Date: 2010-05-10
From: Lost Mountain Shelter

To: Wise Shelter
Miles today: 17.3
Weather: overcast clouds

May 10, 2010 ¢ Day 35 - Monday"Every one of us has at least three things in common. We are born, we die, and in between those two events, we are in the process of writing a story called "life." ~Taken from a pamphlet thegoodnews.orgThe morning was cold and I did not want to get out of my warm cocoon. I am sure the temperature was close to freezing, but what made it so cold was the wind.Today's hike was exciting for me. The climb up to Buzzard Rocks was a steady slow ascent. The hikers on the trail refer to it as, "low gear." The day was sunny and clear for the views but the cold wind kept me from staying too long.The thrill for me today was having lunch at Thomas Knob Shelter. This was the beginning of massive landscapes and where the wild ponies live - a place called Grayson Highlands. And sure enough, coming into the shelter there was a small herd grazing on the side of the mountain. Coming down the trail was a face that looked familiar to me. I asked him his name and he said "Crashbang." He then looked at me and said, "Krispykritter?" I nodded and we were both jumping up and down like two school boys at recess (Crashbang and I hiked in New Hampshire and Maine on my thru hike in '04). Crashbang was doing a sobo section hike so we had little time to furiously catch each other up on our lives.The landscape and ponies were magnificent. It is hard for me to believe that I am hiking in Virginia when I hike through this area. The land is rocky and mostly barren of trees. The ground is covered in grass and small scrubs with fields of yellow and blue flowers mixed in, all manicured by the ponies. Large boulders and rock formations protrude out of the ground. The scene reminds me of Montana/North Dakota here in the states and the highlands of northern England/Scotland.Limestone, Freight Train, Deja Thru, Eric the Red and I watched several herds of ponies cross our paths. Several foals were among the herd. One particular white and brown foal was only several hours old. It was wobbly on its legs and the umbilical cord was still attached. I did not want to get too close as the mother was standing very close and being protective.Daymare is a term Bear Tracks came up with during my '04 hike. It is similar to a nightmare but it happens during the day when you are zoning out, then waking up not realizing how you got to this particular point in time. We all do driving, going into a daydream and then waking up going 20-mph over the speed limit or miles from where you want to be.I mention daymare because I had one in the Grayson Highlands. Limestone, Deja Thru, Freight Train. Eric the Red and I gone through a cave-like section of rock called Fatman Squeeze. We are entering Massie Gap and see a herd of ponies in the distance. I looked above the ponies and observed a small black dot getting bigger in the sky. I recognized the dot as a military jet zooming towards us at low altitude. I yelled to the group to look up as I pointed. Directly behind the jet was another dot moving towards us at a high rate of speed. My daymare kicks in as I start thinking maybe Fatman Squeeze was some type of portal and we entered into another dimension, where the place we landed was in conflict. I froze in place waiting for the ground in front of me to erupt towards me like popcorn (gunfire). (OK Krispy, enough sci-fi channel for you.) The first jet screams past us and banked right as white ribbons of contrails stream from the wing tips. The second jet follows and banks right to go around the mountain. I look down the valley and here comes two more and as they pass overhead they bank left. It was a pretty sight to see and all the guys were excited. Deja Thru wanted to know what all the excitement was about. I told her it was a man-thing.It seems the five of us are picking up hikers as we go. They hear about our plan to hike into Atkins,Va on Thursday to catch the free shuttle back to Trail Days and like the time table. As the train conductor would say "ALL ABOARD."Lowrod showed me what a Ramp (an onion-like flavor) looks like. I picked two juicy plants, cleaned and chopped the whole plant and cooked it with my chicken and noodles. OHHHH so good!Limestone said the next couple of days we will have thunderstorms beginning with a 60% chance tonite after midnight. That sold me on spending the night in the shelter. I had plan on tenting but would rather start off the morning dry instead of wet. I'll let you know tomorrow.If not now, then when? Krispykritter 2010 GaMe