Date: 2004-06-07
From: A rocky overlook 2.4 miles north of Wapiti Shelter

To: Holiday Motor Lodge, Pearisburg, Va.
Miles today: 13.8
Weather: broken clouds

13.8 miles todayHoliday Motor Lodge, Pearisburg, Va.Motelin' it tonight6am I'm sitting out here on these rocks looking over the top of the world. The sun is just coming up and this is one of the best sunrises I've ever seen. The morning sky is all pink and the tops of the smaller mountains well below me are sticking their tops above the fog in the valley and the sun is even reflecting off the top of the fog. My coffee is ready and I've got some Little Debbie cake donuts to eat...doesn't get any better than this.2pm I'm sitting here in a motel room. I hiked into town at noon and got this room and then headed over to the Chinese Buffet and then picked up my bounce box at the po. After breakfast this morning, I hiked to Docs Knob Shelter and got water and signed the register. I had a good morning and saw a few deer. I cleared all the spider webs off the trail. Those spiders were busy last night and I walked into spider webs and cleared them off the trail with my face. That's one of the problems that being a morning person has to deal with.I checked my email on the computer in the lobby. I haven't been able to check my regular email accout since I left Damascus and I had 2 pages of emails. If any of you want to email me, I'm carrying a pocket mail device and can get my email whenever I pass by a phone. that email address is; stumpknocker@pocketmail.comI'm never away from a phone for much more than 3 days at a time. Sometimes it's a couple of weeks before I can check my other email address. I walked about 2 miles to the local Walmart and resupplied. I got me a new radio because my old one only worked when it wanted to. I'm going to try a voice recorder because my memory is so bad. I can be walking along and think of something I want to write about, but when I get in my tent at night and I'm tired from walking for 10 to 12 hours and I start writing my journal, I can't remember alot of the things I wanted to say...so if it works, watch out!! I started walking back from the Walmart and a guy offered me a ride, so i saved 2 miles on my shoes. I'm going to try 2 things that will be new to me. I'm bouncing my stove and cook pot to Harpers Ferry, WV., because I haven't had a hot meal on the trail in about two weeks. I've just completely lost any desire for Liptons or Ramen. I'll eat cold dinners on the trail. I've been trying it out and it's working for me right now. The other thing that I'm going to change and this is a biggie for me...I'm bouncing my coffee and mug to WV too. I'll see how the caffein withdrawal goes. It's going to be tough for a few days, but I am going to try. I bought 2 more sheets of smily face stickers. Anyone who has ever seen one of my register entries in the shelter registers knows that those are required backpacking gear for me. Quite a few times when I meet another hiker and introduce myself, they say "oh, you're the guy that puts all those smily faces in the registers." I've got my schedule worked out and I am really slowing down this coming week for 2 reasons. First, I am going ahead with my fried chicken plan for The Home Place that I talked about in yesterdays entry and second, I've got important papers coming to Catawba, Va. and they are being sent tomorrow, so I've got to give them time to get there.I made a terrible, terrible mistake in yesterdays journal and I need to set the record straight. I said that none of my "friends" have showed up on the trail with fried chicken and I was wrong, wrong, totally wrong. Jan Liteshoe had a box of fried chicken sitting in the passengers seat of her car for "ME" when she picked me up in Hot Springs, NC to take me to trail days. Now that's a true trail "friend". Thanks alot. Now for the rest of you....Just in case you want to do something nice for poor ole Stumpy, just remember that the 2 things he craves most when he's been in the woods for a while is fried chicken and ice cold coca cola.As for LWOP, I will get back to you soon. Another great day on the A.T.