Samwise Hikes the Appalachian Trail! - Trail Journal -
	Home	| Updates	| Map	| Journal	| Photos	| Resources	| FAQ

June 14, Dutch Haus Gezelligkeit B&B - mile 803.3

It's a good thing I have a trail to hike in the morning or else I would stay here permanently, I think. This is one of the most comfortable, hospitable and beautiful places to stay that I have ever been. I believe the B&B is one of only 4 businesses here in the metropolis of Montebello, VA. There's also the fish hatchery, the campground and the post office, all of which I passed on the way here. The hike down from the trail was long and rough - about 2 miles on a steep, rocky road, but I think it has been worth it. I got here in time for lunch, which they serve free to hikers during the month of June. Since then, I've had my laundry done, got a shower, sorted through my mail and now I'm relaxing in the easy chair with some ice on the ole knees. What a life!

  I had a fascinating wildlife experience today. I was hiking along, singing a song and enjoying the lovely forest all around me, when suddenly a flurry of wings and noise arose from the brush to my right. I stopped to watch a mother grouse and several chicks fly off in opposite directions and thought "that's cool" to myself. Before I could blink, the mother hen was charging me from up the trail, with all her feathers raised straight out and screeching like crazy. It took me so by surprise that I took a few steps backward and contemplated breaking into a run, but then she broke off the charge. So I kicked it into fifth gear and quickly moved past the nest so that she would calm down and leave me alone.

Tonight I'm so gratified that the rain really came pouring down around 7:00. What a grand feeling to be in a dry warm place to watch the rain - for once! Normally I'm just a mile out from the shelter when these downpours hit and I end up getting in just as they stop. But I think it has been a full week since I've encountered rain, so I can't complain. I was fortunate that when I got back on the trail last Friday, the rain of the past 3 weeks had finally stopped. If I hadn't taken those four zero days to recover, I would have hiked four days in the rain. Good timing!