Date: 2008-05-25
From: Punchbowl Mtn Shelter

To: YMCA Campground in Waynesboro, VA
Miles today: 1.5
Weather: clear sky

Man...what-a-day..I got on the trail at about 6:45am with Marley and Gator to try and catch the nurse No Eyed Deer to see about my toe - my ingrown toenail which now looks quite infected and is quite painful. Thankfully we got her after about 1.5 miles. She looked at it and gave me the news: it was so bad there was nothing she could do about it there, I would have to go to a doctor. Well, I was half expecting this and it was good just to have an answer. I am already going pretty slow and this means time off the trail for sure. So I hiked back 0.5 miles to a gravel road we had crossed. No hope of seeing a car there. So I just picked a direction and started walking down the road. After about 0.5-1.0 miles I came to a bridge, passing under it. Must be paved on top, so I climbed up it. It was indeed paved and looked a lot more encouraging than the gravel road. I waited for a while - only motorcycles seemed to be passing. Eventually a cyclist came by and I flagged him down. He really wanted to help me and dialed his father-in-law, a doctor. He suggested the hospital in Lexington (no doctor or clinic would be open Sunday morning). I thanked him and continued waiting. The very first car to pass actually stopped (turns out I was on Blue Ridge Parkway). The woman driving dropped off her husband to hike and actually drove me all the way to the Lexington hospital, quite a ways, so I was very thankful.The hospital was surprisingly straightforward - Stonewall Jackson Hospital (I was definitely in the south). Noone else was there. I went into the ER, signed in, they let me in right away. I actually fell asleep on the bed for a bit waiting for the doctor. He said the toe was pretty bad and infected, he'd have to cut like 1/4 or 1/3 or the nail off and gave me anti-biotics. he said he hoped that I didn't have a strict schedule with the hike because this would take me out for a while. I didn't like the sound of that at all but then he said 3-5 days and I said I could live with that.The numbing needles were PAINFUL - I didn't expect such pain from a needle and I was turned away, biting into the flesh of my hand - which is unlike me, I'm usually pretty good with that stuff. Then he went to town with scissors on my toe - it was a mangled, bloody mess and I wish I had videotaped it. I was glad to have it done with. I checked out, they said it would be about $600, pretty sure insurance will cover none of that. But that's the exact amount I got from the government for this stimulus thing, so I guess I'm breaking even.So I'm walking out of the place thinking "OK...I need to take 3-5 days off, where's the place I can spend the least amount of money?" And immediately Waynesboro sprang to mind with its free hostel. Unfortunately, Waynesboro was about an hour away by car. Hopefully I can hitch there by the time it gets dark, I thought. It was about noon. Lost in this thought, I passed two young people, a guy and a girl. "Hey, you a thru-hiker?" Odd because Lexington is not a place thru-hikers are usually seen. I said I was. "You need a ride or something?" Turns out these guys are totally willing to take me all the way to Waynesboro. This is true trail magic, not the stuf where you get free snacks and sodas and stuff. The guy, it turns out, got about 800 miles into a PCT thru 2 years ago. We got food in Waynesboro and then they dropped me at the church where the hostel is. I gave them $20 for their trouble. I read the sign - closed Sunday night. Damn...but the sign also mentioned the YMCA, which jogged my memory of free camping there with acccess to the Y services. It was only about a block away. I signed in and headed for the campsite, and hooray! Friends, hopelessly ahead of me on the trail - CreekDiver, Sampson, BearTrap, 85, Wolly Mammoth, Lady, Dr. Zayus, RockSteady, Chef, Hangman, Alf and Bronco. Had a nice night out here of grilling, drinking, music and laughter. God I feel like I have done any hiking in weeks.I'm up at 1:00am because the numbing stuff for my toe has now worn off and it's THROBBING...Ahh...what a day. This is thru-hiker life.