Date: 2018-05-05
From: Wind Rocks Campsite

To: VA 621
Miles today: 24.5

When I stepped outside the tent at 1AM to pay a visit to Mother Nature, the fog was as thick as molasses. After I found my way back to the tent and crawled under my quilt I quickly realized that I wasn¢t getting back to sleep anytime soon. I decided to work on the previous day¢s journal entry and it was after 4AM before I finally got back to sleep. Oh well, at least the journal was nearly finished. At first light I was awakened by ¢tow-hee drink your tea, tow-hee drink your tea...!¢ Apparently, this is the only tune that the eastern Towhee knows, and he persists in singing it over and over and over again. Knowing that getting more sleep was a futile effort, I crawled out of my cocoon, ate breakfast and packed up my wet tent. It dawned on me then that it¢s been awhile since I had to pack a wet tent, and for that I was grateful. I commenced to taking off at 7:30, with two other hikers pushing out just before me. When I got to the end of the ridge (Lone Pine Peak), I checked my phone for a signal. To my surprise, it was pretty strong. I decided I would go ahead and post the Day 71 journal entry before continuing further on my hike. Usually Which Way serves as the senior editor, as I make all kinds of mistakes while typing in the middle of the night. She happily cleans up dangling participles and no telling what else before handing me back the phone so I can make a post to the website. But today I was on my own. So I spent about 15 minutes actually rereading my post and making edits. It was then that I really appreciated the work that she does each and every day. Satisfied that I had a good journal entry, I attempted to upload the final draft. I don¢t know if I was distracted by the songbirds or what, but somehow I managed to delete the whole thing! That hurt!! I tried feverishly to get it back, to no avail. Not wanting to forget the highlights (the days tend to run together out here), I ended up just making notes for later. Then, I googled ¢how to undo in notes pages.¢ It was then that I learned that you simply have to shake the phone up and down vigorously. I tried that, but I had already messed it up too badly. I saw that Which Way had texted and I wanted to give her a call to see how she was doing. I was actually calling to check in on her and see how her foot was healing, but I ended up venting about my failed effort to get the journal entry on the website. She could tell I was distraught and just listened patiently. She has a real knack for that! What a wonderful character trait.As I continued to hike I felt physically sick. I was kind of nauseous and a little clammy. It was the first time I hadn¢t felt well the entire hike. It was probably some combination of being upset over the failed post, the high humidity, shaking my I-phone up-and-down, staring at it for too long, and trying to peer up into the trees, straining to see the songbirds. I continued down the hill to War Spur Shelter, the first of four shelters I¢d pass that day. When I arrived, I did some more stretches hoping that the slow breathing that goes with the routine might help me feel better. It really didn¢t help much. After hiking down a little more I started to climb. Today¢s total ascent ended up being around 4,300¢, the bulk of it coming over two climbs. The first climb, totaling about 2,000¢, was up to Kelly¢s Knob. It was a fairly steep climb with the last part on an old road bed that went straight up the mountain. There were an abundance of chipmunks and fat squirrels on top of Kelly¢s Knob. I guess they were fat and happy from eating nuts from all the oak and hickory trees on top of the knob.As I descended Kelly¢s Knob, I heard the sound of thunder. Danger Close! I could see the rain coming in a thick black cloud from the bottom of the mountain as I hiked down into it. It was .6 miles to the Laurel Creek Shelter and I decided to make a run for it. I was about two tenths of a mile out from the shelter when a really loud crash of thunder exploded above me and with it the sky opened up. When I made it to the shelter I was already pretty wet. But, the rain continued to fall for a while and I was happy to be inside the shelter with eight Boy Scouts and their Troop leaders. My phone was low on battery so I asked if anyone had an extra boost in their power pack. One of the scout leaders said he did and allowed me to get about a 20% charge. They were just out for the weekend and offered up some food so I took some Cliff Bars as well. I had to make it two more days and was wondering how I was going to get by with the little food that I had left. Trail magic! After the rain stopped, the Scouts headed trail south. I ate one of the Cliff Bars, stopped by the stream to filter enough water to last the rest of the hike, and continued down the mountain. Soon the Mountain Laurel gave way to other vegetation, including a couple of large Mayapple colonies. On one plant, in one of the colonies, I saw my first Mayapple flower of the hike. It was neat finally seeing one of the flowers after watching the plants grow and produce buds for weeks. Now, I¢m not usually a flower and bird type of guy. However, being on the A.T., where things come at you much more slowly, causes me to appreciate the smaller wonders of God¢s creation. The trail passed through fields and pastures for about a mile on either side of VA 630. The second significant climb, appropriately named Bruisers Knob, started just north of VA 630. Just as the trail was about to start up and into the forest, it passed by Kefler Oak. At over 300 years old, it is the largest oak tree on the AT south of the Mason Dixon Line, measuring 18¢ around. A short distance after cresting Bruisers Knob, I had a decision to make. I was standing at the trailhead for the blue blaze path leading .3 miles down the path to Sarver Hollow Shelter. Although I was pretty worn out and running low on water, it was only 5PM and I was still over 24 miles from Four Pines Hostel (and Which Way). A quick look at Guthook showed that the next shelter was only 6.5 miles out. Where I was standing, the trail was soft and sloping gently upwards to Sinking Creek Mountain. In three more miles it would start a long descent down the mountain. The downside was that I was running low on water and I would be rolling into camp late and tired (and 2 days behind on the journal). Then I noticed something else on Guthook. Just 1.5 miles after the next shelter (Niday), was a road crossing. VA 621 was only 8 road miles to the Four Pines Hostel. Although I would get there late, I could get a shower, perhaps something good to eat, and have a much shorter hike on Sunday. Most importantly, I could put eyes on Which Way, who I gather was not digging being without me at the hostel. I had a good signal, so I made a quick call to Which Way to see what she thought about the plan. Of course, she loved it, so I asked her to ask Joe (the hostel owner) to pick me up at 8:30PM. The trail continued to be smooth for about another two miles. But nothing is smooth on the AT for very long. On the last two miles along the ridge I found myself walking along ledges, mostly on large slanted slabs of limestone rock. It was also raining again, making the rocks very slick under my over-worn shoe treads. Since my muscles were now beyond fatigued, I had to carefully choose my steps, looking for creases in the limestone. Needless to say, my pace slowed significantly. I was starting to get concerned about having to hike part of the way down the mountain in the dark. There were several hilltops along the ridge that were barely a blip on the elevation profile. Each time I would work my way over one set of rocks, the next hill would come into view. The entire ridge ran along the Eastern Continental Divide and a sign marked the ECD on the last hilltop. I called Joe from there to let him know that I was on the home stretch. It was still rough going for a bit, but eventually the path softened and flattened out some. My feet hurt! Starting with the burning calluses on my big toes, continuing through my flattening arches and my bruised heels, and up to my tender Achilles¢ tendons. I ran when I could just to change the foot strike in hopes of reducing the pain. I passed by Niday Shelter with its optimal tent sites. ¢That would have worked.¢ Oh well, I was committed now. When I hit the final switchback, I saw the Four Pines Shuttle Truck pull into the parking area. Perfect timing!15 minutes later, Joe had me back at his hostel (a converted auto garage). Which Way was standing in the gravel drive waiting to greet me. It was a sweet sight for sore--everything! I don¢t think I would have had the energy to fix dinner if I had stayed at the last shelter. But, I wasn¢t at the shelter, and when I got out of the shower WW had a pizza with all my favorite toppings heated up and ready for me to eat. Oh, and for dessert, chocolate chip cookies and a cold cup of milk. I knew then that I had made the right decision.It was soon past hiker's midnight and the lights were going out at the full hostel. The past due journal would have to wait until after my nightly nap.I¢m back with my Which Way and life is so good!Peace & Blessings - Next StepElevation Data:               Weather:Ascent ~ 4,360                  Day ¢ 82 degrees / SunnyDescent ~ 6,810                Night ¢ 58 degrees / Partly CloudyGrade ~ 9.1Over the Horizon: McAfee¢s Knob