Date: 2007-05-31
From: Marion Va

To: Stealth Site after VA 16, VA
Miles today: 13.7

After a semi-decent nite's sleep (afterall, I'm still not in my hammock) I was up and off to breakfast. It was a bit easier to get eggs and potatoes down, matter of fact, I had almost 2 plates, so that tells me I'm on my way to normalcy with my stomach (whatever that is LOL).I was ready to go, and sat in the lobby waiting for my 10:00 a.m. pickup by Allen "McDog" M. I talked to a gentleman (I think he owned the place) and he believes the reason he has no health problems in his 60's is because he religiously walks 15 miles a week.Allen got there, and wow, what a neat guy. He owns a company that digs water wells, and can you believe, he (and one of his workers) basically blew of work this morning just to come and help me out!!!He took me to the p.o. where I mailed some cold weather gear home, and then we were off to find the service road that takes you to The Scales.He showed me what he used for information when he thru'd in 1981. There was the Data Book, but he also had this other unbelievable "philosophy guide" about how to hike the AT. This was before Wingfoot or the Companion. I cracked up, because it suggested starting out with low mileage, IN THE LOW TEENS!! LOL Guess I blew that one huh, considering we hiked 4.9 miles on our first day.I could tell Allen was truly changed by his hike. He shared stories with me as if it were yesterday. I asked if he wanted to do it again, and he said YES! I hope he gets to, and it sure would be cool if I were able to return the favor to him.He stopped and asked some workers where the forest road was, then he cracked a joke about how "un-manlike" that was...stopping and asking for directions! LOL We found it and he got me back up exactly where I left off at 11:30 a.m. I took a pic with him and told him thank you, and I was on my way. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU ALLEN!! I thought getting back up there was going to be the impossible hope.It felt SO good to be back, and to not feel weird or dizzy. After 30 min., I felt a little hungry, so I sat down to eat some beef jerky. Mind you, the past week, that beef jerky made me want to puke, but when I opened the bag, it smelled good to me! Today's hike was almost like hiking in a movie studio. The acoustics of the woods sounded almost artificial, the smell was a sweet musty smell, and the air hung thick. It sprinkled a bit today, but nothing major.The terrain was awesome today. I thought getting up Iron Mt. would be difficult, but I zoomed right up it with very little effort and no breaks. God it feels good to have a "working" body again. LOLMy foot did pretty well too. A little achy as I type this in my hammock, but overall not too bad. I just hope this is the beginning of a good run of hiking for me.Most exciting part of the day was that I hit the 500 MILE MARK!!! And I KNOW the 500 made out of sticks on the ground was made by Persistent. It was her stick-laying style LOL. I fixed the zeros and took some pics. First time to toast alone, but I did have one.I toasted to making it into the 4th state, being able to hike with Persistent as long as I did, warm weather, the many trail angels who have come to my aid to include Cindy, Karen, Judy, Leonard and Betty, Scribe's parents, Bill, Michele, The Mitchells, Allen "McDog", Diana, floating the James River with friends, getting a shot in the foot, Chance (the dog), meeting everyone at Trail Days, foot massages in laundrymats, Dr. Mulder's Ph.D., Blackie and our wonderful emails about life, Cindy's cinammon rolls (even though my appetite was already screwed), "The String" and my 4th dimension (long story), the Rodeway Inn and it's "character", flushing all of my Indomethacin down the toilet, hiking alone and loving it, the feral ponies, my first 18+ mile day, breakfast @ Mountain Harbor Hostel with friends, getting my down bag wet the first time, Fuzzy Monkey's "hoo hoo" sound, my intestinal episode on the mountainside after Kincora Hostel, cow #25, and the actual time I hit 500 m! iles, 2:18 p.m.I toasted to 2:18 because it is rare to remember the exact moment and place where something wonderful happened, but it did and I'll never forget it. To me, 2:18 signifies a moment that seemed like an impossibility a mere week ago, but it is proof that incredible things are possible if you only let them happen as they should. I stood there at the 500 mile mark absolutely not believing I had done this, and it made me feel so content inside. I hiked freakin 500 miles people, which is only 44 miles short of 25% of the trail!! I can't believe it!!I only saw a few day hikers all day. Today went the way all days should. I was energetic, moving swiftly, and I got to the "planned" stop of Hurricane Shelter WAY too early to stop, so I moved on.I know my stomach is getting better because around 3:30 p.m., I became obsessed with craving Rachael's spaghetti and meatballs. God, I could eat 3 plates right now even.Around 5:30 p.m., I stopped and made dinner next to Comers Creek. No good hanging options, so I decided to push on. VA 16 (a road) is a mile away, so I knew I'd need to go a few more to get a safe distance from the road. I climbed about .5 miles up the next mountain and am stealth camped at this great site all by myself again.I REALLY liked having dinner out of the way when I got to camp. It's 8:15 p.m., 69 degrees, the birds are chirping and I'm about to call it a day. Pretty stoked I got 13.7 miles in in 7 hrs today. I felt so strong, and I hope that lasts. Best day of hiking I've had in a very long time.~Certain