Date: 2014-06-20
From: Troutville

To: Bobblets Gap Shelter
Miles today: 17.0
Weather: broken clouds

Woke up at 6:00, Garbage men picking up dumpster in park. I fell back to sleep until 7:00.People are out walking the track early this morning. They drive here, walk two laps and then they go home. I wish my day was going to be that easy. I packed up my stuff and was still hoping to get a shower at the fire station before I left Troutville. There were kids fooling around in the park after midnight and several trains went through during the night right by the park. It seemed odd to me that no trains went through during the evening but 4-5 went by after midnight. The park is really nice though and they have plenty of shelters for hikers. When everything is working out the way that it should you can camp, shower, do laundry, and there is water and restrooms available. I got a cup of coffee at the little grocery store and tried one last time for a shower, no luck. Rain is in the forecast for the next couple of days and it is cloudy right now. I left about 9:00, I wanted to mail some things home to lighten my backpack. My goretex rain suit and a couple of small items weighed almost 3.5 pounds so that will make up for some of the food I just picked up in Daleville. At Fullhardt Knob Shelter I took a short lunch break and realized that I had passed the one third mark on the trail this morning. About 11:30 I moved on because there was no water at the shelter. Sunshine was on the trail this morning picking blueberries, they are starting to ripen and you can pick a few every now and then. I stopped at a small stream for water and some snakes were swimming around trying to catch the small minnows there. Later I saw my first black rat snake sunning himself on the trail. He was about 4 foot long and moved out of my way and then went back out in the sun when I went past. Stopped at the next shelter to beat a sudden shower and ran into No Pants, Bones, and Sock Fat. Sock Fat is a young man from Pennsylvania who graduated from college on May 11th and started hiking on May 14th. That is really moving so I felt that maybe I wouldn't be seeing him soon. I almost fell twice today and I don't even move that fast. Both times I tripped on small trees that had been cut 2-4 inches above the ground and were on the side of the trail where the plants were hiding them. The first time it was on the right side wher the trail drops off on the right and the second time it was on the left side where the trail drops off on the left. I was just lucky that I didn't tumble over the side. The trail will be following the Blue Ridge Parkway for 100 miles and then it will be following Skyline drive for another 90 miles through Shenandoah National Park. Hiking from the second shelter to the shelter where I stopped for the night I counted 30 orange salamanders, it gave me something to do. At the first overlook on the parkway when I came out of the woods I got Trail Magic. A local resident named Brent stopped and asked me if I wanted a cold bottle of water. He was 51 and already retired so he frequently leaves Trail Magic in different places on the parkway.I also got Trail Magic at the 2nd overlook, a cucumber, tomato and granola bar. I ate them while I enjoyed the view. When you go back into the woods you frequently hear motorcycles cruising the scenic road. I got to the next shelter about 6:30 it sounded like a storm was coming in over the mountain. Sopfat had already arrived and was staying for the night. I quickly hung my bear rope for later, got water and changed into some dry clothes. I had missed the rain but you are soaked all day from the heat and humidity. It started raining about 7:00 and Chef, No Pants, and Frosty all came into the shelter at different times soaking wet. We made room for everyone in the shelter. While putting things away for the night I saw and quickly killed 3 nasty looking spiders near my sleeping area. I took a picture, maybe later I can figure out what kind of spiders they were.