Date: 2012-05-30
From: Dutch Haus Bed & Breakfast (Montebello, VA)

To: campsite
Miles today: 21.3
Weather: broken clouds

We left the Dutch Haus with full bellies and happy hearts, as well as clean clothes and bodies. The state of my belly and heart lasted much longer than my cleanliness, as I stank again by the time I did the one-mile walk from where we'd gotten dropped off back to the trail. We went up a little rock scramble to the top of Spy Rock, which was a gorgeous view. (I'm much happier about doing rock scrambles when I have a choice in the matter; this was a 0.1 mi side trail, so it was optional.)On the way up a mountain called The Priest, there was a shelter also called The Priest. It's a thru-hiker tradition to write a "confession" in the shelter register there. In the interest of full disclosure, here is mine: "I never dig a cathole when I poop in the woods. By the time I stop hiking and find a good spot, I realize I should have stopped much earlier and don't have time to dig a hole." There were some really funny confessions. My favorite was from a guy who said he left Hot Springs with way too much food and was struggling his way up the mountain leaving town. He got so fed up with his ridiculous load that he walked off the trail into the woods, dug a hole and buried 2 lbs of trail mix!The Priest wasn't a difficult climb, but I knew that up ahead of me was 3 Ridges Mtn, with almost a 2000 foot climb. I had been dreading it all day. I got to Harpers Creek, the shelter just before the uphill and took a 40 min nap on the shelter floor to prepare myself. Then I ate a Snickers bar and got going. (I'm beginning to think Snickers bars have magical properties. No matter how tired I am, I can eat one and 10 min later feel good as new.)Per usual, as I started to go up the mountain, I realized that my dread was unwarranted - it wasn't bad at all. I got to Maupin Field shelter around 7:30 and had dinner. Talks Alot showed a group of us a black timber rattler hanging out on the path to the privy. She said it hadn't moved since 2 PM, but I still didn't even want to get close enough to take a picture. It was the first rattlesnake I've seen on the trail, and hopefully the last.I could have stayed the night at Maupin Field, as it was getting toward sunset. But I stupidly decided that I wanted to catch Overdrive. At the beginning of the day, we had decided to do about 20 mi, so I decided to go the 2 more past the shelter to where I thought he would be. After I got past the Blue Ridge Parkway road crossings, past a beautiful sunset as I walked through a meadow, the trail started to get very rocky and hilly. Uh oh. There were no campsites around here! What was I thinking, trying to catch him without knowing exactly where he'd be? It got completely dark, and even though I had my headlamp, it was still nervewracking. At one point, I said to myself, "If I don't find him by 10:15, I'm setting up my tent right in the middle of the trail." I kept going, hoping that he would be right around the next corner. At about 9:45, I saw reflectors on the side of a tent, right next to the trail. I stood there for a second, trying to figure out if it was Overdrive's tent. I heard a voice say, "Who's there?" "It's Peach!" "Peach!" - it was Overdrive. He helped me clear out a flat spot and set up my tent, and we both went to bed. It was the latest I've night-hiked yet, and luckily it turned out well.