Date: 2006-05-20
To: Chris' Notes - On The Trail (2) With Old Goat
Miles today: 0.0

CHRIS' ENTRY_________________________________________________________________Today I got up at 6am. The plan was to drive to SNP and drop off the car then meet my father 53 miles further south at the Tye River, on VA 56. Mr. Manion was nice enough to help with that and the plan worked out perfectly. We went to the suspension bridge by the Tye River and there he was. Apparently he hiked extra the night before and had slept there, so he was just drying things and lounging around when we arrived. After packing up and getting some photos, we were on our way. It was great to see him. The last time I saw him was in Newark airport on his way to Atlanta to begin hiking. He looks much younger now. I think it was a combination of his weight loss and the happier more relaxed lifestyle he has now vs. working all the time. I'm so glad he's getting to do this for himself. The first day's hiking had us doing 8.8 miles over the Three Ridges (mountains). It was tough but rewarding. We saw some good views and had some good discussions. I found that I could make some distance from dad on going up hills but he was on my heels on the down hills. For the first time in my camping experience I was not being slowed down (if anything, I was slowing him) by an injury (someone else¢s usually) or a slower hiker. It was a good feeling; it made me realize my real potential while hiking. We stopped for lunch at a shelter just off the AT. There were about 15 people there, mostly section hikers, Boy Scouts, and trail maintenance crews. Surprisingly none said hi or offered us a seat, so we sat on the ground and had real sandwiches. My dad really seemed to enjoy the fresh food. I was glad I could help.Throughout the day I really enjoyed being camping again. We saw some great views after having climbed about 2000 ft up. At one point a woman who looked to be in her late 60's or early 70's passed us with a big white haired dog. She was in great shape, had on a day pack and a hiking stick and was very nice. After passing her my dad said he had seen her they day before also. That day she was also hiking southbound and had her dog.The weirdest thing about the whole day was that we saw tons of people, but no Thru-Hikers. Apparently most had gone to Trail Days in Damascus, VA and therefore Old Goat was one of the only ones out there. I kept accusing my dad of having imaginary friends, and that there really weren¢t any out there. I was just kidding of course, but it was weird. We got to the shelter around 5pm. Pitched the tent and ate dinner. This too was a surprise to me. In the past you'd have to cook foods over the fire, which resulted in dirty dishes and hassles. Now most foods can just simply be rehydrated. Therefore all you have to do is make hot water. They even come in foil bags so you can add the water to them, eat from the bag, and have no dirty dishes beyond your spoon. It was surreal to me. Also seeing my dads "stove" was wild. It's truly the bottom of a soda can with holes in it. It allows a one time steady burn, just enough to boil water. It did the trick and kept the weight down.After dinner we enjoyed a great campfire that two guys had made. They were out for the weekend from Durham, NC and really enjoyed fires. They brought a saw and arrived to the shelter early, just so they could cut the perfect pieces of firewood. I have to say they nailed it, it was great. In seeing them I realized I need to find others here in NJ that I could go camping with on weekends and such. It sounded great.