Date: 2004-04-06
From: Range View Cabin (PATC)

To: Rod Hollow Shelter
Miles today: 42.4
Weather: scattered clouds

Log entry: 661. Start time:07002. End time: 22153. Weather:        b. morning:cool and clear        c. afternoon: warm and clear, 60s        d: evening: cool and clear4. Food        B-breakfast- little debbie brownies, 3        L-lunch- oats and honey, snickers cookie bars,        D-dinner- yogurt covered pretzels5. Trail description: not the easiest 42 miles of trail, but manageable. again, very good views and mild climbs. lots of downhills. more new scenery once i left SNP.grassy meadows and big hardwoods. the last 6 miles were in the dark, but if it was anything like what i had passed during the day, i didn't miss much.6. People: the boyscouts in the morning, an older lady section hiking7. Animals: deer, squirrels, birds and such8. Money: none9. Biggest complaint:some mental low points but body held up well most of the day. feet were sore.10: Thoughts: I was warm and toasty all night in my bivy. The wind howled but didn't cut through the fabric of the Bibler sack. I woke for the first time at 0630 and knew that if there was any hope for me to make it to Rod Hollow I would have to get moving. The sun hung low in the eastern sky, blockedby some distant mountain range. One that I would inevitably be climbing or crossing before long, most likely today. It had froze during the night but my shoes were inside the heated cabin, next to the stove. Surprisingly it only took about 20 minutes for me to pack up, 10 minutes to say final goodbyes and and thank-yous. then on my way.I flew for the first 15 miles or so, i hit the north boundry of SNP by noon orso and stopped briefly at Tom Floyd Wayside to sign the register. As usual, theshelters, "huts", maintained by the Potomac Appalachian Trail Conference (PATC)are top shelf. All very nicely built with large decks and well maintained.The trip down to Chester Gap went quickly and I was tempted to run into FrontRoyal to grab a snack but I figured that I was pressed enough for time as it is. I stopped quickly at Denton Shelter for water and slowed my pace, not so much by choice but neccessity. I had like 24 miles down and almost 19 more to go. Ispent most of the rest of the afternoon in prayer and slumped into Manassas Gapshelter at around 1700. I needed more water and some motrin. I took half an hour to just sit. I figured the last 13.4 miles wouldn't come easily. In actuality the next 4.4 to Dicks Dome was tough, long, and arduous. The problem was it was realtily flat so my mind was upset that my body couldn't move along any faster.One would think that I could bust out the last 9 miles fairly easily. I passedthe trail to Dicks Dome at around 1900, the goal was to make it to Rod Hollow by2200, but I did not feel 3 mph a realistic goal. So, like I had been doing allday, I laid it before the Lord. It didn't feel like i was moving along at a goodrate of speed, especially once I flicked my headlamp on. The last few days I have really fallen in love with hiking in the evening. There is something special about the soft, fading light and pleasent temperatures. If i were to be hiking later in the summer, i would seriouly consider starting early in the day and hiking until 1 or so. Then taking the afternoon off in the shade by a water source and reading and eating a hot dinner. Then packing up and finishing out the days work in the afternoon and evening. Maybe have a light snack before tucking in for the evening. But since I started early the hottest month I will see will be June, which will be in Maine. So I will have all the black flies and skeeters I can handle but not the sweltering heat.The last stretch seemed to take forever but by 2215 i was sloshing up the blueblazed trail toward the shelter. There were many muddy sections and streamcrossings to contend with leading upto the shelter. In the dark the smallestbrook seems like a formidable opponent. it is difficult to judge depth, rocksize and stability, and solid ground from mud. The added pleasures of hiking inthe dark.The shelter was of course empty and i dropped pack and filtered some water. iwas pretty beat and thought about not filtering but figured it wasn't worth therisk. I thought back to fall of 2002 when i was blessed with cryptosporidium.still not exactly sure how i got it, but point taken. I still shudder when Ithink about those 3 weeks in September.Since my stove was inoperable, I made some strawberry-kiwi crystal light andnailed a bag of yogurt covered pretzels, they were delicous but didn't fill meup. Oh well, I was too tired to be full anyways.