Date: 2013-05-14
From: War Spur shelter

To: Sinking Creek, Va 42. -- then Daleville
Miles today: 8.2
Weather: overcast clouds

Well, those in the shelter were Phoenix (because of recovery from cancer -- dyes her hair red to follow the fiery phoenix theme), & Owl; tenting outside, besides Cyclops, were Etch-a-Sketch & her dog, & someone else.The last 2 nights have been as cold as any so far, even tho one was spent on a Mtn top & the other in a valley. Once again, I wore most of my clothes inside my light sleeping bag & liner. The air mattress needed to be pumped twice during the night-- I guess that's OK, since I typically get up 3 times anyway! When I get home, I hope to get it replaced.I decided to start out the way I finished last night: with my jacket & gloves on. It was still cold for the first hour or so. I felt kind of lethargic: could be tired from yesterday; could be the let-down of leaving the Trail; could be more uphill walking than I expected. I did see a small grove of azaleas all blooming together. Nice!I enjoyed walking & talking together with Phoenix for awhile, till I stopped to cut some branches off the Trail. Later, Cyclops helped with a different type of trail clearing: a tree had fallen across the Trail with its roots still attached. Together, we were able to tip it over the other way. A lot of things can be moved off the Trail without cutting if you have more than one person!I stopped briefly at the Laurel Creek shelter to talk with Cyclops & Owl. She looked a lot different (& younger) than she had when waking up! He is still trying to catch up with some friends who always appear to be a little bit ahead.After going thru some wet pastures (cleaning off my shoes a little in the grass), I got to switch to a different mode of travel: hitch-hiking. Va 42 appears to be one of the major roads thru the area, but there wasn't much traffic, at least in my direction. Finally, a guy in a pickup backed up about a quarter mile to offer me a ride if I would sit in the bed of the truck (He had his girlfriend up front with him). I ended up sitting on a chainsaw & enjoying the breeze (have I mentioned how cold the wind was?). Eight miles to the nearest town should take 8 minutes at 60 mph. He couldn't have been going any slower than that, & it sure seemed like at least half an hour! When we got to Newport & the highway to Blacksburg, he stopped at a convenience store, let me out, & bought me a bottle of pop! From there, I quickly got a ride from a man who had moved from London, Engand, to 80 acres in the hills of Virginia. He took me to the right place on the Virginia Tech campus to catch the bus to Roanoke. I only had to wait about 20 minutes. I sat up front & had a good conversation with the driver, who had hiked the PCT 20 years ago! Upon arriving in Roanoke, I began to recognize the economics of my travel decisions. I have plane tickets out of Charlottesville, because I overestimated how far I'd be on the Trail by now, & a Greyhound ticket from Roanoke to there; however, I wanted to leave my pack at a motel in Daleville, where I also have a mail drop, so I can consolidate things when I get back next week. I really had no idea how far out Daleville is: 13-15 miles, & the great local bus system doesn't go near there. I tried the two shuttle drivers listed in the guide book. When they both started talking about $30, it caught me by surprise [I'd paid $4.00 to get to Roanoke & $19 to Charlottesville by bus]: I responded, "I guess I'll take the taxi for $25." Then one called me back to say that his wife was already downtown, & she could pick me up (apparently for free). Only trouble is, there are two entrances to the bus terminal, she didn't se anyone with a back-pack on one side of the building & didn't drive around the block to where I was standing. After about an hour of waiting, we got together by phone, and he volunteered to come in & get me. So l'll say that Homer Witcher is a really good guy, & I'll use his services when I come back.