Date: 2012-05-02
From: Campbell Shelter 707.1

To: HoJos Express, I-81 interchange, Troutdale, Dalevi
Miles today: 15.4

We were out of Campbell shelter at 7:30, great since we were hiking into town. We went descended from the shelter, then climbed up to Tinker Cliffs, where it is said that Revolutionary War deserters hid, and repaired pots and pans. The views from the top were fantastic. We could see fields and farms, and the city of Roanoke. I also had a real scare, when Gary took a wrong turn, ending up at the bottom of the cliffs. I had been far enough behind him that I didn't see him turn off the trail. I continued following the white blazes, thinking he was up ahead. After fifteen minutes or so, I stopped, and blew my whistle. Video, who knew about my signaling system to Gary, heard the whistle, and advised me that both he and Gary were hiking below the cliffs. Assured that I'd meet up with Gary again, I followed the white blazes the rest of the way along Tinker Cliffs, and back down to Scorched Earth Gap, where I met up with Gary again. We continued another half mile or so to Lamberts Meadow Shelter to get water and eat. Video, Grok and two others were already there, eating lunch. It was finally hot again, at least during the day, so we were drinking twice as much water as just a few days ago. After lunch we went descended, then climbed up another ridge. We met "No Hear Um," named for the fact that he doesn't hear very well, even when he turns on his hearing aids. For the next eight miles, the trail undulated up and down, sometimes steeply over boulders, until the last two miles, when it descended steeply for a mile or so before flattening for the last mile into the town of Daleville. Once we reached VA 816 in Daleville, we located the white blazes across the highway, where we would continue tomorrow, checked into our motel, and went across the road to the Rancho Viejo Mexican restaurant for lunch. (Random thought: While we were eating our enormous meals, plus dessert we, got to talking to the server. after she asked us if we needed a second dessert, we mentioned that we were hiking the whole Appalachian Trail. She didn't know what the Appalachian Trail was. She only knew that they served a lot of hikers would come in, mostly skinny young guys, skinny who ate and drank a lot. We told her a little bit about the trail, and that it crosses the road only a tenth of a mile away from the restaurant. She showed us a drawing that Spice-who we had hiked with in the Smokies, and was now a week ahead of us, and was an art teacher-had given her. When she found out we knew him, she wanted to know more. We told her about the shelters along the trail, with logs, so hikers can keep track of those in front of them, and those they pass can keep track of THEM.) Next we did the usual town stuff: laundry, blogging, resupplying, eating a lot. (Another random note: Today we saw more squirrels, grey ones and brown ones, some beautiful three petaled flowers we had not seen before, and lots of centipedes and millepides.) (Yet another random thought: Gary's leg was much better and not impacting the hike anymore! Yeah!) Life continues to be great on the AT, especially when nothing hurts any more, and you get to spend the night in a motel and eat Mexican food in town!