Date: 2008-04-10
From: Jenkins Shelter

To: Jenny Knob Shelter
Miles today: 23.6
Weather: broken clouds

Woke up at around 6:30a this morning and noticed that Toddy Bear had just gotten up too. After giving the Privy one last gift, I began packing my stuff. By 7:20a, Toddy Bear, all packed up, pulled out. Yeti followed 10 minutes later, but I didn't leave because I couldn't find my "snack bag/man purse." Upon further investigation, I noticed that the stray dog had pulled it off the table and was carrying it away because it had food in it. After a brief chase, I was on the trail heading North! I don't know what is with mountains named Brushy Mnt, but they all seem to be butt kickers. As I left the shelter, I began the rough climb up Brushy Mnt. #3. As I was walking, I found the coolest blaze yet...It had a N painted underneath it. This may seem pretty small, but I just thought it was cool that the Maintainers did something special for the NOBOs. As I continued, I ran into Yeti doing some stretches. So, we continued travelling together and chatting away. Before we knew it, we were at VA 615 and decided to indulge in 2nd Breakfast. After eating, we discovered the coolest thing ever...*Trail Magic*Upon further investigation, we discovered that the cooler was filled with Apple Juice, Orange Juice, Gatorade, Bibles, and a laminated copy of the week's weather. So, I'm gonna send a big thank you to Green Valley United Methodist Church's ATOM program. So, we continued the 6.9 miles of ridgewalking and just before we got to the US-21 Road Crossing, we found a gallon of water in memory of Soleman, a gentleman who died 3 days before starting his AT Hike. After taking a bit of water, Yeti and I continued to mUS 52 crossing to discover more *Trail Magic* in the form of Capri Suns Coastal Coolers. Man, that was 6.75 fluid ounces of Happiness...this gave me the idea to buy some of these when we pull into towns. So, while Yeti and I enjoyed these libations, we took off our boots and socks to let the 78*F sun and wind dry them off...my feet feel really, really good after doing this. After taking our fourth break for the day, Yeti and I decided to press on and then crossed our third interstate I-77. After the crossing, we pushed on a "manly" 0.6 miles to the Kimberling Creek to gather water and eat lunch. After yet another break, we began the wickedly rough climb up to the Helvey Mills Shelter...to quote Yeti, "It was sadistic." When we finally reached the shelter, we decided not to check it out because it was 0.3 mile off the trail. Well, we continued to walk the 6 mile ridge, but the sun was ferocious and felt as if it were sapping my energy. At one point, my thermometer read 80*F. To better emphasize this point, I felt as if the sun were a puppet master and he was playing me like a marionette and crushing our hopes on big mile days!By 3:30p, Yeti and I had reached VA 611 and decided to take another Pack, Shoes, and Socks off break in the shade. As we were laying there, we heard a van pull up. At first, we both thought, "More Trail Magic," but it was a backpacking class from Appalachian Bible College and they were hiking to the Helvey Mills Shelter. We told them about the water situation and then decided to press on. At 4:00p, we began climbing Brushy Mnt. #4. By 4:45, however, Yeti and I rolled into the shelter and were greeted by Toddy Bear's pack and a SOBO Flip-Flopper named Biff. By the time T. Bear came back from the water source, I was in the middle of drying out my clothes. The walk to the water source is quite far and all down hill, but on a hot day, the cold water felt really good on my body. Tonight, I ate soo much food. I had one of Barbara's Dehydrated rice and Veggies with a Southwestern Chicken in a pouch, Ramen Noodles, and two Honey Buns. Two more SOBO Flip-Floppers have just rolled in. There names are Bobcat and Trail Mix (a couple)!!! Oh! Toddy Bear informed me that Stovie got to the Helvey Mills Shelter at 5:15p last night and kept pushing on until he got tired...so did Roundhorse and Brandon!!! There is no issue of the Appalachian Times, so we don't know how the rest of this pursuit played out. Well it's 8:35p and we have another 23-ish mile day coming up tomorrow and I should probably get some sleep!!! I hope Roundhorse and Brandon don't try to "run with" Stovie because he's way too fast and they might get hurt trying to!!!