Date: 2016-05-10
From: Partnership Shelter

To: Stealth Camp above Davis Hollow
Miles today: 13.5

After my late night pizza fest the night before I decided to sleep in the shelter to avoid setting up my tent in the dark. The shelter was first class and had a large sleeping area in the "attic" in addition to the platform down below (the shelter even had a shower!) You access the attic by climbing a wood ladder, which was a little bit of a challenge in the dark and with a 40 lb pack on my back. There were about 8 people sleeping up there so there was plenty of room for me to throw down my sleeping pad and sleeping bag. I hung my pack and food bag from the rafters to avoid any mice attacks and went to sleep.In the morning I awoke early and climbed down the ladder to start packing up. A couple of campers had a fire going already and I had three slices of leftover pizza so I warned then over the wire and had a pizza breakfast! I was back on the trail by 7:30 am and feeling pretty good. The trail generally climbed for about 5 miles as it ascended towards Glade Mountain. At the top of Glade I was more tired than I felt I should have been, and several other hikers that passed me commented the same. I attributed it to the Pizza Proximity Equation, it works to pull you back when you are going away, just as it pulls you forward when you are approaching it.From Glade the trail descended toward Atkins, VA and I-81. There was a restaurant near the trail called The Barn that a lot of people were going to and it featured a 1 lb Hiker Burger. As I descended down the mountain I came to an old schoolhouse from 1894, the Lindamood School. It's part of a Settlers Museum in Atkins where school children can go and experience a day in the life of an 1800's school. There was a sign on the door that said Hikers Welcome and so I ventured inside. It was a very authentic one room school house with a lot of interesting historical artifacts, and trail magic! Though out of place, there were two coolers of pop and boxes and boxes of snacks. There was also a "Magic Box" of hiker supplies put out by the West End United Methodist Church. What a Blessing these people are! I grabbed a Coke and a couple bags of popcorn and sat on the porch and enjoyed the view. Other hikers were coming by as well and enjoying the museum's generosity and checking out some of the artifacts. A couple of the interesting signs they had there were "Punishments for Students" and "Rules for Teachers". Punishments included number of lashes for various offenses. Rules for teachers included things like that they were required to bring a bucket of water and a bucket of coal to school each day. One of my favorites was that each teacher should lay aside a goodly sum of his pay for his declining years so they won't become a burden on society. (Good advice for any age!). Teachers were paid $30 a month. (Pictures of these signs are in my photos, they are worth a look). If you are in the area, I highly recommend stopping in to see the school and Settlers Museum!After this delight, the trail wandered through meadow and hillside until it comes out in a valley with I-81 running through it. The noise of the interstate catches you off guard after days of quiet forest sounds. I followed the path onward to the highway and The Barn. I was walking with another hiker named Hopper at this time and we came upon a pair of Canadian geese with their goslings. One of the geese started chasing us down the trail, flapping its wings and squawking. It chased us a long way!We came out to the highway and I headed for The Barn and Hopper headed up the trail. The Barn was pretty spartan and it looked like they mostly survived on hiker traffic. I decided I'd have a "real meal" and tried the Roast Beef and Gravy. Bad choice, stick with the hamburgers if you come here.After dinner I headed back out for another mile or so to a campsite. A large and beautiful Cumulonimbus cloud was growing overhead. I passed through several pastures and back into the woods and found another hiker stealth camping. I decided to stop there as well and set up camp. Just as I finished setting up the rain started coming and as I dove in my tent a flash of lighting lit up the forest and was followed immediately by the clap of thunder. A close one!All snug in my tent it started to pour, another good day highlighted by a visit to the Lindamood school.