Date: 2007-06-16
From: Stealth site 3 miles past Lamberts Meadow Shelter 

To: Daleville VA
Miles today: 6.4
Weather: scattered clouds

It was a quiet and cool nite, rained lightly for much of it. I knew I only had a little over 6 miles, so I took the time to just lay in my hammock and enjoy the sounds of nature waking up in the morning.It finally stopped raining, but drops were still falling from all the trees. It was 61 when I woke up.I started hiking @ 8:15 a.m. and had a few minor climbs and more ridges to hike. Most of it wasn't too bad, but there were a few sections of rock scrambling to do. I enjoy rock scrambling a lot, but it is harder on wet rocks with wet shoes.Matter of fact, my shoes have not been dry since leaving Pearisburg. I don't think they make an odor-eater capable of cutting the smell of my hiking shoes right now! LOL Actually, everything just stinks when it never dries out, which was a big factor in my deciding to stay tonight in Daleville and get everything dried and cleaned before continuing on my next leg.One place on the way to town was simply fantastic. I don't know if this was Hays Rock, but there was this rocky outcrop in which one rock (a little wider than my body) jetted out and up. I layed on it, on my stomach, the sun was out and warm, there was a large bird floating on the wind currents above me, and the view was of a beautiful river below and a town to the left. I seriously could have stayed there all day. I just layed there, I could see cars way off in the distance and I wondered where everyone was going and how they had no idea that I was way up on the side of this mountain watching them.I also thought about something that has bothered me since being out here as a solo hiker. The topic of women's safety and how we are supposed to tell anyone that asks that we are hiking with a group, even if we're solo hiking. I have been unable to do that yet, granted the people asking me that question were not shady characters, but still, I take issue with it for this reason.As long as we (women) continue allowing the oppression (caused by fear and a cultural threat of "men") to occur, nothing will ever change. At some point, we will have to openly claim our right to hike alone AND expect a safe journey. Way back in the Classical Era (I think...maybe the Romantic Era), there was a composer named Robert Schumann. He was a well-known composer and musician, and his works are still performed today. His wife, Clara Schumann, was also a gifted composer and musician, but women weren't "known" or accepted in that realm, so Clara was forced to submit her work to publishers under her husband's name, or they wouldn't give her the time of day. At some point, a woman or group of women had to refuse to succumb to those cultural standards, and make a path for change. If I say I'm hiking with other people, I feel like I am perpetuating the cultural standard that women should hide the fact that they can stand alone, because some "predatory man" will come after her. Then there is the other side in which our country rarely (if ever) recognizes the cultural pressure put on our boys to prove their masculinity against an impossible standard (and masculinity is most easily proven through acts of "strength" a.k.a. violence). I don't see men as some wild uncontrollable beast, they have their own experiences with the socialization process, and it's not a gender we should be blaming, it's the culture we have created for ourselves that needs to be questioned and changed.I know I'm an idealist, and that safety out here is everything, but I am struggling deeply with buying into lying to ensure my safety (and really, does it ensure my safety?). I have a sense of pride that I'm doing this by myself now, and I'm loving every moment of it. I'd like to think that for each person I tell truthfully that I'm a solo hiker, that I have contributed to making a path for change by letting each person actually "know" a woman who did it. Obviously many women hike the AT solo every year, so it's not like I'm special, I just don't agree with being less than honest about my personal journey, because it makes me feel like I'm some how minimizing it to something that it's not.Anyway...less on the crap in my head and more about the day. I finally got down the ridge and hiked to the 220\I-81 interchange around 12:30 p.m. The Howard Johnson and Econolodge are right here, so I decided to go with HoJo because they serve a breakfast in the morning.I got my room, took a shower, unpacked all my gear and then walked across the street to the mexican restaurant. Beef fajitas again (my fav). Ahhh...finally, the feeling of being full, how wonderful!I then walked about .5 miles to the Kroger to resupply. There's also an outfitter, so I went in there to see if they by chance had any earbuds for an MP3 player. (the right earbud on mine came unsoldered and came apart). No luck, but I DID find that OR Seattle Sombrero that Rockstar and one other person told me about. I loved the thing. It's hard for me to keep my hair dry in the rain beause it's so thick (sometimes too hot to wear the hood on my rainjacket) so I wanted a hat. It was ridiculously expensive, but it gives me this sort of rugged look, and I love it! LOLThen it was off to Krogers. On top of my hiking food, I bought myself a quart of milk, bananas, and sushi for tonight! I crave milk like crazy out there.I walked back to HoJo's, and I washed my clothes AND my hiking shoes. I was crossing my fingers they wouldn't fall apart, and they didn't. These shoes have been really great, and I've got another pair waiting for me @ Cindy's.The rest of the evening was spent getting my stuff ready to go. I've got 2 more resupply stops before Rockfish Gap, where I'll spend a few days at Cindy's again, and then start the Shenendoah National Park. Oh, a myth I want to bust about hammocks. I've had a tenter say, "I wouldn't want a hammock because if it was raining and I had to stay inside all day, I wouldn't want to have to lay down the whole time." You can sit up inside of a hammock. I can sit up "indian style" in mine, or I grab a stuff sack that is full (like my clothing stuff sack, and put it behind me as a back rest. Also, don't forget the ability to lounge in a hammock like a chair when sitting on the outside of a Hennessy. Just wanted to mention that.Well, it's late and I'm pooped. Just saw the weather and it loks clear of storms all week...good. Maybe I'l stay dry. ~Certain