| May 29, 2005 |
| We leaving
Wapiti Shelter (605 miles from Springer Mountain) about 8am.
Planning as of now to go to Woodshole, which is Sugar Run Road and
clean up a little bit before we get into Pearisburg tomorrow.
A beautiful Sunday morning, the sun has come up into the east and
starting to shine through the trees. It's warming up a little
bit, at about 5:30 this morning it was pretty cold. |
| Since we left
Wapiti Shelter and got back on the AT, we've been climbing up a
little bit of an incline. The trail is smooth and kind of sand
stony, with lots of little stones in it, but fairly easy hiking.
We've been surrounded by rhododendrons and laurels, going up the
creek valley. Getting closer to the creek, getting ready to
cross the creek. |
| The steady
incline got steeper and steeper and we finally got a ridge line
where it's a little flatter. Now we're climbing up an old
logging road all the way up through here. This area has
defiantly been logged years ago. We're continuing to climb
straight up on a rocky path. In this area we've seen the most
clustered pink honeysuckles than in any other area. |
| We just came
across an area that has bright florescence pink honeysuckles and a
pink rhododendron. Finally made it to the ridge line.
What little bit I can see of the sky line and the valley, it looks a
little on the hazy side. We're hiking right on top of the rock
cliff with a lot of slate looking metaphoric rocks. The big
boulders that are still in tack look like horizontal layers as if
you would layer a salad. The little pieces break off, that is
what is in the trail that makes is so hard to hike. The ridge
line does flatten out along the trail through here. You can
see over the hills on both sides. Not a lot of under brush and
not a lot of flowers. I have a beautiful view of the valley
below. This is a wide valley! We're also standing on a
big rock cliff stand out. I'm looking down on the tree tops
and flowers. We think we see the next mountain range we'll be
going into to get to Pearisburg. You should smell the
wonderful aroma that comes of these pink honeysuckles. |
| I'm hiking
below the ridge line on the old road or the old haul road.
It's probably the northern end of the road we were on coming up the
hill. It's a nice little grassy road and fairly level hiking
through here. Must be coming out to the ridge again, I
beginning to see outcropping of boulders along the road. Just
crossed service road 103. Came into an extremely rocky area,
not so much in the path, but to my right side. There is a
bunch of tall ferns in this area. I'll take that back, this
trail is going right through the big rock pile I was telling you
about that was on my right. |
| Just came down
some big boulder steps and we're now underneath a big boulder
outcrop with a little bit of an overhang to it. A lot trees
above our heads just barely hanging by the roots. This whole
section has certainly been rocky trail, big boulders and small ones,
very difficult to travel through. We must be very close to the
trail head, there's parked cars. |
| We arrived at
Sugar Run Road at 1:15pm. We're hiking a half mile off the AT
to Woodshole Where we're going to take a half day sabbatical.
Then in the morning we'll come back to the AT and do the 10 miles
into Pearisburg. |
| We've lucked
out, it's been a beautiful day with cool wind in the shade.
The hardest part was coming through these little rocks because they
were continuous. It'll' take us most of the day tomorrow to
hike into Pearisburg and we'll probably meet Phyllis some where
along the way. She has a mail drop for me and I will got to
the post office Tuesday morning and check the mail, also Spirit has
a mail drop. |
| Woodshole is a
log cabin bunk house with a big front porch on it. It's split
in the middle where you can eat on the inside out of the weather.
Has a big hammock on the front porch. On the inside there is a
refrigerator and all kinds of books to read. Poetry from a
writer by the name of Angel Express, Dorothy Pauldelen.
Upstairs where people sleep has mattresses on the floor and a solar
shower. After a bit I'm going out and try my luck, they say
that if you let run for a few minutes, it's warm. I just got
through taking a solar shower. The deal is that the water goes
into a black tube and lays on the roof and gets warm for a shower.
When you first turn it on, you don't stand under it because it sure
is cold!! After about ten minutes it starts to warm up and you
have a fairly nice shower, The air temperature was cold, so I
didn't terry very long. |
| This is a little poem written inside
the privy: by Kirbie Glover |
Ya can have your city buildings,
with the 20 stories high and a janitor to warm,
a roof to keep you dry,
and your pretty painted windows,
and your rugs up on the floor.
You can have em and your welcome,
but I'll take the great outdoors.
I'll take a horse and saddle
and a blanket for a bed
and you can have your cities,
but I'll take the world instead,
where the roof is made with starlight,
and the floor is made of sod,
and the walls are trees and mountains,
and the janitor is God. |
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