Date: 2016-06-04
From: Seely - Woodworth Shelter

To: Tye River
Miles today: 11.4
Weather: overcast clouds

I awoke early just as it was beginning to get light out. Five of us in the shelter and no one snored which was rather amazing. I got up and went to relieve myself and then crawled back into my sleeping bag to rest some more. Like a chain reaction One Step, Kemosabe, and Windwalker all got up one by one and started packing up their stuff. Mix was still asleep and I lay there as they turned on their headlights and started deflating their air mattresses, stuffing sleeping bags into stuff sacks and packing their gear into their packs. It was a lot of commotion for such an early hour. Mix woke up and started packing himself up too. They all then had a quick cold breakfast and we're off by 6:30 am, and I was left alone in the shelter. It was really unusual because hikers in a shelter usually don't all get going so early, I finally sat up and grabbed my phone and started typing up a Trail Journal entry. I was way behind and was trying to catch up with past entries. Since I was alone in a quiet shelter it seemed like a perfect time to get caught up a little. The sun started streaming in through the trees and it looked to be a beautiful morning. I was on the trail at 8:45, later than usual, but not too bad. The trail took us up to Spy Rock and I passed a number of day hikers that were out for a Saturday morning hike. It still amazed me how they were all so clean and the women were wearing cute hiking clothes. It just kind of catches you off guard when you are used to being around thru hikers all the time. I dropped off my pack near a campsite a short walk from Spy Rock and went to climb it. Spy Rock was a massive rock probably 200 feet in diameter and 75 feet high. On top you had clear views of the mountains around, or were supposed to because when I got up there there was fog climbing up from the valley below and enveloping the mountains in white mist. It was beautiful as the mist swirled its way up around the mountains and one minute you would have a view of the mountains and the next you were standing in a cloud. I met Five Toes and The Mothly Stud on top. They were camped out just below and had come up to have their morning coffee on the Rock. They were walking to Maine as well and had started a couple of weeks ago at McAfee Knob. The Mothly Stud had section hiked the AT south of McAfee Knob and like me, didn't want to repeat the sections he had already hiked. He had planned on section hiking all the way, but his girlfriend Five Toe had just completed her Masters and convinced him to take some time off and complete the AT with her as a "graduation" event. There would be plenty of time to work, but it seemed like the perfect time with no major commitments to take a long hike. I asked about her trail name and she said she didn't like it, but it had come from having blisters on all five toes. We were then talking about trail magic and she was relating how she just loved getting some Little Debbie Swiss Rolls the other day and I said, "That should be your trail name, Little Debbie". And with that she had a new trail name that she liked. I didn't even want to ask The Mothly Stud how he got that name, so I let it pass and we all headed out to resume our trail walking. The trail meandered up and down until we got to The Priest. Up it climbed and the afternoon had gotten hot and humid. I passed Lilo and Stitch taking a break and then came to the sign for the Priest shelter. I decided to stop there for water and a late lunch. After I got there Little Debbie and The Mothly Stud showed up, and several other southbounders as well. One lady named Iwok was fascinated with trail names and wanted to hear everybody's story. When it came to The Mothly Stud, he said it was a long story. It turned out that a hiker named Cheese Weasel had named him. He had met the couple on the trail and the guy was carrying Five Toes' (Little Debbie) pack for her up a tough incline she was struggling with because of her blisters. Cheese Weasel was wanted to name his the Stud, but he would have nothing of that, that's a way to get verbally abused in a shelter. They were walking along and a moth flew into his ear and he tried a get it out but couldn't, and it kept bugging him as he walked down the trail. Finally the moth flew out with a great buzzing. Cheese Weasel laughed about that and told him I'm going to come up with a trail name for you yet as he passed by them. They continued down the trail a few more miles, and saw a paper note attached to a sign. It was addressed to "The Mothly Stud, you know who you are". It contained a poem about the Mothly Stud carrying his ladies pack and went on and on. It was quite a good poem, and with that, he had to accept that he was The Mothly Stud. We all laughed at that story and agreed that was the best we'd ever heard.Up and over the Priest the three of us walked and talked. It was good to have someone to talk to again. The descent from the Priest is long, rocky, and painful on my feet. When we got to the bottom there were three thru hikers doing trail magic! They had coolers of Coke, beer, donuts, cookies, chips, fruit. We all grabbed a donut and a Coke, thankful for the sugar and fat rush after that 3000 foot descent. The hikers, Flannel, Stardust, and Lupin were taking a few days off in Waynesboro and had decided to come back here and do trail magic for other hikers behind them. Wow! As we talked it turned out that Flannel had already thru hiked the PCT and the CDT, and here he was on the AT about to complete the Triple Crown! As we left we thanked them profusely and Little Debbie and The Mothly Stud set out for the next shelter.I was too tired to make it up to the next shelter so just walked across the road and crossed the Tye River suspension bridge and set up camp along the river. I didn't even bother to eat dinner I was so tired but was satisfied with the donuts and Coke and a beer from the trail magic. After I set camp I just laid down in my tent to rest. I fell asleep quickly but about 9 pm a ferocious thunderstorm woke me and I zipped up the tent fly. The storm lasted over an hour and just pounded down rain, probably the strongest storm I had been in yet in this tent. It stayed dry and I drifted back to sleep.