Date: 2006-04-18
From: Johns Hollow Shelter

To: Cow Camp Gap Shelter
Miles today: 23.0
Weather: clear sky

Today was a day of contrasts. The walk itself went great¢¦I felt good all the way¢¦a little tired after 23 miles, but a ¢great hike.¢ On the other hand, there were a couple of disappointments including a drama that unfolds over the next couple of days. I¢ll get into that later.The first disappointment was when I realized they had re-routed the foot path and it no longer goes by the Otte Cline Powel memorial monument. You might recall Otte was the little 4 yr 11 mth kid who went out to gather firewood for the school house and never returned. His body was found on that very spot April 5, 1891¢¦five months after he disappeared.In my ¢03 thru-hike, I found over two dollars in change at the foot of the monument that must have fallen out of someone¢s pocket as they kneeled to pay their respects. Damn!...as I recall, that was enough to do my laundry when I got to Waynesboro¢¦no such luck this time.The Trail still goes by the spot where a furnace once stood that was used to make charcoal in the early 1800¢s. I¢ll bet they didn¢t make the kind we have today that doesn¢t require lighter fluid. Now, I never would have guessed they had cook outs back then where they were grilling steaks¢¦maybe life then was better than I thought¢¦the Trail is a constant learning experience.The sun was out¢¦it was warm¢¦and I made water twice on the Trail and again when I got to camp.I¢m starting to see more dogs this hike¢¦and none of them on leash. Two guys with a beautiful young female yellow lab passed me coming the other way mid day.This leads into the unpleasant ¢drama¢ I mentioned above. Anyone who reads any trail discussion forums knows how sensitive and inflammatory the subject of taking one¢s dog with them on the AT can be. And, anyone who knows me knows I love dogs¢¦more than people. Well, I have to tell you about my experience this evening.First, Cow Camp Gap Shelter is a half mile walk off the Trail. I would have stealthed along the Trail, had I not needed to go there for the water. As I walked up, I was greeted by this adorable little Terrier¢¦cutest little dog I¢ve seen in a long time¢¦and he wanted to play.   His master was alone in the shelter¢¦tucked in his sleeping bag.As I walked back and forth from the spring (about 100 yards from the shelter) looking for a good tent spot away from the shelter, I could hear the owner calling his dog, ¢Here Petee,¢¦here Petee¢¦¢ I honestly tried to find a spot as far away from the shelter as I could, but I was tired and after ten minutes of searching had to settle for this well used site 10 to 15 yards in front of the shelter. The soil was still damp from the recent rainfall, but it was nice and level.As I begin to unpack, Petee is chasing me around with his rubber mouse. The first mistake I make is tossing it¢¦which of course is just want Petee wants¢¦and he brings it right back and drops it at my feet. When I ignore him he starts tossing it around. The owner calls him and my second mistake I make is to say, ¢That¢s okay, I like dogs,¢ to which I get no response.The dog continues to annoy me as I make water. I thought I¢d warn the owner that there were three guys behind me with a male dog also not on a leash. When I walk up and tell him this in a not unfriendly way, I get what I thought was a rude response. The guy puts his hand to his ear and says, ¢Huh!...what!...I can¢t hear you.¢ No, ¢Sorry I¢m hard of hearing¢ or ¢How are you¢ or ¢Sorry about Petee.¢ He doesn¢t even thank me for the warning and he doesn¢t tie up Petee.I have to spread my tent out flat on the ground first and install the spine. Petee is all over it with his muddy paws and rubber mouse. The owner says from inside his sleeping bag in the shelter, ¢Just push him away.¢ He watches me yell at Petee a couple of times to no avail.I manage to get the tent erect and now Petee is dropping the rubber mouse at the base and it rolls under the tent. I do nothing and he starts to claw at the tent. I start thinking he might just rip the thin silnylon or the netting. I walk over to the guy and say, ¢Pal, you¢re gonna have to control your dog¢¦he¢s gonna rip my tent.¢The guy now gets serious¢¦he starts calling Petee, ¢Peter.¢ ¢Come in here Peter come on Peter¢¦etc.¢ without moving out of his bag. In fairness, he does roll over and look out this time when he calls the dog. He never did put Petee on a leash. Petee must have seen the ¢I¢m gonna kill a dog for the first time look in my eye.¢ He quit bothering me when I retired inside the tent for the night.Sometime well after dark, while I¢m in my bag trying to sleep, Petee starts barking. I look out and it is a hiker walking up the path to the shelter.I think, ¢Oh yeah, this will be great!¢¦maybe this guy will have guts enough to do what I couldn¢t¢¦kill Pete¢s owner.¢ Instead, all I hear is the dipsh!t apologizing over and over for coming in late¢¦I wanted to kill him, the owner and the dog¢¦in that order¢¦but I was too tired and didn¢t have my gun with me.,Nice guy that I am, I just lay there on my back and eventually fall asleep looking through my transparent tent covered in muddy paw prints.The saga only begins here, you will hear more over the next couple of days. But, how do you think I handled it?...too big a pussey huh? Well it doesn¢t end here.