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Published: September 6th 2006
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The sun began to shine yesterday and fully came out today...so did the spider webs. My feet look like hamburger and I don't have enough pads, etc. And my left knee is shot. I'm wearing dry socks tomorrow, no matter what! I know I usually wear one set of clothes until town, then shower, put on my second set of clothes I've been carrying and wash the dirty ones. But my socks can be wrung out and my boots are still wet....even though it hasn't rained in 1-1/2 days. My stamina is good even though I didn't drink enough water. Only peed at Jenkins shelter this morning and here this evening. I'd feel GREAT if it weren't for my left knee and my skin from my ankles to my toes.
There are blisters on ALL toes of my left foot, the ball of my left foot, my pinky & big toe of my right foot and a huge on on the ball of my right foot. There are abrasions 3/4 around both ankles and a couple of small ones on the sides of my heel. I'll air it all out as much as possible and re-do blister care
in the morning.
Otherwise, the hike went very well. I'm happy with my stamina and ok with my pace. I saw a deer, some snails, and a black salamander with white spots. Also saw a carcass of a small coyote right in the middle of the trail. Not quite cleaned up enough to take the skull home as a souvenir.
Not a lot of views--mostly just green tunnels. No rocks like yesterday. Had to take the blue-blazed highwater trail because the Laurel Creek bridge is out. There are notifications about this on the trail and in the shelters surrounding the former bridge area. Anglase said to definitely take the high water trail because the river would be swollen. Tuxedo forded Laurel Creek and said it wasn't bad and the water came up to his calves and he hiked in his sandals through the creek. Tuxedo was well over 6' and I figured the water might be up to my knees. It seemed more prudent to just take the high water trail. About 4-5 miles into the day, my left knee began to twinge on the downhills. I love my hiking poles!
Wooohoooo!!!!! Trail magic
at Laurel Creek campground!!!! Trail magic is when someone gives you something unexpected and unasked for. A local group had left a cooler with ice, water and bottles of fruit juice at this little campsite next to a remote road. How great is that to have a cold apple juice in the middle of the day!!!! And I handily refilled my water bag.
As I was approaching this remote road, I was hearing gun shots. Y'all know just how much I love guns. Well, it isn't hunting season yet, but who knows what's going on. As I was walking up this remote road, there was a pulloff where an RV, a couple of tents and some pickups were parked. They had a campfire going and lots of beer cans around and they were target shooting from their lawn chairs. I was happy that they had their backs to the road and I was able to sneak by them without attracting notice. Yeehaw.
It hasn't been above 74 degrees yet, but it was great to have the sun out. 12 miles into the hike I had the opportunity to do a town stay in Bland, VA. It just seemed too early in the hike to have a town stay and I really wanted to make Pearisburg before a town stay. So, I kept going. If I'd known how low on foot care stuff I was, I might have made a different decision. Oh well.
Great stamina again. The shelter is 0.3 miles off the trail. That's enough to deter most hikers. But I haven't seen any water since the trail magic and there's no note of it coming up before the next shelter, so best to stop here. And now yikes!!!! The water is about another 0.2 miles DOWN a switchback trail. Those 0.5 miles don't even get to count for A.T. mileage. Oh well. So, I picked up one hiking pole, my water bag and (Einstein idea!) my cooking pot. Down, down, DOWN. Darker and darker as the rhododendrons cover the trail to this sad little creek with a trickle in it. Someone had written in the shelter register that it smelled like mud butt (whatever that may be). It was dark enough. It was muddy. But there was a trickle due to the recent rain and I was able to use the pot to fill up the bag. Good for me! And it's a heck of a lot easier on the knee to do the ups and downs without a full pack on my back. Still hurts unless it's dead flat.
This shelter is pretty good except for lots of mouse evidence: shredded toilet paper and dried grasses used to make mouse nests. And what's this? A small concentrated area of mouse "serious bathrooming." Most shelters have an old broom for you to give a good sweep around and I took some time to do so....giving special care to the concentrated area...only to find that concentrated area mysteriously filled up again. Did I mention that the concentrated area was only about 2 feet from my head? The privy (the human one, not the mouse one in the shelter) is another composting one with two sides of fencing. Sweet!
Tonight I'm alone and it's garlic mashed potatoes and beef jerky for dinner. The potatoes aren't yummy. During the day I'm eating trail mix, crackers with fake cheese and peanut butter and jelly. For breakfast I've had granola mixed with powdered milk. I add cold water to that have a zip-loc of cereal. It's been great to have coffee, cocoa and tea! But it looks like this is my last day for a warm drink in the morning. Don't have enough for morning and night drinks to last me to Pearisburg. More coyotes in the distance. Another beautiful, quiet night.
I am grateful for my stamina, for a hot drink and for a great sleeping bag.
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