Journals

According to Pittsburgh:

MAY 25, 1997 - SUNDAY
   we ate breakfast at the restaurant at the motel, then headed out to hike individually. PANTHER FAN had been nursing a toothache for a few days, but the pain was getting bad, so he and GILAMAN headed for the hospital in MARION, VA. this was, unfortunately, a holiday weekend, so no dentists were available, and he could only get medication...
   the skies opened up on us as we hiked, and we were soaked as we got to our destination, VA 42. there is a privately owned pavilion at VA 42, but they allow hikers to use it, and sleep there. GILAMAN and PANTHER FAN had positioned the van in such a manner that we could get our stuff in and out, and stay dry under the pavilion. there were many, many hikers at the pavilion: HUNGRY MOTHER, TADPOLE, NUMB, FIREBIRD, MO JO, OX, KADIDDLE, BONES, SISTER HEIDI, BROOSTER, HASHBROWN, HOOPS and M&M, and others. most of these people had been at the motel the previous night...
   PANTHER FAN spent the night in the van, close to his medication. the rest of us spread out a large ground cloth under the pavilion, laid out our sleeping pads and crawled into our sleeping bags. we have now hit the are 25% point in our odyssey...

MAY 26, 1997 - MONDAY
   it had rained quite a bit during the night, and continued into the morning. SUNSHINE headed out early, but TIMMY and i held back. the rains eventually slowed, and we headed out. i dried out as best as i could at both shelters along the way, but i was soaked to the skin most of the day. the last few miles were tough, with many little ups and downs, and lots of rocks. it seemed to take forever to get to our destination, VA 623...
   PANTHER FAN had opted to get a motel room in WYTHEVILLE, VA, to wait out the pain of his tooth ache. it was doubtful that any dentist would be available today, since it is MEMORIAL DAY. GILAMAN will retrieve PANTHER FAN on wednesday..
   GILAMAN had set up our large group tent, and had HOT SOUP waiting for us as we arrived. he had also offered soup to four or five other hikers, and it had been gratefully accepted. we changed into dry clothes...

MAY 27, 1997 - TUESDAY
   the large tent, which we had never used before, could use some seam sealing. there was some required relocation of bodies inside the tent last night as the rains came...
   it was cold, overcast, and very humid in the morning. the water in the trees was falling like rain, at times, as the winds blew. SUNSHINE had her OATMEAL, and hit the trail. TIMMY had a swollen ankle, and had decided to stay off of the trail today. i could not warm up, and made the same decision. we dropped the tent, packed the van, and headed to a laundromat in WYTHEVILLE to dry our sleeping bags...
   we ate lunch, then stopped by the motel PANTHER FAN was in to see if he was "tooth pain" free, but he was not there. we then headed to the BIG WALKER MOTEL, on I-77, near BLAND, VA, and secured a room. soon thereafter, i headed for the KIMBERLING CREEK (VA 612) road crossing to wait for SUNSHINE...
   nearly there, i ran across a hiker named FORREST GUMP, who was injured and thumbing into BLAND. i also picked up NUMB and FIREBIRD. i dropped off NUMB and FIREBIRD in town, saw HASHBROWN, and informed him that the others were in town, and took GUMP to our motel room. on the way back to the road crossing, i saw HOOPS and SUNSHINE. SUNSHINE still had a mile roadwalk to get to her destination, so i moved on to wait. BROOSTER was at the road crossing when i arrived. we talked a few minutes, before he headed out. HOOPS and SUNSHINE arrived, and we all waited for M&M (HOOPS partner). she arrived, and SUNSHINE and i headed into town. we picked up the other "town" hikers, and dropped them off on the trail. this time we ran across OX. he wanted a ride to the motel, which is where we were headed, and let us know that other hikers, who also wanted to go to the motel, were a half hour or so behind him. i dropped SUNSHINE and OX at the motel and, after a short rest, headed back to the trail. I picked up TADPOLE, HUNGRY MOTHER, and WILLIE APPALONG, and took them to the motel. they, plus OX, got a room. the rest of us went to supper...

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