Journals

According to Pittsburgh:

JUNE 1, 1997 - SUNDAY
   there were no restaurants open on a sunday morning in the vicinity of PEARISBURG, VA. we left the RENDEZVOUS HOTEL after eating in the room, and headed for STILLHOUSE BRANCH ROAD (VA 641), to start our hike. of course, the weather on SATURDAY had been perfect, as had all of our days of so far. for todays hike, though, the rains were to fall again...
   we hiked into the clouds to the ridgeline. PEACHES and LONE CHAIR, a couple hiking together, were leaving the RICE FIELD shelter (also known as the STAR HAVEN shelter) as i arrived. SUNSHINE had beaten me to the shelter, and there was also another hiking couple at the shelter, but i don't recall their names. SUNSHINE left, and TIMMY arrived while i was at the shelter snacking. after leaving the shelter, i ran into SUNSHINE speaking to an older fellow by the name of JOE RICE. he apparently owns the land that we were hiking on. he sure can talk...
   the rains began to fall steadily. hiking in the rain is interesting. if it isn't a cold rain, which it wasn't, there is really no need to put on any rain gear. everything in your pack should be in plastic bags, hence the rain will not ruin anything. your pack gets wet, but so what? wearing a baseball type of hat keeps the rain off of the face and glasses. it is a cleansing experience, for you and mother nature...
   the last part of the hike is a gentle switchbacked descent. we were to meet the van at a point where the trail comes close to VA 635, but does not cross it, but the guys weren't there. the trail does cross VA 635 about two miles further, so SUNSHINE hiked on. the van was at that other location. to make a longer story short, we all ended up hiking the extra couple of miles, and tented at the other VA 635 road crossing...

JUNE 2, 1997 - MONDAY
   i spent a fitfull night, and awoke with a raging migraine. SUNSHINE and TIMMY headed out after breakfast, but i decided not to hike. PANTHER FAN, GILAMAN and i headed into BLACKSBURG, VA. i found a CHIROPRACTOR, and the guys headed out to do whatever they do during the day...
   we had lunch at a MEXICAN joint, then headed off to find the VA 42 road crossing. there was no place to tent at the crossing, so we headed into NEWPORT, VA, to the APPALACHIAN TRAIL REGIONAL OFFICE. we spoke with MIKE DAWSON about locating a place to tent for the night, and he graciously allowed us to pitch our tents in his backyard, and to use his bathroom as needed! he indicated that the trail had previously gone through NEWPORT, and that over 300 hikers a year would tent in his yard. we are happy to acknowledge MIKE's generousity...
   the tents were wet from the previous night, so we pitched them all, hoping that they would dry out. the guys headed for the road crossing to wait for the ladies, and i hit the sack in an effort to ease the pain from the migraine. THUNDER, LIGHTNING, and RAIN graced us, off and on, for the rest of the day. the wet tents got wetter, but at least they had gone up before the rains came (pitching a tent in the rain is an unhappy experience)...
   the rains stopped long enough for us to have supper, and the ladies were happy to have the use of a FLUSH PRIVY. we zippered ourselves in before darkness fell in anticipation of a wet night...

JUNE 3, 1997 - TUESDAY
   it did rain a good deal during the night, but had stopped in the morning. this allowed the ladies to break camp, eat, and get on the trail. the guys and i headed again to BLACKSBURG. we went first to a laundromat to dry everything off, then off to breakfast. afterwards, i went again to the CHIROPRACTOR, and the guys headed off somewhere...
   my second trip to the DOCTOR did the trick (my migraine had been caused by a problem that i have with my spine, and it sometimes takes this kind of concentrated drastic action to knock it out). we headed for the TROUT CREEK (VA 620) road crossing. on the way, we picked up a few hikers (WALLACE, CHAMELEON, and LONE STAR) that were thumbing into CATAWBA, VA...
   the area at the road crossing was flat, but wet. we pitched the large tent, and hung tarps in case the rains came anew. PETER PAN, TIMMY's husband, arrived. he was not due to join us until WEDNESDAY, so TIMMY will be pleasantly surprised. GILAMAN made soup, and a few passing hikers (ROOTBOY, HOOPS, and M&M) had a hot steaming treat. SUNSHINE and TIMMY arrived, changed into dry clothing, and also had some soup. PETER PAN then took the ladies out for a shower and supper...

JUNE 4, 1997 - WEDNESDAY
   it again rained during the night, but we survived. we hiked out from TROUT CREEK (VA 620) anticipating more rain. the day actually turned out to be very decent, with no rain at all. i hiked some of the way with SQUIGY (young lady from ENGLAND) and DINGO (young fellow from AUSTRALIA), and ran into a fellow named SOURWOOD...
   the highlight of the day was some rock hopping near DRAGONS TOOTH. TIMMY said that someone with a sick sense of humor put the trail there, and that it was not a foot path. instead it was a butt path, since we had to some sitting and sliding to get down some of the rocks...
   we ended our hike at VA 311, then headed for the ECONO-LODGE at US 220. this is were we will be ending our hike tomorrow. we did CRACKER BARREL for supper, then crashed...

JUNE 5, 1997 - THURSDAY
   breakfast buffet at WESTERN SIZZLIN, then into the van for a ride to the trail at VA 311. todays hike exemplifies the reason we are out here. the weather was perfect, and the scenery was spectacular. any of you that have a 1997 ATC calendar, turn to MAY and look at the picture. McAFEE KNOB was 3.5 miles into our hike. the rock outcropping is thrilling, and the view of the valley is tremendous. plus, the ridgelines that we hike on the rest of the day are visible...
   a few miles up the trail is TINKER CLIFFS. this is another thrilling rock outcropping that continues for a half mile or so, with the trail along the edge. the views are again tremendous. we spent a lot of time at the KNOB and the CLIFFS just mesmerized..
   i finished ther trail in a trance, happy to put my head down and just hike. it was a long day for us, and we all were very happy to end the hike at the motel. showers, supper, bedtime...

Home