Date: 2005-06-22
From: Fullhardt Knob Shelter, VA

To: James River campsite
Miles today: 62.0

DAY 24 (June 17th) The first chore this morning was finishing off that watermelon, so we got a late start today. Walked slowly to a large stream, where Mr. Gimp and i caught crawfish - about two dozen - and boiled them for lunch. Threw the remains back into the stream only to see the real crawfish come out - each about 6-8 inches long, with large claws clutching the remains of their brothers, or grandchildren. It was easy to catch them, because their claws were occupied with food. We threw them in the pot, and they died still holding on to their loved ones. They were delicious! The larger crawfish had more meat in their claws than they did in their tails! Walked along the Blue Ridge Parkway (BRP) for most of the afternoon, enjoying the views that aren't available from the AT in this section. The trail runs parallel to the BRP and crosses it many times, so that gives one the option of taking the trail for a segment, then taking the BRP for some views, then catching the AT again later on. Ran into Santa, Wolfman, Bigfood, and Kokomo (all part of the Maine Boys, and all well over 55yo) today. It's amazing how many older people are thru-hiking the trail. I've been mostly hiking with younger people, similar age to me, but there are a lot recent retirees hiking as well, and they are doing great! I hung out at a shelter with them only to read "Who is John Galt?" scratched in coal on the ceiling directly above me!! (Atlas Shugged, anyone?)I had a planned pickup at Buchannan, but the trail crossed a Rte 43 some 5 mi from the town. No one wanted to give me a hitch, but a young couple stopped and offered to drive to their house and call my brother's cell phone! They did, and my brother showed up minutes later, and the young man returned to let me know he called and to make sure i got picked up alright! Can you believe that?!?DAY 25-26 (June 18/19th)Blacksburg. I missed that town. Got to spend quality time with the family, eat cheesecake, drink champagne, go wine-tasting at Vintage Cellar, eat meat, go tubing... life is great!Sunday evening got dropped off back in Buchannan to hike 3 mi uphill to the closest shelter. Ended up hiking in the dark for about a half hour, scaring off 3 deer and a bear at separate instances. Hiked and clapped my hands like a maniac after seeing the bear. Walk and clap, walk and clap. Walked up to the shelter and about 6 headlamps turned to me - what kind of creature walks the woods clapping at night?! The shelter was very full. This is probably the first time i was irritated on the trail. The shelter itself sleeps 6 or so, but there were tarps and tents all around, totaling about 25 people, and there was no space in the shelter and none nearby to set up camp, so i ended up hiking another mile (in the dark, still) to a campsite. I comforted myself with Godiva chocolate cookies and coconut rummm...DAY 26 (June 20th)New addition to the trail kitchen: PB, nutella, and squeezy butter on tortilla! I ate lunch at the Branch shelter, which is gigantic. It must sleep about 40 people! It has a second floor loft, wrap-around porch, privy with the view of the woods, and a bag of oatmeal - trail magic. I made it about 15 mi to Cornelius shelter, met Shoutout and Cup (who has the coolest New England accent and claims to be 47 but looks about 20). Shoutout is odd, he keeps saying things that can be misconstrued, and he makes the AT a competition, which isn't what it is at all. The credo among the hikers is: Hike Your Own Hike (H your own H), because everyone is out here for their own reason and on their own mission.They had a nice fire going all night at the shelter, and i added another meal combo to the menu: salami, cheese, squeezy butter, mayo, mayo, and mayo on a tortilla. I added some mayo to make sure there were enough calories to make up for the calories lost during the day. Tomorrow, I might try this combo with mayo.DAY 27 (June 21st)Happy summer solstice! This is the hike-naked day, so that's what we did - hiked naked! Well, the guys did, anyway. I walked in front, so i didn't have to see it. It was a chilly morning, so at first they complained about it being too cold, then they complained about not meeting any SOBOs, or anyone at all; then we ran into Boy Scout Troop.... The leader of the troop said he's warned the boys this morning, and wanted to take a picture of us, but from the back, because nudity is not allowed in their photo albums! Weirdo. Some NOBOs that caught up with us said the troop talked about us for days! Great. Walked some miles on the BRP again, but no troopers to ticket they guys (heard a guy got ticketed in Shenandoah NP for hiking naked!). Found some wild strawberries and blueberries again - this is becoming a regular treat! Also, i now have a camera - a digital one - but i feel like the last 3 weeks were the most intense, and i'm not sure what to take pictures of now. I'm definitely not taking any pictures of the naked guys; might break my new camera. Napped on the side of the BRP before an afternoon thunderstorm, and hiked in the rain - what a cooling pleasure! Came into a shelter that didn't even have a register, so walked on to a site on the shore of the James river and slept under the stars in the woods that, i swear, kept talking, creaking and wooing all night!DAY 28 (June 22nd)Up at sunrise. These are the days i like, because the morning seems to have lots of energy. Crossed a foot bridge, which is actually called that because it is dedicated to Mr. Bill Foot (the first man to hike across the coast to coast trail)!! Hitched a ride into Glasgow, and decided to eat breakfast at the only place there was in town - Mom and Pop's Restaurant and Motel, after picking up a package at the P.O. I ordered "the mountain man", and got three heaping plates of biscuits covered with sausage gravy, pancakes with unlimited syrup, eggs, hashbrowns, bacon.... it was amazing how much food I got for just $6, and the waitress was playing her part - "many a man order 'the mountain man' and few ever finished it". Between the two of us (hiking with Mr. Gimp today) we polished off the 6 plates (3 each) without a problem! Then, this grandma pulled up with her 4 grandchildren, and she was driving a very painted Hummer. All of Glasgow (population 40.2) poured into the parking lot to see "the tank"!! There were flames and holographic skulls and glitter all over the car, and the grandma wore jeans with flames to match those on her vehicle!! Then the waitress came up and said, "if you just want to kick back and relax, there's a shaded picnic table out back"... needless to say i awoke 2 hours later from the food coma!!