Date: 2006-07-28
From: Paul C. Wolfe Shelter

To: Rockfish Gap, US 250 and Waynesboro, NC
Miles today: 5.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Weather - Clear and real warmI am excited about today - I will see my wife Nadine for the first time in 3 months. And my twin brother Steve is coming to slack pack me from Rockfish Gap to Harpers Ferry. John and I left the shelter a little before 9:00 a.m. I am in a hurry because I know it will take Steve about 4 hours to drive to Rockfish Gap.The climb up from the shelter was easy and the trail was in good shape which made for easy walking. I figured I had about one mile to go when I saw an arrow made of sticks with a message written in the dirt that read "HM 20 min." I knew right away that Steve had left it telling me that it was only 20 minutes to the gap. I picked up my pace and caught up with him before he got to the road. It is hard to express how good it feels to see family when you have been out in the woods for a long time.Steve, John and I hiked back to the Gap and we gave John a ride up to the Afton Inn. His 18 year old daughter Kelly is meeting him there tomorrow and they are going to drive to Front Royal and hike together from there to Harper's Ferry. After dropping John off, we drove into Waynesboro to check out the town, then got lunch and checked into the Quality Inn and I took a much needed shower, gathered up my smelly clothes and went to the laundromat. There was a barber shop right beside the laundromat. Yep! It was time for my first haircut in 3 months. With the hot weather, my long hair had made it even hotter so I got it cut really short and Larry the barber trimmed my beard for free. Now I had short hair, a short beard and wearing clean cotton clothes that Steve brought from home. I almost felt civilized again. Clean is good!Steve and I decided to go try find Frond and Azaria. I knew they were camping near the YMCA. We found their tent but they weren't there and they weren't in the YMCA, so I thought the next best place to look was the Library which was right beside the YMCA. We went in and checked out the computer section but they weren't there. As we were walking back to Steve's SUV, I heard a "Caw Caw" coming from behind us. I knew right that it was Azaria. She and Frond whistled when they are separated on the trail to let each other know where they were. For me we had been using the "caw caw" call to do the same. She and Frond had been sitting in the children's section of the library and saw us when we came in but with the new haircut and new clothes they weren't sure it was me. It was good to see them again. Steve is going to slack pack them also. We all climbed into Steve's SUV and went to get some ice cream.When I called Nadine on my cell phone, she was already at Rockfish Gap so we met her on US 250. Gosh! It felt so good to see and hug her, it seems like a year since I saw her last! We went back to the motel, dropped off Nadine's car and she met Frond and Azaria. We went to a nice Italian Restaurant that Frond had seen earlier. The food was great and we had a good time. Frond and Azaria invited us back to the library where a free movie was being shown downstairs. The movie was "Yours, Mine and Ours." Afterwards we walked with them down to their tent. They told me they had seen Ziplock and that he had only spent one night in Waynesboro then hiked on. We are going to pick up Frond and Azaria in the morning. Nadine, Steve and I went back to the motel. It has been a good day - the best day since I have been on the trail.