Date: 2004-09-11
From: Pearisburg VA

To: Rice Field Shelter
Miles today: 6.8
Weather: broken clouds

This is the third time this year that I have returned to the trail, this time after an absence of two months. Rather than getting used to it, the nervous anticipation and excitement seem even more pronounced this time back,Bill Gautier, who runs the hostel in Pearisburg, met me at the Roanoke Airport and we had an enjoyable ride back to the trailhead. He is retired after almost 30 years in the army and returned to Pearisburg where he was born and still owns, and rents, his family farm. Bill is a veteran of both Vietnam and Korea and is personally acquainted with President Bush Senior. He also told me that the Taxi driver who shuttled me back from Pearisburg this July has been sentenced to two years in prison for $900,000 of Medicare fraud! He even took me on a little detour to show me the ramshackle house where the guy used to live. You just never know. Bill dropped me off at the well-remembered trailhead and I was hiking by 10AM. I had almost gotten to the New River Bridge when I discovered that my back up Nalgene water bottle was missing. I backtracked to the trailhead but no luck. Thinking that it might have fallen out in the back of his truck, I tried to call Bill, but could not get thru to him. As I was pondering my predicament of having only one liter of water, two young boys of seven and ten years arrived on their bikes from one of the nearby houses. After an exchange of pleasantries I explained my predicament, and they kindly produced for me, with much excitement and cycling back and forth to their house, a two liter soda bottle filled with water. Taking this as a sign, I abandoned all attempts to reach Bill and started out all over again. . Just when something bad goes wrong on the AT there always seems to be a little bit of trail magic that makes it all OK again.After crossing a spectacularly swollen New River, I reentered the woods and made my way over a series of ridges and road crossings to begin the ascent of Peters Mountain. Once again I am totally out of shape. I did manage to keep plodding along and up, but it was slow going in the heat. It was not long before I was covered in sweat and I much appreciated the extra liter of water today ¢ my misfortune had a bright side also.A young couple on a day hike passed me, before I finally made it to the top of Peters Mountain. There was a rocky ridge walk before I broke into an open bald here at Rice Field.The view from here is spectacular. You can see to the North and West over the valley of West Virginia. It is a great view with bright sunshine and puffy clouds to add to the enchantment.The water source is a difficult 0.4 miles down to a muddy trickle, as expected from all of the trail descriptions.The young couple that had passed me earlier was here. She is an English Teacher from Virginia Tech and he is an Art Teacher. Very nice people. Must be a better brand of Virginia Hikers on this section, or at this time of the year. She gave me an apple and a Cliff bar ¢ much appreciated.Got a good signal here and left a message for KT. Am looking forward to a nice Sunset. Thought for today - Misfortunes beget Oppertunities