Date: 2022-05-01
From: Daleville

To: Lambert Meadow Shelter
Miles today: 9.4
Weather: clear sky

Starting with a pretty good & complete breakfast, I tried to get everything packed so I could take off right away after church. Last time thru here, I had gone to the Methodist church 14 mile up the road & heard a 45-minute sermon. I was impressed that the preacher could do it so well, even tho it left little time for singing or anything else I like. Now they have a new pastor, & the sermon wasn¢t nearly as good, tho there was more singing, plus communion. The church has a big window with a nice view of the ridge I¢ll be walking on today ¢¦ but not this morning ¢ too much fog.  I got back to the room to get started. As always, I looked under the beds & around the room to make sure we weren¢t leaving anything. I didn¢t look in the tangle of blankets & bedspread on Honey-Toe¢s bed. I also didn¢t check for messages after having my phone turned off during church.The flat land before the ridge is totally populated with honeysuckle, including some almost tree-size. I¢ve always thought of it as an invasive species, but there¢s certainly no evidence here of any attempt at eradication.  Eventually, I crossed a creek & entered a nice woods, somewhat before the Trail crosses a power line & starts up toward the ridge. I met several hikers coming down, including Rainbow, Story, Blue-Stacks, Bruiser, Rick & Sherry.  Then I got a message from Honey-Toe, asking if I¢d seen her inhaler for her asthma. She might have left it on the bed: a red inhaler on a red bedspread. She¢d called the motel, but they hadn¢t cleaned the room yet & would look for it. I said I¢d go back to see if I could get it. I hid my pack & started back at a good rate of speed. When I was almost back to the honeysuckle, I got another text saying she¢d figured out how to do without it; so I shouldn¢t go back. So I turned around. She hadn¢t had problems with asthma so far this hike ¢ I assumed she knew how to manage it. I was so close, I probably shouldn¢t have stopped.Back to get my pack, then on up the hill. It¢s a nice woods, but it took longer than I expected to get to the top. There¢s a big intersection of high voltage power lines going in different directions ¢ must be a big power plant down by the reservoir. Visibility back down the mountain was getting better, but still not clear. The Trail along the ridge has some rough spots thru the rocks but is mostly pretty good walking. In the last few miles, the Trail leaves the ridge, not difficult walking, but no views either. Along the way, I met Bootstraps, Rambo, Smoky, Bagel, & a number of day-hikers. Later, I met Yoshi [very light pack], Poopy, Buckeye, Whoopie, 39, Spooky, Squirrely, Forest-Lorist, Dandelion, Patience, Ice, Honey-Badger, Eagle, & at least 10 moreAs I neared the shelter, I began encountering campers, who seemed to be spread out along the valley. Near the creek was Honey-Toes, talking on the phone to her mother [apparently most of the afternoon, because her mother had a different idea about her need for the inhaler].  I soon arrived at the shelter, which already had about 5 people in it, but she had saved room for me. So I set up, fixed supper, & visited with the other hikers. That¢s not easy for me because I eat so slowly & tend to choke when I try to talk at the same time.Honey-Toes informed me that the motel had found her inhaler & she had decided to go back to Daleville tomorrow to get it, then get a shuttle to Four Pines hostel to wait for me to arrive the next day. With my vision of a thru-hike, I was inclined to stay on the Trail. She had a different vision. It¢s all part of making it her own hike.