Date: 2015-11-13
From: Blackrock Hut

To: Calf Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 13.0
Weather: clear sky

I was the first one up. I quietly packed. I was looking forward to getting to Waynesboro tomorrow. When I was in Harper's Ferry I emailed Adam Stanley of Stanimal's 328 Hostel in Waynesboro to make sure his hostel was still open and to confirm his address so my husband could send a resupply box. He said his hostel was still open and confirmed his address. I gave him a guesstimate of my arrival date and told him I would call when I had a more certain date. My resupply box had an ETA written on it of mid November. A few days ago I emailed Adam again to give him a definite arrival date. He responded that he decided to close for the season, and he would "try" to get my resupply box to me. GREAT! The man had my email and my phone number, and he knew I was relying on staying at his hostel, yet he decided to close and never contacted me via phone, text, or email to let me know.I was concerned because I was arriving in Waynesboro on a Saturday and there may be no motel rooms available. I had wifi but no cell service. So I emailed my husband and asked him to book me a room at the Quality Inn. Fortunately they had rooms. Then I asked Adam why he left me hanging. He gave me a list of excuses, none of which had anything to do with me or justified what he did. One of the excuses on his list was that a hiker recently used his shuttling service and stayed at his hostel for several days, and then left without paying.Several hostel owners along the AT complained about hikers taking advantage of them. Hostel owners make little, if any, money. Most are extremely generous and accommodating to AT hikers, and during peak hiking season they work almost nonstop. So I hate to hear about any hikers who abuse or take advantage of any hostel owners, or anyone else along the trail.Unfortunately these bad apples are causing problems, not only for the hostel owners, but for the rest of the hikers, like me, too. Thanks whoever you are!The northbound section hiker woke and was ready to leave when I was ready. So we hiked up the blue blazed side trail back to the AT together. The sun was up and, except for the wind, it looked like it was going to be a beautiful day. The future son-in-law and father-in-law were still sleeping in their tent. Although the profile in the AT guide showed a zig zag of ups and downs for the day, the trail was relatively easy. The AT alternated between following a contour line along the side of a mountain and following wide ridgelines. Most of the elevation changes were less than 500 feet.while the trail was easy, regulating my body temperature was not. The wind was quite brisk. When the AT was on the west/windward side of a mountain I was chilled. When the AT was on the east/leeward side of a mountain I was too warm. Up on the wide ridges, whether I was too hot or too cold depended upon the trees and whether the AT was closer to the east or west side of the mountain. I saw only 1 other hiker on the AT, a northbound female section hiker named Songbird. I was taking a short break when she came along. She had a huge external frame pack, but she seemed to handle the weight well. She also had a beautiful mossy green hand knitted scarf wrapped around her neck. The scarf was simply made and incredibly soft. The color perfectly reflected the AT. I decided I would make myself a similar scarf as soon as I had the chance.Water was scarce today. I was glad that I decided to carry extra water when I left Blackrock Hut. Eventually, about a mile from the Calf Mountain shelter, the AT skirted a beautiful brook with moss covered rocks and small waterfalls. I stopped for a brief break and to filter some water. There was a climb of about 1000 feet before the side trail to the shelter. I was tempted to keep going to avoid another cold night outdoors. But Rockfish Gap, and the road to Waynesboro, was another 8 miles or so. I was not likely to reach it before dark. Since my hostel plans fell through, I also no longer had a ride from the trail to town (shuttles to and from the hostel were included in the price to stay at the hostel). Waynesboro is almost 4 miles from Rockfish Gap. I did not want to try hitch hiking in the dark, and I did not want to walk the road into town in the dark. Under the circumstances, spending just one more night in a shelter in the cold appeared to be the safest option. So I turned down the blue blazed trail and headed for the last shelter in Shenandoah N.P.The water source was on the blue blazed trail. Curiously the signs for the shelter and the spring were both framed in barbed wire.I had the shelter to myself. I changed out of my hiking clothes and hung them to dry. The wind was really picking up. The temperature was supposed to dip below freezing. So once again I put my tent up in the shelter as a wind buffer and to help hold in some heat.I hiked back down the approach trail for more water, quickly made dinner, and hung my food on the bear pole. I wanted to get to bed early so I could get an early start in the morning. As soon as the sun started to set I could feel the temperature dropping. It was definitely going to be cold tonight. Per the weather forecast, tomorrow night will be even colder. I am VERY glad I will be in town by then.The AT is calling. One more day to clean clothes, a hot shower, some good food, and a warm bed - inside.