Date: 2016-05-03
From: Dick's Dome Shelter

To: Bear's Den Hostel
Miles today: 18.2
Weather: overcast clouds

It rained almost all of last night, and we watched the river swell and turn brown and muddy before we went to bed. There was no rain this morning, though. I managed not to be the last one out of the shelter as Spidey took his time and sooner or later decided to sleep in because he only has 15 miles planned. The hiking was pretty easy all morning, but the ground was crazy wet. There were big areas of mud, which make hiking very slow with all the slipping, as well as giant pits of standing water that require slow navigation. Every creek became a technical Crossing requiring a lot of rock jumping. All of which reminded me of the Long Trail. Hrmph. I passed through foggy bald areas at Sky Meadows state park, crossed a major road and made it up and over to the Rod Hollow shelter turnoff, where I met Large. He and I walked to the start of the Roller Coaster, the big challenge of the day, 13 miles of back to back ups and downs that is Virginia's final parting challenge. Fortunately, there are enough water sources that you don't have to carry any, and the weather had improved dramatically. It was clear and humid and partly sunny. I really enjoyed the roller coaster, actually. With my family's giant thighs and calves, I'm built for steep hiking more than most folks, and the quick change in terrain kept me very interested and happy over the course of the day. I leapfrogged with dill, Pendexter and Toast, all of whom were planning to stay at Bear's Den like me. At Sam Moore shelter I found White Rabbit and stopped for a late lunch. Large wasn't far behind, but I headed out soon after he arrived. Only four tenths past the shelter, nearing the top of one of the roller coaster's last peaks, I came upon a small wooden sign nailed to a tree that simply stated "1000." My celebration was hesitant given that I have indeed missed 45 miles of trail with the fires, but my elation was real. It's not every day you pass such a milestone. I took my picture and headed up and over a few more climbs to find the turnoff for Bear's Den Hostel. I had been considering pushing on 8 more miles, because I felt great, but it began to sprinkle as soon as I saw the blue blaze. After a fiasco of finding the entrance, I headed inside the big stone lodge. I was greeted by Blues, as well as a group of around 8 section hikers from Indiana all crowded into a tiny room with clean looking bunks, carpet and a refrigerator. They are all staying in a bunkroom upstairs, but the hostel does not open until 5 pm, so they were waiting around. I stood for a while feeling very damp before sitting down on the floor. Nothing against these people, they were very kind, but I was amazed that no one offered me their seat given that they'd been there for what looked like an hour already. I was even more surprised when two older section hikers and Dill and Toast came in and likewise sat on the ground and they did not move. Anyways. 5 rolled around and we were finally left to our own devices. People took turns showering, I checked in upstairs and quickly availed myself of the guitar they have laying around. Dinner was pizza and ice cream, part of the "hiker special" deal they offer. I played guitar for Dill, Toast, Pendexter and White Rabbit for a while, got my laundry done, called Ali and got ready for bed. In the basement they had a video playing from a thru hiker in 2003 and I watched him hike from Pennsylvania to Katahdin in the space of half an hour. It's gonna be a little longer for me I think. Tomorrow I'll hike the last few peaks of the Roller Coaster before following the VA/WV border and then finally saying goodbye to Virginia and heading down into Harper's Ferry. And by a happy coincidence, I'm hitting Harper's exactly two months after I began the trail!