue through the rain after "somebody decided to 'relieve' themselves in a public neighborhood!!" We did make it back and decided to "set up" camp because the YMCA had just closed down. So, I pitched my Tarp-Poncho and it collapsed. There was no rain or wind factor involved but it collapsed *sigh* and all of my stuff was getting wet from the dewy like moisture. To make ourselves feel better, Yeti and I decided to go buy some snacks. The nearest gas station was closed, but Yeti and I found some young skater kid and asked him where we could get snacks. He told us that he would walk us to a gas station because it was on his way home...his name is Jeremy and he was visiting his ex-girlfriend. When we got to the gas station, we each bought a bag of chips and a beverage...not another 2L of Pineapple Soda though!!! While Yeti was purchasing his Steel Reserve, the cashier looked at him, not his ID, and said, "Uh, you look old enough!" How funny is that!!! After destroying my bag of Tom's Hot Fries and drink, we headed into our shelters. I need to figure out how to pitch this thing because the tarp-poncho is currently touching my face and sleeping bag and my face is wet...Night!!!