Date: 2004-04-02
From: Pearisburg (John and Jenny's in Blacksburg)

To: Wapiti Shelter
Miles today: 16.2
Weather: overcast clouds

Rhododendron Tunnels7PM - Wapiti ShelterFairly long day, snowing lightly most of the time. It is too dark to type effectively, so will continue tomorrow.6:30AM, 4/3 - Wapiti ShelterJohn's house is on a small mountain, so we drove through a mountainous area on the way to the trailhead in Pearisburg. As soon as we could see mountains taller than John's, we could see that the overnight rain had left snow in the higher areas. With the previous night's forecast of 4 days of rain, it looked like I would be walking in snow for a while.That was certainly true from about an hour after I left Pearisburg for the rest of the day. When I stopped in at Doc's Knob Shelter for lunch, there was a Girl Scout troop there out for a day hike. Their leader told me that the latest forecast was for the weather to clear on the 3rd. We'll see.Most of the day was spent walking in 'rhododendron tunnels'. That is to say, mostly along old woods roads, which are lightly graded and only a few feet wide. They are several decades old, and now that they are part of the AT vehicle traffic is no longer allowed and the woods are reclaiming that area. Since the first species to move back into that open space is the rhododendron, the Trail is lined with rhododendron growing so close to the trail that at times the hiker is brushing against them on both sides. The hikers leaving Springer about now will be treated to a riot of blooms when they reach this area.While walking through this tunnel, I met my only thru-hiker of the day, Little Tree. She is an exceptionally positive person, and a pleasure to talk to. And a fast walker too. She had walked from this shelter to where we met in a bit over 4 hours, but it took me nearly 6 to get here from there.I made two important equipment changes coming out of Pearisburg. First I bought a new pair of winter gloves, since it is apparent I will still be encountering a wintry mix for a while. They seem to be working out well.The second is that I switched to my summer boots, and have bounced my winter boots down the Trail. My summer boots are lowtops, made of a coarse fabric, supplemented with pseudo-suede. My winter boots are hightop leather boots.That also seems to have worked out well. The summer boots are at least a pound lighter (for the pair). There is a saying among long distance hikers that a pound on the feet is equivalent to five on the back. I certainly felt that yesterday, feeling the best on a day coming out of town for the whole hike, despite a full pack and the usual long UP at the start. I also like the more fredom of movement at the ankle, though my friend Ken tells me that that flexibility makes ankle injuries more likely. I do admit that my ankles are a bit more sore than usual, but figure that's because I'm using muscles that I didn't before. And, I also have the impression that rocks are not as hard on the balls of the feet in these boots. The treads are no thicker, so I ascribe that to the greater ankle flexibility.Now, it's time to get up and break camp.See you on down the Trail------------------------------Have you ever seen a rock scrapethe sky? www.pocketmail.com