Date: 2017-09-09
From: Johns Hollow Shelter

To: Thunder Hill Shelter
Miles today: 16.3
Weather: broken clouds

Let¢s get the mundane out of the way, because Not-A-Moose asked me, ¢Why do you do this? Have you thought of quitting?¢We left Johns Hollow Shelter around 7:30, both of us pushing our arms close to our sides. ¢Brrr, it¢s actually cold!¢ My 40-degree bag still keeps me toasty, but I can tell its days are numbered.  After a drop was a trail icon ¢ the James River footbridge. At 700 feet in length, it¢s the longest footbridge on the AT. At one time, some hikers jumped off it. Now there are signs warning of big fines, aside from the fact that it¢s dangerous.  http://www.trailjournals.com/j...At the James River we were at less than 1,000 feet elevation and we knew we would have three climbs today; even with the descents in between we¢d end the day at just a hair¢s breadth under 4,000 feet. For weeks, late July and all of August, we never topped 2,000 feet. Now The Priest and these highlands have put us on top of the world again.Two more parts of the mundane before answering NAM¢s question. Views today ¢ a lot, some really stunning. Water ¢ sources are not reliable. The two springs at 1415.7 and 1416.3 were supposed to be our source for the Thunder Hill Shelter 3 miles beyond. The second was ¢abundant¢. Not. It was there, but barely, maybe a 2-inch-deep pool, not even bicycle-tire-sized. But the shelter¢s ¢poor water source¢ (so said the guidebook) was a half-foot-deep rock-lined pool. Go figure.Why do I do this? Do I think about quitting? On the PCT I never once thought of quitting. I never thought of my bed at home. (Frodo: Man, I sure did! We have a great waterbed!) On the CDT I had some down moments, at mile 800 in Glacier on a miserable snowy and rainy day, toward the end in Colorado on hostile, high trail. But it was never a serious option for me. I hike because around every curve, at any moment, something amazing may transpire ¢ even if it¢s being stung on the tongue by a bee. That ¢possibility¢ seems incredibly more likely here than in the city. Ten years have passed since our PCT hike and I can tell you a story for every day. No, multiple stories. I hike among amazing people, good people, most of whom I¢d never have met. I write out here more consistently than almost anywhere else. Which brings me to today¢s small miracle.¢Joel, step back.¢ We are at the Thunder Ridge Overlook. Four dayhikers have just come up from their cars for the spectacular view. You step up to a low rock wall that¢s all between you and a sheer cliff drop-off. Joel¢s a bit north of my vintage and Connie, his wife of twenty years, didn¢t like how he was leaning over the edge. (Frodo: For what it¢s worth, I totally know how Connie feels.) ¢Joel,¢ she implored. She wasn¢t going to step near that wall. She kept at least two arm¢s lengths away. They were there with their adult grandson (also Joel) and his wife. We exchanged stories, they were interested in my thru-hike, all reliably ordinary, till these next twists.¢You know, it¢s funny. She¢s afraid of heights.¢ Joel said, ¢Connie used to be a wing walker.¢ A what? Connie gave a half smile, but didn¢t come any nearer to the cliff edge. ¢She¢d stand on wings.¢ Joel told how she once knelt on the wing of a Stearman Biplane while it did two full circle loops through the St. Louis Arch. ¢We were called the Daring Damsels.¢ http://www.trailjournals.com/j...  and   http://www.trailjournals.com/j...But that was just the start. They have a cabin on the PCT just south of Ashland, Oregon. I probably walked by it 10 years ago, and I plan to do a hike late next July that will take me by there again. And Joel is an Ashland oral surgeon. If you know our PCT stories you might know where this is heading. Ten years ago, well over three months into our PCT hike, Frodo fell, breaking off half of one front tooth and mostly knocking out a second. She shoved that one back into the socket. Those two teeth should have been goners. But the heroic ¢ at least in our eyes ¢ efforts of an Ashland dentist on a Sunday night saved them both. Joel knows Dr. David Laver well. (Here¢s that story: http://www.trailjournals.com/j... )Special connections, special moments like that just seem to happen on the trail. Here¢s Joel, Connie the Daring Damsel, their grandson Joel and his wife Lindsey. http://www.trailjournals.com/j... I hope to see them next July.Finally, at the shelter tonight I lit my first fire on the AT. My Boy Scout skills aren¢t that rusty. Here¢s proof: http://www.trailjournals.com/j...It¢s Not-A-Moose¢s last night on the AT. At 9:30 tomorrow at a trailhead, Bob from Stanimal¢s hostel will pick her up, and drop off my next days¢ resupply. NAM zipped up her 20-degree sleeping bag for the first time in six nights ¢ it¢s getting colder.By the light of glowing embers,