Date: 2010-06-02
From: Massie Gap

To: Fox Creek, VA 603
Miles today: 9.8

Because we decided to skip the small section where the horses are, we moved forward to do this one. We dropped Wild Poodle and Cahoda off at Massie Gap and drove to Fox Creek to begin our Southbound hike while they went Northbound. They will end the day at the truck and drive back to camp while we end at Massie Gap which is in Grayson Highlands. We told them we would just hike back to camp because Paula is due in today.They trail was still rocky and muddy. This section seems to stay we and sloushy. Right out of the truck we had a 3.8 mile uphill climb, not steep but consistant. There were huge boulders and I mean HUGE!!! It was raining so we put on our raingear and started our hike. Half Left was a bit ahead of me as we came up to a huge boulder, it was hard to hear because the rain was pounding on our hats. I looked up and didn't see Half Left. Most of the time you constantly walk with your head down so you don't trip over rocks and roots, which I seem to do often. I didn't see him anywhere, I yelled TOM, TOM, TOM, no answer. I walked up the trail looking all around, no Tom. I was so frightened, I thought this was the Bermuda Triangle Trail. A few minutes passed by, I walked further up the trail and still didn't see him. I started to cry when all the sudden he appeared from behind the huge boulder. He thought I heard him say he was going behind the rock to put away the camera so it wouldn't get wet but I couldn't hear him and he couldn't hear me because of the rain. We hugged and said I love yous and started pounding the trail.About halfway up the climb was Old Orchard Shelter. It is in an old apple orchard, go figure. Apple trees everywhere with little apples all over. There were 2 other hikers there getting ready to begin their day. We were there fairly early so they hadn't broken camp yet. It was a nice log cabin looking shelter, sleeps 6. We snacked, checked out the register and continued on.At the crest was Pine Mountain, it's funny because on the way up I said I wonder why they call this Pine Mountain, there aren't any pines up here. Well at the top there are. We crossed a cattle ladder. They are all over the place keeping farmers cattle in and out of the woods. These were there to keep the ponies off the trail and up on Grayson. We came to a clearing with more huge rocks but this time it was clear pasture land, we could see for miles! We could see Grayson Highlands, Mt. Rogers and other mountains we have no idea what they are called. When we look around we always wonder will we be going up them or did we just go up them and what are their names. There isn't ever anyone to ask so we just don't know.One of our special moments for this day is crossing the 500 miles point. It is right after the crest and we hike smiling, hoping to see a huge 500 MILE mark. Never seeing such a sign, we made our own guessing where exactly this point is, Half Left gathered twigs and made a 500 out of them. He took them camera in hand and snapped a photo of both of us with the 500 in the background. I will post it as soon as Samantha uploads it.Heading on, excited for Paula's arrival, we reached a point called "the scales". It is a corral where they used to gather the cattle for selling years ago. Now it is a fenced in area with camping, a bathroom and views of the meadows surrounding it. Sitting against a rock is Cahoda and Wild Poodle eating their lunch. We decide to join them and eat ours too. We tell them about the trail conditions and they do the same for us. As we are sitting there, a loud jet navy plane soars by scareing us. I click a photo as it tears across the sky. Half Left sees a dark rain cloud and says lets go. We say our goodbyes and continue up the trail.We arrive at Grayson about 4:30 hoping Paula will arive soon. She calls and leaves a message on Half Left's phone but the service isn't good so we can't hear it. About 30 minutes later, she shows up at our tent site. The conversation is crowded with us telling her all about what she will experience. Cahoda and Wild Poodle were to pick up the truck and go into Atkins and pick up our resupply boxes. Half Left's mom said she sent us some cookies so we were anxious to get our box. They arrived close to 9:00 much later than expected, we were worried. The cookies, chocolate chip and some peanut butter were delicious! Thanks Pearl!!!A couple of hikers we met the day before showed up about 9:30, tired and wet. They had hiked 19 miles and set up camp right next to us. We gave them a beer and some cookies.