Samwise Hikes the Appalachian Trail! - Trail Journal -
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May 25, Doc's Knob Shelter - mile 609.6

Eight hours of slogging through the pouring rain to get to this shelter...and the moment we arrived, the rain stopped & the sun came out! It was amazing. Almost enough to inspire us to push on the last 8 miles into Pearisburg, but not quite. We're really glad to be in a dry shelter that's not packed, for once.

This morning when we left Trent's for the 1/2 mile road walk back to the trail, we discovered one of the dogs they keep there had followed us all the way down to the trail. Actually, he's just a puppy, but he's the dumbest dog I've ever seen in my life. As much as we yelled & chased him, he only ended up running back & forth across the road in front of oncoming traffic, instead of turning around & going home. Eventually, we gave up & just started hiking down the trail, thinking he would stay sniffing along the road where he was until he got tired & went home. But that was not the case. Instead he followed us for over 2 miles up the trial, with me yelling at him & throwing rocks at him every few minutes. Did I mention I never met a more stupid dog? It took him over an hour of this for him to figure out that we did not want his company. I have rarely been more disgusted in my life! I kept envisioning him following us for the next two days, tearing up the trail & the forest, barking all night at the shelters & making us pay more to keep him once we got to Pearisburg, until we could call the owners & tell them to come pick him up.

I guess the rest of the day wasn't much better after that stellar beginning. It went between misting & sprinkling & raining hard all morning, until we got to the first shelter & stopped for lunch. Just as we got back on the trail, the sky opened up & dumped hard, steady, cold rain for the next three hours. Lately, I've also started to feel like I'm coming down with a cold, ever since I shared the shelter a couple nights ago with the guy who was sick & was spitting & hacking everywhere. Tromping up those endless "puds" (pointless ups & downs) in the freezing rain & coughing - I was pretty miserable. But nothing forgives as instantly & completely as when the sky clears & the sun comes out to warm us up. Ahhhhh...What a great feeling. i still have a few pieces of clothing that are mostly dry & my sleeping bag is also mostly day. So it should be a good nights sleep.

May 26, Pearisburg - mile 617.4

What a day it's been! I was up the earliest yet today at 4AM & was on the trail by 5, with my headlamp on. I wanted to get into Pearisburg early enough to get to the post office for my next mail drop & also get to the medical clinic to check my foot, & both closed at noon. So I stumbled & fought my way in the darkness through the brush & branches which seem to clog the trail & grab my pack with every step I took. Not only that, the rain made the trail a series of rivers, lakes, marshes & mud slides & it makes for very slow going if you have any desire to keep your feet dry. Yesterday it became a hopeless cause & I just sloshed constantly through ankle - deep water, but today I had dry socks on & I thought I'd try to keep them that way for as long as possible.

  At any rate, it was a tiring, frustrating 8 miles to get here. I had a terrible attitude today - sick of being wet, tired of tough trail conditions, coming down with a cold & downright desperate for a hot shower & a meal. I think I had just bottomed out when I reached the top of the mountain I was climbing & got to an overlook into the valley below. Then I saw the entire valley was filled with clouds & I was standing in beautiful sunshine less than a quarter mile above them, looking down on their pretty white top sides. Suddenly I was ashamed of all my whining & I felt glad that I had to climb all morning to get above the clouds. And suddenly all those rhododendrons I had been fighting all morning were in bloom on top of that mountain & they were really beautiful.

After that, I had a steep, muddy, 2 mile descent & I fell twice in the mud & water, twisting both wrists & coating myself in red clay-mud, but I didn't much care any more. Just before I got to the road, I changed clothes so that I wouldn't get someone's car dirty if I got a ride, but there wasn't much I could do about my shoes, except to scrape them down a little once I got to the road. I stood on the shoulder for about 15 minutes, trying to get a ride for the last mile to the Post Office, feeling more & more discouraged as everyone saw me & then changed lanes away from me. Eventually I sort of gave up & started walking, and as a last resort, I stuck my thumb out when I got to the top of a hill & saw another car coming. Lucky for me, it was Merlin, an elderly gentlemen who loves hikers & spends a lot of days driving around & shuttling us around town.

He got me to the Post Office to get my box & letters & then drove to two medical clinics since the first one was closed. Not only that, he came back an hour later to pick me up again! While I was at the PO, I ran into 3 women who have been section hiking this past week & they frequently crossed paths with us. I couldn't believe my ears when they offered me their motel room for the night! They had already paid for it but were leaving in the late afternoon to go home, so they were looking to provide some "trail magic" for other hikers. I was so excited, I could hardly stand it. I asked Merlin to drive past the hostel where Max & I had planned to stay, but she hadn't arrived there yet. So I left a big note for her to come to the hotel & then Merlin drove me here - & eventually Max got word that I was here & she shoed up too. I felt like I had just stumbled onto Christmas in May. Wow! Soft beds, a hot shower & right across the street from the grocery store & two all-you-can-eat buffet restaurants. Life is GREAT!

Life is also good because I got a good report from the doctor today. He probably thought I was a hypochondriac for coming in to complain of sore feet & knees after hiking 600 miles. My real concern was the swollen patch on my foot, as I wanted to be sure the infection had not returned. He said it seems like just a bruise, curiously enough. I also had him check my knees as long as I was there & he said, as always, that's it's an over-use injury. Without being able to take anti-inflammatories, there is nothing he could do for me other than to reassure me that I'm not killing myself & to keep up the icing & resting on a regular basis.

Tonight I had an extra-special treat, with the visit of my college roomee, Erica & daughter Emily. They drove up from an hour away in West Virginia & we had a delicious supper together at the Italian restaurant across the street while we caught up a little on life & such. She also brought me the most fantastic cookies & a piece of chocolate cake from Dan's birthday celebration this past week. I've already had the cake for a 10PM snack & It was pretty tasty. I'll probably wake up in 2 hours & eat the cookies, too.