Date: 2005-06-02
From: Thunder Hill Shelter

To: U.S. 501, Va. 130
Miles today: 14.6

Started @ Thunder Hill ShelterDestination: US 501, Va. 130Miles today: 14.6Total Miles: 772.6Stayed in motelDay 83It rained all night and was still raining when we awakened this morning. Jeff, the section hiker, was going to finish up his hike today after a 20 mile hike and Masa was headed north on his hike. Both left before the other 3 of us. I was the next to leave but I knew that Beach Party and Mr. Sweepers would pass me eventually. I had on my fleece and my rain coat today because it was cold and windy as well as rainy. Sometimes it was hard to tell if it was more rain or more of the water being blown out of the trees from the wind. It did not take long to be completely soaked except for what the rain coat covered. The trail was generally downhill but there were several good climbs in the section. It was so rainy that I had the camera packed in the pack to keep it dry. There were several spots for views but there were none due to the low clouds.I heard a woodpecker pecking away on a hollow tree nearby and stopped to look for it. As soon as I saw the tree he was pecking on, a pileated woodpecker flew away from it. I did not see it that well but I knew that it was a pileated woodpecker. Beach Party caught up with me about 10 miles from the shelter. She was just getting up and around when I left. She did not have a pack cover so I gave her a large plastic bag I had obtained from Snowman back in Hot Springs that he did not need. When Beach Party passed me she had cut it and arranged it to fit her pack. She hiked on ahead of me to Matts Creek Shelter where we stopped to eat lunch. It was 2pm by this time and neither of us had had anything to eat since breakfast. It was too wet to stop for anything except for using the bathroom.I thought it would be good to go into Glasgow when we got to the highway so we could go to the only motel there and dry out. Beach Party needed to call her mother and I could not get a signal on the cell phone. So when we got to the road we met section hikers getting off the trail and they had cars. Beach Party asked if they could give us a ride to Glasgow, which they did. We got a room for $42. It's not much but it is warm, has hot running water and I was able to rinse out my dirty clothes. The overhead light in the room does not work, the overhead light in the bathroom does not work, the smoke alarm is hanging open without a battery in it, and the bed sags pretty bad without anyone even being in it. The light in the bathroom is a lamp without a shade sitting on the sink-- an electrical hazard if there ever was one. Plus the toilet leaks water onto the floor. But we do have cable tv and a refrigerator. We had to get the owner to unlock our door once because we could not get the key to work. Our window over the bed was up when we got there and the latch is broken and was stuck between the 2 sections of window preventing it from going down all the way until Beach Party got her fingers up far enough to dislodge the broken piece.I forgot to mention that there is a foot bridge across the James River which we had to cross before we got to the road. I'm not sure when it was built but it looks fairly new. Well, it is time to try this bed out. I think we should toss to see who will get the floor since I think it may be more comfortable.