Date: 2004-06-02
From: Ironmaster's Mansion Hostel

To: Alec Kennedy Shelter
Miles today: 15.5
Weather: few clouds

picture alert... a few days ago wally said there's 80 more. go check 'em out. in case you don't know, wally is a friend of mine who is posting the photos of my thru hike. - - -i got a late start since i didn't feel rested from the night at the hostel. i went to the ranger's office to use the pay phone. there, i updated my pocketmail and called my friend elaine who i haven't heard from in a while. i talked with her until about 9am, which is about two hours later than my usual hike time. i could feel the "performance" part of myself wanting to get on the trail. it was a sunny, warm morning and taking my time felt great even though there was this voice in the back of my head saying, "get going, you're losing daylight hours..."i headed out and stopped to look at an old cold blast furnace. it is part of the history of the area i am in. after reading about how iron was extracted from iron ore and snapping a few pictures, my hiking day actually began about 9:30. that might be a record.i stopped at the first shelter i came upon for lunch. while there, a thunderstorm began. i had already had my lunch, so what to do? nap time! i got my raingear on for warmth and jumped on one of the wooden bunks. i was out in no time but woken up about a half hour later by amy who had been caught in the rain.she had lots of stories to tell of her misadventures of two days ago. remember she got a ride from a guy who would drop her at a blue blaze (trail) that led to a shelter? well, she walked a half mile down that trail, figured out it was the old AT and knew the shelter this guy was thinking of must have been ripped down years ago. so she walked back to the road and made her way to caledonia state park where she slept for the night. the next morning she got a hitch to waynesboro and asks a local where the p.o. is. she walks something like 4 miles and it turns out the local gave her the p.o. in a different town... not waynesboro. so she walks back, finds the p.o. that she needs, and gets her package. ("why didn't she hitch those 4 miles" you ask? i asked the same question and it comes down to this: her sleeping bag was wet and the only way to dry it was to use her body heat. no one will pick you up if you are walking down the road wearing your sleeping bag. lol.) while sorting through her gear, one of those nasty thundershowers starts up. she threw her tarp over everything until the storm passed. then she couldn't find her ATM card. she searched everything and finally found it in her just-taped bounce box. she almost mailed it!poor girl. i felt bad telling her about my free meal in the park and trays of thanksgiving dinner a the hostel.i got to my destination with time to eat and do my chores. my fears about getting a late start didn't materialize.burning boots and j-bird arrived soon after me. i had no idea they were behind me today. yesterday, i put a note in the shelter register asking for some shoe goo to repair my heel that's delaminating. today, 'boots hands me a tube of super glue. that'll do! gotta love the way this trail works.burning boots, j-bird, and hershey (their dog) are at the shelter tonight. we think amy went on to the camping area three miles ahead.i just want to say "hi" to those folks in the bond area at work who have started reading my journal.