Date: 2012-06-09
From: Punchbowl Shelter

To: Bald Knob
Miles today: 14.1
Weather: overcast clouds

We woke up early and headed down the cool morning trail. The sun was shining, the sky was clear, and we were were planning to hike down to the road and hitch into Buena Vista (pronounced Bee-ooh-na Vista) for a quick resupply. We got ten miles down the trail and tucked into Brown Mountain Creek Shelter. The heat was already pretty tough to bear. Appreciating the full canopy and taking a little break, we found one of the most beautiful sights: a sign indicating trail magic! Just ahead! It was going to be a stretch since we had a lot to do today. We ate a quick snack and followed the trail winding through thick, dry deciduous forest. As we approached the road, I stopped to make a trail-sized "800" out of small stones. When we got to the road, I realized that the distance was probably off by a tenth or so, but I didn't want to make it too early and then discover someone else's. We crossed the road, and walked to the turn-out to try our hand at hitching into town.A lot of folks slowed to look us over but nobody seemed to want a couple of hot hikers in their car. It was comical to watch their facial expressions. One car even pulled a U-turn, rolled their window down, thought twice, pulled another U-turn and kept going. After a spell, PMo took a break and sat on a bench in the heat. We eventually hitched into town with a very nice guy from Maine in an old red Jeep. We had a fun chat. His plan was to be in Maine tonight. It was going to take me a lot longer. He dropped us at the Hardee's and we thanked him for the good conversation and the safe ride.The place was a ghost town. Nobody was outside. There were barely any cars on the road. People were most likely hunkered down trying to beat the heat. PMo wanted to send her tarp back to Clark since it arrived in a very military-esque camouflage (not her thing) but the Post Office was closed as it was Sunday. We stopped in at Frank's for the Memories too. There was a sign on the door saying it was closed for the season. The season?? We eventually found a place for a cold drink, the Bluedogart Cafe. I wanted a root beer like you wouldn't believe. A root beer turned into a tuna melt wrap, an iced coffee, a bag of chips, and an orange. I also got the root beer. Served in a big icy goblet. We signed the hiker door and left with charged-up phones and full bellies. We then stopped in at the Uncorked Wine Shop. We talked beer with Michael and he introduced us to his friend Charlie who ended up taking us down to the grocery store. Charlie is a wonderfully interesting person. We talked about harmonicas, motorcycles, not working, life in a small town, friendships. He also told us about the situation with Frank's.He took us to Food Lion (almost 2 miles, one-way) and even offered to wait and return us to the trail (another ten miles, one-way) like a hero. He was such a generous guy and kept us entertained with his myriad of stories. He wished us luck and we thanked him profusely. He wouldn't accept anything other than our gratitude. I even tried to call Michael to buy him a bottle of wine but it just rang and rang. We found a sign for trail magic on the other side of the road and we checked it out. Cold soda! What a day! We each had one and immediately felt the heat set into our caffeinated and sugared-up bodies. We were sluggish heading up the hill in front of us. It was a couple thousand feet of climbing and our packs were full of food from the grocery store. Up and up and it just felt like it was getting hotter despite the drooping sun. Late in the afternoon, it started to cool just as we got to the top of the ridge. From here, we had recovered our stride and cruised over the hilly terrain through the tall grasses, exposed to the sky. We were on top. The setting sun was lighting up the sky in an unforgettable fashion. I have a handful of sunset memories so spectacular that I can recall and relive them any time I want. This one definitely made the cut.We ran into Semplesee on the bald, who had packed up three beers from the trail magic party we were headed to. He shared the wealth and we sat down upon the rocky summit to let the show unfold. King of the Hill and Jiffy Pop cruised up a little afterward and we all sat smiling into the fading-but-brilliant orange-peach light. We hiked down in the dark toward the trail magic party that was winding down. We played some corn hole in the dark illuminated by headlamp until the wee hours. We eventually hung our hammocks down one of the hills where a thin grove of trees were growing. I shared a delicious avocado with PMo before we hunkered down for a warm night under the stars.