Date: 2012-06-30
From: Double Springs shelter

To: Dave's Place, Damascus,VA
Miles today: 7.2
Weather: clear sky

Got up at 5:30 and it was dark and silent. My plastic bag of food was unmolested. By the time I packed up and left at 6:30, the drone of the flies was again deafening.Today there was no morning coolness. The sun was already fierce and I could tell it was going to be a scorcher.Got to Low Gap where the trickling spring was my last reliable water source until Damascus, 15 miles away. There were a couple of cars parked at the trailhead and a bunch of cyclists waving as thy went by. I drank 2 liters and then filled my water containers - 4 liters, 8 pounds.Going up out of that gap was SO hard with the water weight and I felt like I was going to puke after guzzling all that water. Even though I had used an electrolyte tablet, I was worried I was hyponatremic, so I sat down and ate some crackers. This father and son came along (the dad in jeans) who were doing a 21 mile day hike into Damascus. They commented that they weren't seeing any other hikers. Well, duh, no one but us crazies out on the trail.Starting hiking again and crossed paths with a guy and his dog. He said "I just split a bear about 10 minutes ago." Had no idea what that meant but he explained he had surprised a mama bear and cub and they had run off in opposite directions, leaving him in the middle. He said he could hear the cub whimpering for its mama. He lives in Damascus and was doing some 25- or 30- mile loop day hike. Another crazy.Got past the "split bear" area but was feeling really bad. When I tried to sit and rest I could feel my heart racing and laboring. I was worried I would pass out and hit my head on a rock and no one would find me for days. I decided to go to the next road and try to hitch into town or flag down a cyclist. The road turned out to be a US Forestry Service gravel road so a hitch seemed unlikely. It was about noon. I spread out my ground cloth in the shade and lay down, waiting for death to take me, but lost patience. I considered going to the next shelter 1 mile away, resting for the remainder of the day, and doing the final 10 miles to Damascus in the am, but really wanted to be done with hiking. I called Mount Rogers Outfitters in Damascus and said I was at McQueens Gap, and that I was having trouble with the heat. He said "It's not the heat, it's the humidity" and that their van couldn't make it to McQueens Gap. But then he talked to some other guys in the store and said someone would be there in an hour. Saved!About 10 minutes later, a pickup pulls up and lets off 2 hikers - a guy and his daughter. He is doing the southern AT in teeny increments. They had done a 4 mile hike in the morning, and were in a restaurant for lunch trying to figure out how to do the 4 miles south of McQueens Gap in the afternoon. A couple overheard them and offered them a ride. I guess I could have asked the people in the pickup to extract me from the trail, but my ride was already coming. After their hike, the father and daughter, who were from Indiana, were going to a wedding. ??Tom came and got me - he said he had been weeding when the guys from the store called him. He said it's been so dry here that someone was mowing and hit a rock and the resulting spark started a grass fire. Also some towns are canceling their July 4 fireworks due to the dry conditions.Got to the outfitters and got my mail drop with my traveling clothes including - best of all - a cotton T- shirt. Got a room at the hostel, showered, and had a great lunch.I'm fine with my decision to bail when I did even though I have to come back and do those stupid 11 miles to Damascus. My main disappointment was that I stopped 8 miles from finishing Tennessee, which would have meant completing my 11th state. Some other time...