Date: 2004-06-02
To: A Reputation for Attracting Rain?
Miles today: 15.8

Last night after composing my journal, I paid a second visit to that bar where I had eaten lunch with Roy, the local man. The place was pretty much deserted of patrons. I sat down at the bar and ordered supper. The only other patron sitting at the bar was a middle aged woman who was nursing a beer. We struck up a conversation. She told me that she was a visiting nurse who spent a few hours each day caring for an elderly woman. She was single, divorced, and fifty years old. Her entire life had been spent in this region of small towns. I asked her what she did when she was not working. She told me there was not much to do but visit this bar.It's funny the way things turn out," she said. We conversed while I ate my meal. She struck me as a decent person who was trapped in a small town in rural America. As I got up to leave, she said, "I hope to see you here again."I hesitated before answering her. I did not want to tell her that I was never going to be in Damascus again; that reply would have been harsh. Instead, I told her that if I hike the Appalachian Trail again, I would visit the bar and again. I thanked her for the nice conversation.This morning, the trail led me along the road for a while. On the outskirts of town, I approached a man who was sitting on the side of the road and thumbing a ride. He looked tired and hapless. When he lifted up his arm and stuck out his thumb, it seemed like an act of exertion. His long blond hair was disheveled and thinning. At his side was an imitation leather suitcase.He looked at me walking by with my backpack. "It's really hard", he said, referring to his inability to obtain a ride.I told him, "You're doing it all wrong. They (the drivers) want to give you a ride, but they're not pulling over because the road is curving behind you."I suggested that he backtrack one hundred yards to where the road was straight; this would enable drivers to safely pull over. He replied that he would walk the other way, toward the curve. Oh well.I was packing four days of food as the trail ascended several long slopes. The extra weight made the climbs seem harder. On the downhills, my left foot was experiencing pain whenever I stepped down at a particular angle. The pain was attributable to the deplorable condition of my hiking shoes. The interior construction of the left shoe is breaking down. The exterior fabric on both shoes is ripping. I am stuck with these shoes for just a few more days. A replacement pair is being shipped to a motel a few days up the trail.It was not raining while I hiked, but the trail was often mucky. At one muddy stretch, someone had placed in the center of the trail a large, yellow, artificial butterfly on a stick. Seeing that splash of yellow brought a smile to my face. At another spot directly on the trail, a large black snake was relaxing in a beam of sunlight. I watched it gradually slither into the trees. I met Kato and Zip Off descending a slope on one of their southbound slack packs. They looked clean and refreshed, quite a contrast to their soaked and tired appearance two days ago after hiking in the rain. Later, I ran into Samurai who was also slack packing southbound. He was accompanied by two friends from back home who had traveled here to Virginia to hike with him for a while.Samurai smiled and said, "I am surprised to see you out here without rain." I guess that I am earning a reputation for bringing on the rain. During the afternoon, I passed by a small pond with brackish water. It was full of tadpoles that were swimming to the surface, getting some air, then submerging again. Near the shore, the motionless head of a bullfrog was sticking out of the water and waiting for some prey to pounce upon. I stopped and enjoyed this peaceful scene. When I resumed hiking, the bullfrog made a "rib bit" noise and submerged from view.I arrived at Lost Mountain Shelter after hiking 15.8 miles. The skies looked clear so I strung up my hammock in a pine grove behind the shelter. The shelter was occupied by the Garland family from Massachusetts. The parents are accompanied by their three children who are aged 13, 12, and 9. They are thru hiking the Appalachian Trail. Their trail names are as follows: The mother is Clothesline, the father is Photo, the thirteen year old girl is Wolfsong, the twelve year old girl is Starfire, and the nine year old boy is Zing. The children are being home schooled, with the trail being the home for the time being.I hauled in some firewood to add to a fire they had started. It is hard seeking firewood near these shelters. Within the immediate vicinities, there is little wood to be found because other hikers have picked the areas clean. At this site, I had to walk through thorns to find some dry branches. As I cooked my meal, thunder rumbled in the distant sky. Photo told me that a thunderstorm was headed our way, but it was still a distance away. In spite of this distance, I hurriedly ate my meal, anxious to take down my hammock and secure my gear in the shelter. The thunder storm arrived just before dark, beginning with a spat of hail followed by rain. It seems that Samurai is correct; the rain does seem to follow me. At least this time I am under a roof and dry.