Date: 2014-05-11
From: Laurel Creek

To: Road 611
Miles today: 15.9
Weather: broken clouds

Today is Mark's last day hiking with me. He is a great hiking companion and I will miss him tomorrow when I continue to hit the trail alone. We started the day at 7:30 a.m. and made fantastic time. Our tent and his hammock were wet from yesterday's rain storms. I will dry out what I can later today. Last night was nearly a full moon and it shown brightly through the trees. I woke up about midnight and I thought someone was in camp with a flashlight, but it was just the moon lighting up the place. There was lots of room to camp here, but the rain must have sent everyone to the shelters and town because we had the place to ourselves. We planned to meet Cathy at 12:00, but the trail here in Virginia is so well maintained that we made 7.9 miles by 11:00. The trail is like a park trail, few roots and rocks and lots of switchbacks. So unlike most of the trail before this.We went to the motel, cleaned-up, washed clothes, and took Cathy out to eat for Mother's Day. We had a wonderful meal. Then we bought food and started to prepare for tomorrow. I hope to hike a lot of days without stopping for food, so my pack will be heavy when I start.During the morning Mark and I decided to end our time together by hiking in the evening after dinner. At 6:45 PM we hit the trail for another 8 miles along a very dry high ridge-line. We took headlamps anticipating that it would be dark before we completed the miles, but we didn't use them. Tonight's hike completes a bucket list item for my trail hike, a night-hike under a full moon. By 8:15 PM the sun set and the forest grew darker and darker as we hiked. We slowed our pace and crept quietly along the trail by the light of the moon. Once or twice we heard what we assume to be large animals rustling in the darkness just off the trail, but we didn't see them. We were surprised by the number of thru-hikers that just stopped for the night and set-up their tents nearly on the trail. Most were already asleep and they didn't hear us pass, except one, whose tent we nearly tripped over. We reassured her that we were just night hikers passing by and not a bear.During this hike with Mark in this part of Virginia I observed how rapidly the undergrowth changes along the trail. Frequently, one side of the mountain has large trees with little undergrowth. Here the trees are nearly full of leaves and the tree canopy provides shade. It is also more humid and less airy. Then you cross a ridge-line and the trees are smaller and the undergrowth becomes dense. In many places the undergrowth is now spreading out and reaching the trail causing me to push small branches out of the way with my trekking poles. Grasses, flowers, and other plants are abundant in these locations. On the ridge-lines it is very dry and hot in stark contrast to the dense undergrowth at lower elevations. On the ridge-lines there are fewer animals compared to lower elevations. There is no water on the ridge-lines and water is only available when the trail descends into gaps. I am carrying more water now than in the past due to the long miles between water sources. I can only wonder how it will be in the summer.I didn't take any pictures today, so I will use an older one.RW means: Roman Warrior.