Date: 2003-05-22
From: Harpers Creek Shelter

To: Paul C. Wolfe Shelter 
Miles today: 22.3
Weather: overcast clouds

I am a wet, smelly, grubby, sore, snot-nosed hiker. And I don't care! I made it to the shelter before the rain. I'm not sure it's a good thing to have made it, considering it's my longest day yet, but it's only 5 miles to shower, laundry, food, and rest! And that makes it all better!My goal for today was to make 17 miles, so the trip into town would be about 10 miles. My "farthest I'll go" was here, although the thought crossed my mind earlier today to go for town tonight. As the time passed, and the miles did too, my feet told me that this shelter was plenty far!Not a whole lot of scenery to see today, since it was cloudy, foggy and misty all day. Still, it is very cool walking in the fog. It blankets noise, making it like walking in a tunnel. I had no idea where I was or what was nearby. When I came near the Blue Ridge Parkway, I didn't have a clue it was within 50ft, until a car passed by. At times I couldn't even see that far. For a lot of hikers,it makes for a longer mileage day, because you don't want to stop in the rain for breaks, and there's nothing to see at overlooks, so you put your head down and keep walking.It is pretty chilly, maybe reached 60 today. A lot of thruhikers have sent home winter gear and sleeping bags, replaced with summer gear. Several of them are regretting that, especially at night in a light summer bag. I have only sent home my hat and gloves, but will make some changes in Waynesboro. I'm going to send home my expedition weight tops and bottoms, and get another pair of shorts. Clotheswise, I'll be carrying or wearing 2 pr underwear, a bra, shorts, pants with zipoff legs, a t-shirt, a midweight long sleeved shirt, 2 pr socks, and a fleece jacket. I'm considering sending home my rain pants too. I haven't worn them in a while, and if my hiking shorts get wet, I will have the pants with zipoff legs for nighttime. Most of the time, I wear my shorts to bed, so they're dry in the morning.All I can think about is getting cleaned up. I have mud on my legs, but it's staying, at least for the night. I am in desperate need of a shower. I am more desperate for laundry, as everything I have is dirty, yucky, smelly, stinky, icky and sticky. For maybe the first time heading into town, I'm not thinking of food first. That's quite a change! Since it's taken me about a day and a half less than I thought it would for the last 93 miles, I've been pigging out, trying to drop weight off my food bag. That's been fun! I don't have a whole lot extra left, and am not hungry at all right now.I'm not sure where Fly and Smoothie are, as they weren't awake by the time I left the shelter at 8:30 this morning, and I haven't seen them all day. Lite Shoe is here, having made the 22+ mile trek today too. Actually, there are 6 of us that came from Harpers Creek Shelter this morning. And, once again, there is a creek right in front of the shelter. It's not as close as some have been, but I can hear it over the rain. It'll be another earplug night. I also want to sleep in, or at least not leave my bag until late tomorrow morning. I'm tired. I'm sore. I wanna lay here for a while, and take my time getting to town.Today, I climbed the dreaded Three Ridges. I'd heard horror stories about the climb, but I didn't think it was that bad at all. I kept walking uphill thinking "when does the steep part start"? It never did. The Trail and Profile Map Gods got back at me though, by throwing in a steeper than expected climb up Humpback Mountain. I'd like to go back there someday, when the skies are clear, because I have a feeling there were some wonderful views! It's added to my "Places to Revisit" list.After summitting Three Ridges, I felt really good. It wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be, and it looked to be the toughest part of the day. Going down the other side, the tree were wet with fog and mist, and as the wind blew, drops rained down onto the leaves and smaller vegetation near the ground. It sounded like applause as I walked by. Feeling good, I said out loud "Thank you! Thank you very much! I couldn't have done it without you!" One of my hiking poles picked up a glob of wet leaves, and it flipped them into the air, making leaf confetti for my parade. About thirty seconds later, I tripped over a rock, sending me back to my humble, smelly hiker status. It was fun while it lasted!All I keep thinking is "town tomorrow, town tomorrow, town tomorrow". I'm gonna dream about it too.