Date: 2003-08-03
From: Dick's Dome Shelter

To: Rod Hollow Shelter
Miles today: 9.9
Weather: scattered clouds

start Dick's Dome Shelterdestination Rod Hollow ShelterWe were able to get a little extra sleep this morning because we were only doing 10 miles. There are not any camping spots between the shelters. In fact, there are not too many tent sites at the shelters. So if you can't do 20 miles, you are pretty much stuck doing 10 miles a day to be able to pitch a tent. The trail today was the worst maintained trail I have seen to date. If it wasn't the poison ivy limbs straining over the trail to snag you, it was the brambles. There were more blowdowns than usual. Smaller ones that made hiking more treacherous. In places you could not even see the trail without using your hiking poles to move brush aside. Coupled with the rain, it made the day go slower than usual. I came to a sign on the trail. It read Harper's Ferry 32.8 miles. I walked on by a few hundred feet then stopped and turned around and went back to the sign. I just stood there for the longest time. Waiting for the fact that I was almost halfway in my hike, to sink in. It seemed sureal to me. I have hiked almost 1,000 miles. In just a couple days I will be halfway. I got goosebumps as I stood there. The reality finally starting to take hold in my brain. I have made it farther than 50% of the hikers who started out from Springer. I take a picture of the sign, pat myself on the back and start to move on. I do not want to leave, I just want to stare at the sign awhile longer. I am amazed that I have come this far. Mudbutt and I had planned to have a late lunch. When I came to the road crossing for Ashby Gap, I stopped to wait for her. Looking up on the pole there, was a list of milages for shelters for both north and south bounders. There was also a schedule for Doc's Bar B Q. Hmmmm,the thought of a Sunday dinner started going through my mind. It was only .8 miles off the trail, along a divided highway. I thought out my plan of attack while I waited. Ponch came along first. I brooched the dinner idea to him, he was all in favor of a store. He was out of cigarettes. As soon as Mudbutt came in sight I asked her how she felt about Bar B Q for lunch. Only .8 miles up the road. We had plenty of time. I did not have to twist her arm very much. Just the chance they might have sweet tea was nough to get her going. We started along the road, each of us periodically sticking our thumbs out, hoping for a ride. We had gone about a quarter of a mile, when delivery van pulls up in front of us and stops. The man gets out and starts rearranging the back of his truck to make room for us. We are happy to be off of that busy highway. There was very little shoulder for us to walk on. We told him we were only going down to the Bar B Q place. He said he knew that. It was the only thing down there. Turns out he was the owner! He said picking up hikers was more than just being nice. It was a good business on his part. Within minutes we were guzzleling down large glasses of sweet tea and water. In a short time plates of sandwiches and fries, baked beans and potato salad filled the table. We even learned the difference between Texas Bar B Q and North Carolina Bar B Q. It was a super Sunday dinner. We sat around with our eyes bulging trying to figure out where to put dessert. Ponch bowed out but Mudbutt and I couldn't resist. Moose Tracks Ice Crem for me, and the best Pecan Cake on the planet for her. The owner, whose name is John then volunteered to take us back to the trail if we could wait around a litle while. We waited. Then it started to rain, so we waited some more. When the rain finally let up, we were deposited back to the trail. Such magic!! Such food!! Such an uphill climb on a full stomach!! Such a load on my bladder, two glasses of tea, two glasses of water, one bottle of Gatorade, not to mention the liter of water I drank just before we left the trail. I think I spent more time hunting discreet places to hide than anything else. I came to a stone wall. Flat rocks laid on top of each other. An opening was made for the trail to go through. Someone said something about George Washington working on this wall as a surveyor or something. I stop and take a picture. A piece of history still very much intact. The rain lets up as I reach the shelter. Ponch is already there with his gear unpacked. We chat for awhile. He is almost the same age as my oldest son. I get homesick to see my kids just talkimg to him. I go down to the spring, a pipe shoved up into the side of the mountain. Further down is another pipe. It is a so called shower. Pure mountain ice water coming out of the ground. With Ponch safely back at the shelter, I strip off my shirt and my bandana. Using my bandana as a wash cloth, I wash everything I can stand to become frigid! It feels great to wash the sweat and mud off of my body. I smell just a little bit better. At least until I put the smelly sweaty clothes back on. I go back up to the shelter just as Mudbutt hikes in. We have snacks and talk about whatever comes to mind. There is a stiff wind blowing and all around us we can hear branches snaping and falling to the ground. The radio calls for thunderstorms. We debate pitching our tents, but in the end, the wind calms down and the rain lets up. We check over head for suspicious looking branches before we pitch the tents. The night is alive with sounds tonight. Bugs and birds all with their own sounds. The lullaby of the forest. Ponch is in the shelter by himself and he begins to talk, then starts banging things around. A mouse has decided to join him tonight. Again, I am glad for my tent. No mouse in my house!total miles 9.9