Date: 2007-06-03
From: War Spur Shelter

To: VA 601, Rocky Gap
Miles today: 2.8

June 3, Cold and WetWe cannot escape the maddening clutch of towns. It's beyond our control though. We had to return to civilization today because of the weather. Now that you know how the day ended, let me start at the beginning.I woke up at 5:45 a.m. to the sound of rain on the shelter roof. At 6:45, I woke up to more rain and no action in the shelter. I decided to go back to sleep since we were obviously all going to wait out the rain. At 7:45, we all woke up and watched out the shelter as the rain came down. I had breakfast in bed as the others relaxed. We all tried to fall back asleep but Melk would have none of it - it was time to play cards. More Hearts. I won this morning, yippee!We played cards until 11 a.m., the rain never stopping. We were debating zeroing at the shelter or hiking the normal day. Melk, the perfect display of iron will power, had already decided she'd hike. So, reasoning that it was too early to break up the newly formed Team Average, we all would hike. The rain pounded down on us and we stopped about a half mile past the shelter for a motivational pep talk. Then we started climbing. Two miles later and soaked, we were standing at VA 601 freezing. The wind was biting and the rain was still coming down in buckets. We decided it was too cold - Young Eagle and Melk had both swapped out their sleeping bags for summer bags and were not equipped for such cold temperatures. Not to mention that being cold and wet is no fun for anyone. We called Brenda from the Rendezvous Motel in Pearisburg for a shuttle. She didn't know where we were and we had to explain and give her directions. The four of us stood huddled together as we shivered and waited for Brenda. Twenty minutes later, Brenda called back for further direction. An hour later we were still standing there freezing. We tried to make time pass with games and songs. We tried to list all of the states and capitals. We sang the first part of "Stand By Me" over and over again as we stood on top of one another trying to generate warmth. It felt like Brenda was never coming. I kept trying to call her for an ETA but it never worked. At one point a car passed and got our hopes up - not Brenda. She finally came and we piled in her car praying for warmth. I was beside myself with gratitude.We pushed her to take us to Troutville - we refused to step into Pearisburg again. Pearisburg felt like a black hole and we all joked that the employees at the Holiday Motor Lodge were all zombies. We named the cleaning woman who came by asking us for towels, Lurch. Anyway, about an hour later we were at the Holiday Inn Express taking warm showers.I won't lie - I was scared today. We were all really cold and had not much control over the situation. It is certain that we've not spent enough time in the woods during the past week but I do think it was smart for us to come in today. The rain still has not stopped.We had dinner at The Cracker Barrel and I am exhausted. Ready for some good sleep.- Sound of the fan in the hotel room.Post Trail Thoughts:More Brenda. Today she confided in us that she was "scared shitless" to drive up in the mountains because she always felt like her car would flip or fall off of the mountain. She vividly described how she felt like she was going to "shit and puke" all over herself. It was a real pleasure. Oh, and she flipped out on Young Eagle again, "It's you again. Why can't I get away from you?"