Date: 2009-06-28
From: N Fork of Piney River (Camp)

To: Harpers Creek Shelter
Miles today: 16.2
Weather: broken clouds

Although I woke up at 7 am, I didn't leave camp until just after noon. I was farting around and just couldn't get the motivation to get myself going. I think that it had something to do with a bit of loneliness, as I really hadn't seen or talked to anyone for any significant time for many days. My feet were also still killing me and I was concerned that hiking in the shoes would create more swelling and that hiking in the Crocs would exacerbate my ankle injury. When I did finally get moving in the morning, I met two locals who were out on a day hike. They were friendly, but seemed a bit out of place out in the mountains. I had to take a side trail to find a stream so that I could fill up with water and they followed me, saying that they were taking the log road just to see where it would lead. I passed the Fish Hatchery Road, which leads to Montebello and the very famous Dutch Haus Hostel out on the trail. I continued the climb up the side of the mountain until I reached Spy Rock. There was a side trail and I took some time to go and investigate. I reached this huge rock face that had completely covered with vegetation. So, I took off my pack and left it on the ground and then proceeded to boulder up the rock face. I was climbing at an 80 degree angle with little foot and hand holds, but somehow I managed to climb to the top, where I was rewarded with a beautiful 360-degree panoramic view of the surrounding mountains. It was amazing! The next big climb for the day was 'The Priest', which is a very steep rocky precipice, especially on the northern end. The Priest Shelter is just .5 miles away from the actual mountain peak, itself. I hadn't stopped in a shelter for a little while and I needed to fill up with some water, so I went on in to check it out. As I explained before, in each shelter, there is a trail register in which thru-hikers are able to leave notes about their thoughts or to communicate with fellow hikers. This shelter was slightly different. As it was 'The Priest' shelter, the trail register served as a confessional. On the front, it read: "Confessional. The Priest will forgive you, for you have sinned." Inside were all of these light-hearted confessions, mostly related to pooping in the woods without digging a hole or peeing in the privies (you are not supposed to pee in shelter privies). The hiker who had just passed through wrote an incredibly outlandish entry (I don't think that it is appropriate to disclose his name or what he wrote), which completely weirded me out. It confirmed my belief that there are some definite weirdos out here on the trail. The Priest overlook was absolutely stunning. It was a rock face that overlooked the mountains and valleys and, for one of the first times on the trek, I felt entirely lost in the woods - not in the sense that I was lost, but that I was so far from civilization that there was just no remnants of man in any direction. I tried to take some photos on top of the mountain, but the wind had picked up so much that the camera just did not stay stable. The other side of The Priest was a very steep descent that just seemed endless. It was tough heading down the mountain walking entirely on loose stones and large rocks. As I crossed VA 64 at Tye River, which is close to the town of Tyro, I probably should have called Zack and Jill to come pick me up and help me out with a slackpack. I found out later on in the shelter that Frankenfoot and Blu-Ray had been able to slackpack several days heading towards Rockfish Gap, just outside of Waynesboro. After crossing a rather rickety suspension bridge over the Tye River, I called my dad to find out the score of the USA vs. Brazil final of the Confederations Cup in South Africa. We beat Spain 2-nil in the semis, a monumental win for the country, and I was very interested to hear how we did in our first official FIFA tournament final. He told me that although we went up two goals to nil after 35 minutes or so, Brazil pressed onwards and managed to score three goals by the end of the game to pull of the victory. As Landon Donovan said at the end of the game, "We are not looking for respect. We are looking to win the game". It's great to have seen us come such a long way and I hope that we continue in this direction. I was in a spotty location, so I couldn't talk for too long and we said goodbye before it completely cut us off. Around this time, there was a side trail that would lead to the Maupin Field Shelter. It was a complete shortcut to the other side of the mountain, rather than continuing to white-blaze, which would take you to Harpers Creek Shelter. Upholding purist principles, I made the right decision and continued on white-blazing to Harpers Creek. I arrived around 8:00 pm, but I was the ONLY one in the shelter. It would be a first for the night. I hung up my bear bag, ate some food, wrote in the register and then tried to fall asleep. I was debating with myself of hiking 27 miles the following day and making it to Rockfish Gap or just hiking 22 miles and hiking the 5 the following day. We shall see tomorrow.