Date: 2003-06-07
From: James River, VA - Rockfish Gap, VA

To: James River, VA - Rockfish Gap, VA
Miles today: 72.7
Weather: light rain

James River - Rockfish Gap72.7 miles (846.4 total miles)Day 62 was an excellent zero day. I celebrated 2 months on the trail with my mom and stepdad. I slept well, got a hot shower, and a full breakfast. We picked up my friends from the motel, and did our shopping at Walmart. We finished the rest of our chores, and had a huge bbq dinner. My mom and stepdad made steaks, corn, potatoes, salad, plus a huge dessert. They also rented a cabin for my friends so they could stay nearby. We sat around the campfire for the evening. It was fun for my family to meet to my hiking friends.I felt good on day 63. The sun was shining. My stepdad fed us all with potato pancakes. We took some pictures and said goodbye. We started hiking at about 11:30. It felt really good to be healthy and on the trail again. We took it very slow, as it was a long, hot climb. But we were happy to be dry. We hit a shelter at 10.5 miles. We fell asleep to the sounds of frogs in the nearby pond.Day 64 was a nice, leisurely day. The hiking was mostly downhill. It was overcast and drizzly. We did 8.8 miles with few breaks to the first shelter. We waited for our crew to arrive, and it started raining. This was the first time in weeks that my boots were dry, and I did not want to head back out. I took a nap, and we waited. The rain never let up. We just couldn't leave. It would mean doing some long days, but we decided to make it a short day.It was damp and foggy on day 65. We wanted to push for a long day to make up for our short day. There was a shelter at 22 miles, but that seemed far away. There was a long climb in the morning. The fog lifted and it got hot. We stopped to enjoy the views. It took us 4 hours to do the first 6 miles. There was a nice field with a swing hanging from a tree. We stopped there for lunch. After that we walked on and on, up and down. We hit a shelter and pushed on for a long day. Somewhere we crossed the 800 mile mark. We ended the 22 miles with a long climb in a downpour. The shelter was crowded, but we squeezed in.We slept late on day 66 after our long day. It was a beautiful, crisp morning. I felt energized by the weather. We started with a short climb, then a long decline. We stopped for a snack at the Tye River. Then it was a long climb to end the day. We took our time to finish 14 miles, and we still got to the shelter early. There was a side trail from the shelter to a waterfall. We went for a nice 3 mile evening walk to see it.Day 67 should have been 17 miles to the shelter, but we decided to push 22 to get into Waynesboro. It was a long day. The terrain was easy, but knowing we had a long day was hard. We passed the time by playing "What would you order?" in which someone named a restaurant and we decided what we would order at that restaurant. The day seemed to never end.Finally we hit Waynesboro. We found an easy ride into town, and set up camp at the YMCA. We went to an AYCE chinese buffet, then headed down to the carnival. We rode the rides and ate funnel cakes. It was fun watching the locals. It reminded me of what a different world I have been living in.It rained overnight, and we took day 68 to dry out. We asked a local where to find the Shoneys, and before he could give us directions he offered us a ride. We ran around town and did our chores. We got a motel room and dried out everything we had.The weather is calling for more sunny skies in the future. All the hikers are feeling the frustration from the constant rain. There are some getting off the trail, and others at their breaking point. This was the wettest May in Virginia in a hundred years. So, that makes me feel better that the bad weather isn't just in my head. Tomorrow we head into Shenandoah Nat'l Park. From what I have heard the trail is easy, and there are snack bars at many road crossings. This should be a fun section of the trail.