Date: 2005-06-10
From: Calf Mountain Shelter

To: Blackrock Hut
Miles today: 13.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Started @ Calf Mountain ShelterDestination: Blackrock HutMiles today: 13Total Miles: 869.6Stayed in shelterDay 91It rained most of last night but thank goodness, we were dry--except for the wet clothes we had to put back on this morning. They would have been wet with sweat anyway soon after we started hiking.We got on the trail at 7:30 this morning and counted down the number of times the trail crosses Skyline Drive. Six times today. At the second crossing the man that drove us to the trailhead drove into the parking lot and gave us a bottle of ice cold water. RedHat had just finished saying that she did not have a lot of water left and would have to look for a water source. There were no water sources for a while after that point. The trail was up and down all day but not really too bad. Some weeds, but for the most part the trail was better than yesterday. By 4pm we reached the shelter and we were exhausted. Ol' Graceful and MacPac got there about the same time and we all pretty much could do nothing except lie down and catch our breath. Pokey and Gonzo were coming to the shelter, also. But Nimblefoot, Princess, and Brownie, and Soulman got a hitch from the last road crossing to the Loft Mountain Campground to go to the restaurant to get a milkshake. Then we heard later from Buffalo Bob, who showed up later. that they had got a hitch back to the road crossing to pick up their packs that they had hidden over the side of the road and were going to go back to the campground to camp and hike the section between there and the road tomorrow. The last hikers to come in were Noodle and New Heart who we had met the other day as we were hiking into Waynesboro. New Heart was all excited because he had seen several bears and gotten a picture of one. Ol' Graceful had seen a bear, too, and so had Pokey and Gonzo. Pokey and Gonzo told of a deer that just kept circling them as they were eating their lunch, like it was wanting some of the food. The deer here are so NOT afraid of humans.I have not mentioned any snakes lately. The only other snakes I have seen is a black snake that I saw today and a little dark gray snake with a yellow band around its neck earlier this week when I was coming down from the Priest Mountain. I suppose it was a garter snake. But RedHat saw a timber rattler on the fire road that leads to Maupin Field Shelter from the Blue Ridge Parkway. Mr. Sweepers told me he saw a rattle snake coming down from the Priest Mountain the same day I came down, only he was just ahead of me by about an hour. So far I have seen no poisonous snakes and I don't care if I don't.Tomorrow is a planned short day of only 7 miles because the shelters are spaced so that if we did a 13 mile day today we would either have a 20 or 8 mile day the next day. If we are going to do a short day we would rather have it tomorrow and stop at a campground where we can get a shower, do laundry, buy a hamburger and milkshake, and have a flush toilet, etc. So tonight I go to sleep with thoughts of a hamburger, fries, a shower, clean clothes, water from a spigot, and clean toilets. Ahhh--I can't wait.