Date: 2003-05-26
From: Partnership Shelter

To: Bland, Virginia
Miles today: 56.0

Last Wednesday we made it to Groseclose, near Atkins, Va., a services centre just off I-81. Designed for truckers mainly, it's well suited to hikers as well. We had a fair amount of walking through pastures and meadows, and notably passed a large wild rose shrubbery absolutely full of cicadas, the large flying insects you always hear on warm nights but hardly ever see.Near the end of our day, I heard a train whistle on the other side of the small hill I was going round at that point. Praying I would get round in time to see it, I learned you should be careful what you wish for. It was a large freight train of the Norfolk & Southern, and by the time I made my way down the other side of the hill, it was stationary and blocking my path. Half an hour later it was still there, so I trudged down to the rear of the train about twenty cars down. It's hard work walking on railroad clinker, hopefully not an insight to what Pennsylvania will have to offer.Since then we have been in the shade, not to say gloom, of the woods, because it has been overcast and rainy much of the time. Occasionally, there have been hillsides ablaze with Catawba rhododendron, and, more often, we have walked along the path flanked by mountain laurel on either side. I love these blooms more than any other I think. Otherwise, there have been isolated pockets of wood anemone, Canada mayflower, mayapples and even a few fire pinks at one point. But most of the time the forest floor hasn't offered a great deal.We've taken five days to reach Bland, instead of the three days we planned for when we left Atkins. 'Thistle' had a knee problem first day out, and having to ration our food didn't do much for our energy levels over the last two days. We did emerge from the forest canopy on Saturday afternoon as we went up the ridge through open meadow to Chestnut Knob. From here, at 4,500 ft, we had excellent views of the Tennessee Valley Divide to the southeast below, Walker Mountain and many other ridges beyond that. The shelter at the top is unlike any other we have seen up to now with the luxury of four stone walls, a door and a few windows. It's a bit like a large Scottish bothy. There are various upper and lower sleeping platforms and a table inside.We spent yesterday morning walking the ridge that looks over Burke's Garden to our left. This is an immense cove, a large area of fertile land about 5 miles by 10, bounded by mountains and ridges on all sides. When first discovered by white settlers, including James Burke, in the 1740's, it was a lush area, full of game, and an important hunting ground of the Cherokee and Shawnee. Today, it is still very fertile, and we looked down on a green land dotted with farmhouses, barns and grain silos, although I believe dairy farming is the main activity here. In the 1880s, the Vanderbilts tried to buy land here to build an estate but were rejected local farmers.By mid-afternoon, we had come down two thousand feet and the Trail ran alongside Little Wolf Creek for several miles. We crossed and recrossed it and its tributaries at least a dozen times. There were no bridges, it was rock to rock stuff, and these became treacherous as our boots became wet and it started to rain lightly. There were a few falls among the hikers, I believe, most obviously Dimple Rock who came into camp last night feeling quite low. Our home last night was a food campsite right by VA615 which me brings me to my last topic of the day.TRAIL ANGELSA few days ago someone remarked that he had experienced very little Trail Angel activity. That's not the way I've seen it ........* On Friday, a hiker called 'Double Dare' lugged 2lbs weight of beer up to Knots Maul Shelter for everyone to enjoy.* On Saturday, frustrated at our poor progress to Chestnut Knob (great views but no water), I volunteered to do a water run 1.7 miles back down the Trail to a pond and spring. Coming back up and thinking by now that this hadn't been such a great idea, I met two guys sitting on dune buggies enjoying the setting sun. They are hunters, they have a cabin nearby which they use during the hunting season in October/November, and they are from the Kentucky/Virginia border. We talked for a while and the upshot was that one of them, Rick Swinning, gave me a ride back up to the shelter at the summit. This was up a path that I thought only a tank might negotiate, so I was very impressed by these vehicles.* Today was best of all. Out of food, we were at the VA615 campsite partly because of a promise of free breakfast pinned to the wall of a shelter we passed through yesterday. It seemed to good to be true, but sure enough, at 9.30 sharp a convoy of vehicles pulled up and whisked this band of odorous, hungry sinners off for an early morning feast at the hall of the New Hope United Methodist Church; pancakes, an excellent egg casserole, biscuits and gravy, maple syrup and home-made molasses, which one of hosts made from his own sugar cane. Our hosts were excellent company, and seemed genuinely pleased by our presence as we happily scoffed everything put before us. This act of Trail Magic is something they do every Monday between April and June. Today, a local journalist was on hand to take details about us and the AT.When we could eat no more, we were dropped off at a location of our choice, which, for several of us, after a day of slack-packing, is the small town of Bland nearby.