5/7/2013
Rain
It's raining. It's pouring. I am on my back, in my tent, trying not to think about it. It is raining harder now......than before. It is late. It is very late. It is 10:30 AM, in the morning. And I am lying on my back, in my tent.....not thinking about how hard it is raining..... nor that I am going to have to go out and pee, soon...... and go down to the creek, and get some water too. I am almost out of water.....less than 1/2 pint left. Three good slugs left.
I will have to pee, before I run out of water. But if I get my rain gear on to pee, I may as well go down to the creek, and get water, and purify it.
Jeez. It's 10:30 AM. I should be at least 2 1/2 hours up the trail. But I did not get up. I am waiting for the rain to stop. Hikers hike in the rain.......always. I hike in the rain....always. But I am laying here, and pushing up on the inside of my tent periodically, in order to empty the puddle that fills up in the loose spot, at the end of the outside of the tent. It is hard to explain..... but the material the tent is made of stretches a bit when wet.
If the camp site is not perfectly flat, (good luck with that), and the tent is not set up perfectly square...... and perfectly tight..... without tearing it.....(good luck with that), then when it rains a puddle forms on the outside roof....and as more and more water goes into the puddlle...... the roof matterial stretches more and more...... sagging toward the ground inside the tent.
So to escape having my feet covered by a big puddle of water, I have to periodically drain the puddle. I used to go outside in the rain. Okay, I would do it incidentally, to a pee trip. Then I dicovered that if I push up on the roof quickly from inside the tent, right on the seam, I can force the puddle to drain without causing the inside of the roof to leak. Which would be a tenting, in the rain disaster...... as all who have ever been inside a tent trying to stay dry, in the rain, can attest. I can actually judge how hard it is raining, by how often I have to empty the puddle.
Last night it was getting dark and starting to rain, when I rambled into this shelter site. The other hikers....kids actually...... sleeping in the shelter, said "Hawkeye". They were suprised that I made it this far. I was suprised too. But I wanted to get off that ridge and off those steep slabs of rock, before it rained...... before any lightning. If there had been a flat spot, that was not on top of the ridge, I would have stopped. In response to their salutation, I intentionally stumbled to the bench seat of the picnic table, just outside the shelter and inquired,
"Is this Katahdin?" They all laughed.
Now it is raining even harder.
The hikers in the other two tents are gone. They got up late, but they did get up..... and packed up...... and are hiking north. At least some of the people in the shelter are gone hiking. Maybe everyone is gone........except me! I am still here, lying on my back. Which is getting sore from lying down so long....... And I have to pee!
I can not waste a day like this. Can I? I can not just stay in this tent. Can I? I can not take a zero day out on the trail, and not in town, just because it is raining. Can I?
They are all gone ....all of them. I just know it. If I go out to pee, and look.....everyone will be gone hiking...... but me.
This situation scares me. Am I losing my thru-hiker motivation? Is this the end? No. I don't think so. I think it is just rain.
It has been raining since about 6 PM last night. It is almost noon and it is still raining. It is still raining. And now the wind is starting to blow......and I have to pee. It is Monday, May 6, 2013.....and I have to pee. A day off would be a good thing, for my poor feet. This rain just will not quit. There goes all that effort to really cover some ground, the last three days. Virginia has not been easy, the last three days.... since Pearisburg. I thought Virginia was easy?
If I had phone service, I could call some people...... say hi. I could post to my journal.
Crap......I have to pee!
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
Friday, May 3, 2013
In Town
5/3/2013
In Town
I got off the AT, and hiked an easy mile, with an empty pack, up the hill into Pearisburg. I had camped on a flat spot that I found, most of the way down from the ridge.....and just outside of town the night before, so that I would only have to pay for one night at the motel.
I was here all day, and have not left yet today.
Virginia is where the long-haul aspect of this hike starts to set in a bit. Former thru-hikers that we have met on the trail, (And there are a lot of them. It seems like once you have hiked it... you can not stay away from the AT. It pulls you back.) have warned that Virginia is tough, not because of the climbs......but because Virginia takes forever. I am told the AT runs through Virginia for 500 miles. I have not confirmed that. I plan to wait until I am really tired of Virginia, and then calculate how much farther I need to go to get to the next state. Don't know which state that is yet either. There is no rush. Hiking is a slow motion endeavor.
Right now, I need to drag my tired butt out of this bed, and start getting ready to hike. I have to walk down the hill again, to the grocery store, and buy more chocolate. I realized that I was short on Chocolate as soon as I opened my self packed resupply Mail drop. I would trade all of those granola bars for chocolate. I don't need granola. I need chocolate!
My routine yesterday, was as follows;.....get up...pack up... walk the rest of the way down the hill....with a feather lite pack. I had calculated perfectly, for the first time. I was out of fuel.....out of food.....and out of water. Hiking into town was bliss.
Figuring out which way to go was a challenge. The guidebook for Pearisburg needs work. I stopped at Hardees for breakfast....my rule for meals is simple....if I have to walk past it anyhow....I eat there. Then I went down to the hardware store. Then to Food Lion, the grocery store. Then to motel to check in and pick up resupply package.....showered....shaved.....layed on bed. (yes, I know.....But it's 6:30 AM, in the morning. Proper grammar is not even a consideration. The only consideration is that I have to get my butt out of this bed again.) Got off bed....walked to laundramat, after finding out guidebook was wrong about that (no machines at motel) too. Then stopped at beauty shop, (They were both busy improving the looks of two customers). Stumbled into a bank, so used the ATM and got directions to barber shop. Walked past barbershop....went in county building.... got more directions....went back to barber. Was told by barber, when attempting to explain how I wanted haircut and beard trim, that she had been cutting hair for 28 years, and did not need me telling her how to do it. Made quick decision....I really needed a haircut.....yes, I tipped her for scalping me.......I wanted to get out of there alive. Went back to motel with clean clothes that I had been hauling around, before 4PM and stayed there. I was just too tuckered to go to dinner, or back for more chocolate.
In Town
I got off the AT, and hiked an easy mile, with an empty pack, up the hill into Pearisburg. I had camped on a flat spot that I found, most of the way down from the ridge.....and just outside of town the night before, so that I would only have to pay for one night at the motel.
I was here all day, and have not left yet today.
Virginia is where the long-haul aspect of this hike starts to set in a bit. Former thru-hikers that we have met on the trail, (And there are a lot of them. It seems like once you have hiked it... you can not stay away from the AT. It pulls you back.) have warned that Virginia is tough, not because of the climbs......but because Virginia takes forever. I am told the AT runs through Virginia for 500 miles. I have not confirmed that. I plan to wait until I am really tired of Virginia, and then calculate how much farther I need to go to get to the next state. Don't know which state that is yet either. There is no rush. Hiking is a slow motion endeavor.
Right now, I need to drag my tired butt out of this bed, and start getting ready to hike. I have to walk down the hill again, to the grocery store, and buy more chocolate. I realized that I was short on Chocolate as soon as I opened my self packed resupply Mail drop. I would trade all of those granola bars for chocolate. I don't need granola. I need chocolate!
My routine yesterday, was as follows;.....get up...pack up... walk the rest of the way down the hill....with a feather lite pack. I had calculated perfectly, for the first time. I was out of fuel.....out of food.....and out of water. Hiking into town was bliss.
Figuring out which way to go was a challenge. The guidebook for Pearisburg needs work. I stopped at Hardees for breakfast....my rule for meals is simple....if I have to walk past it anyhow....I eat there. Then I went down to the hardware store. Then to Food Lion, the grocery store. Then to motel to check in and pick up resupply package.....showered....shaved.....layed on bed. (yes, I know.....But it's 6:30 AM, in the morning. Proper grammar is not even a consideration. The only consideration is that I have to get my butt out of this bed again.) Got off bed....walked to laundramat, after finding out guidebook was wrong about that (no machines at motel) too. Then stopped at beauty shop, (They were both busy improving the looks of two customers). Stumbled into a bank, so used the ATM and got directions to barber shop. Walked past barbershop....went in county building.... got more directions....went back to barber. Was told by barber, when attempting to explain how I wanted haircut and beard trim, that she had been cutting hair for 28 years, and did not need me telling her how to do it. Made quick decision....I really needed a haircut.....yes, I tipped her for scalping me.......I wanted to get out of there alive. Went back to motel with clean clothes that I had been hauling around, before 4PM and stayed there. I was just too tuckered to go to dinner, or back for more chocolate.
Camping Out April 30, 2013
5/3/2013
Camping Out
Getting away from the crowd.
Now that the weather is warmer, I do not sleep in shelters...... even on rainy days, I prefer to tent. Much of the time we put our tents up in the area of the shelter....shelters usually have a water source....a spring or creek nearby, and also a privy. They are focal points for interaction with other hikers.
Oftentimes, I pass bye the shelter, because its too early in the day to stop..... especially if you hike slowly and want to get some miles done.
Sometimes it is nice to tent alone..... to experience the natural setting alone.
Camping Out
Getting away from the crowd.
Now that the weather is warmer, I do not sleep in shelters...... even on rainy days, I prefer to tent. Much of the time we put our tents up in the area of the shelter....shelters usually have a water source....a spring or creek nearby, and also a privy. They are focal points for interaction with other hikers.
Oftentimes, I pass bye the shelter, because its too early in the day to stop..... especially if you hike slowly and want to get some miles done.
Sometimes it is nice to tent alone..... to experience the natural setting alone.
Thursday, May 2, 2013
Saying Goodbye To A Friend
5/2/2013
Saying Goodbye To A Friend
I had stopped to gab away with someone on the trail last week......as usual. Yes, I would rather chat than hike. When movement above us, on the hill, caught my eye.
It was "JP" coming downhill. It was "JP" going the wrong way. "JP" was Southbound! I knew something was wrong immediately. "JP" was Southbound!
I shouted out a cheerful greeting..... and waited for some kind of bad news, as "JP" made his way down to us.
The person that I had been gabbing with accepted the dropped conversation with grace, and continued his climb, passing by "JP".
"JP" was hatless...... and his face was tan....... and I realized that I had not seen "JP" for a long time.......not since we shuttled out of Gatlinburg, Tn, in the NOC Van, back up to Newfound Gap........ to finish our hike in the Smokies.
I asked "JP" directly why he was going backwards.... as cheerfully
as I could. I could see in his sad face that the news was bad. "JP" is not a talker, so his response was short. He was going back to Marion....there was Greyhound Bus Service there.....he had checked the night before......... from up on the mountain.
"JP" was going home.
I was shocked. "JP" is the first person..... for me personally.... to say directly, that his hike was over.....that he was done.... that he was going home.
I know people quit the trail. Usually people just disappear. Then one of the better informed hikers..... people who follow Trail Journals.com, or White Blaze. com, or simply who know the latest trail word of mouth .....tell you so and so got off the trail. Had foot problems......Got a rash.....ran out of money....missed his girlfriend, or boyfriend.....lost too much weight....are reasons that I have heard. When I do not see someone for a while, I always figure that they are hiking faster....or even slower (fell and separated his shoulder, so they're going slower for awhile.("Dumptruck" and "Clever Girl", for example.)
"JP" is a quiet man.....very quiet. I got to know him a bit because
I pushed my friendship onto him and he accepted it. "JP" is a good sized guy........with a real pair of legs on him. He is built for hauling a pack up a mountain. I first realized that his pack was filled with lead, when I tried to move it out of my way, one day.......after the blizzard...... in the Smokies. I could not lift his pack with one arm. That pack was an immoveable object! That was before "JP" resupplied for the first time in Gatlinburg. Yes, resupplied for the very first time. "JP" hiked all the way to Gatlinburg before resuppling! He got on the trail to hike, he explained to me, not to spend time in town. There are a very small number of hikers, who hike the AT this way. They all have legs of steel. "JP" had those legs. The day we came out of Gatlinburg.....the last time I saw "JP", before today...... he was hiking uphill, directly in front of me. He sort of rocked from side to side, with each short step he took up that steep, slippery, snow covered, slope. "JP"did not use hiking poles. He was 47 or 48 years old.....not a kid. But his legs were strong, and his knees good. He had no use for poles. In spite of a pack..... just resupplied.... a lack of poles..... and his short rocking steps, "JP" pulled away from me going up that mountain. I assumed that I would see him at the shelter, where the rest of us who had shuttled in the van together from Gatlinburg up to Newfound Gap, spent that night. But I did not. "JP" had hiked on.....
"JP" told me why he was going home. I did not disagree. He needed to be home, more than he needed to be on the AT. I know that he did not share his reason with the people on the trail behind me. He is a private man.
He told me, because I am his friend. "JP" did not quit the AT....."JP" simply had to be home.
I reached out my hand and shook the hand of my friend, for the first....... and the last time.
"I made it 500 miles." He sadly stated. And we both knew that he could have hiked..... all the way.
For a moment, I watched "JP" ease his way down the hill.....in familiar short steps..... rocking back and forth...side to side.
Then I planted a pole, and stepped up that hill.... with tears in my eyes....heading North.
Saying Goodbye To A Friend
I had stopped to gab away with someone on the trail last week......as usual. Yes, I would rather chat than hike. When movement above us, on the hill, caught my eye.
It was "JP" coming downhill. It was "JP" going the wrong way. "JP" was Southbound! I knew something was wrong immediately. "JP" was Southbound!
I shouted out a cheerful greeting..... and waited for some kind of bad news, as "JP" made his way down to us.
The person that I had been gabbing with accepted the dropped conversation with grace, and continued his climb, passing by "JP".
"JP" was hatless...... and his face was tan....... and I realized that I had not seen "JP" for a long time.......not since we shuttled out of Gatlinburg, Tn, in the NOC Van, back up to Newfound Gap........ to finish our hike in the Smokies.
I asked "JP" directly why he was going backwards.... as cheerfully
as I could. I could see in his sad face that the news was bad. "JP" is not a talker, so his response was short. He was going back to Marion....there was Greyhound Bus Service there.....he had checked the night before......... from up on the mountain.
"JP" was going home.
I was shocked. "JP" is the first person..... for me personally.... to say directly, that his hike was over.....that he was done.... that he was going home.
I know people quit the trail. Usually people just disappear. Then one of the better informed hikers..... people who follow Trail Journals.com, or White Blaze. com, or simply who know the latest trail word of mouth .....tell you so and so got off the trail. Had foot problems......Got a rash.....ran out of money....missed his girlfriend, or boyfriend.....lost too much weight....are reasons that I have heard. When I do not see someone for a while, I always figure that they are hiking faster....or even slower (fell and separated his shoulder, so they're going slower for awhile.("Dumptruck" and "Clever Girl", for example.)
"JP" is a quiet man.....very quiet. I got to know him a bit because
I pushed my friendship onto him and he accepted it. "JP" is a good sized guy........with a real pair of legs on him. He is built for hauling a pack up a mountain. I first realized that his pack was filled with lead, when I tried to move it out of my way, one day.......after the blizzard...... in the Smokies. I could not lift his pack with one arm. That pack was an immoveable object! That was before "JP" resupplied for the first time in Gatlinburg. Yes, resupplied for the very first time. "JP" hiked all the way to Gatlinburg before resuppling! He got on the trail to hike, he explained to me, not to spend time in town. There are a very small number of hikers, who hike the AT this way. They all have legs of steel. "JP" had those legs. The day we came out of Gatlinburg.....the last time I saw "JP", before today...... he was hiking uphill, directly in front of me. He sort of rocked from side to side, with each short step he took up that steep, slippery, snow covered, slope. "JP"did not use hiking poles. He was 47 or 48 years old.....not a kid. But his legs were strong, and his knees good. He had no use for poles. In spite of a pack..... just resupplied.... a lack of poles..... and his short rocking steps, "JP" pulled away from me going up that mountain. I assumed that I would see him at the shelter, where the rest of us who had shuttled in the van together from Gatlinburg up to Newfound Gap, spent that night. But I did not. "JP" had hiked on.....
"JP" told me why he was going home. I did not disagree. He needed to be home, more than he needed to be on the AT. I know that he did not share his reason with the people on the trail behind me. He is a private man.
He told me, because I am his friend. "JP" did not quit the AT....."JP" simply had to be home.
I reached out my hand and shook the hand of my friend, for the first....... and the last time.
"I made it 500 miles." He sadly stated. And we both knew that he could have hiked..... all the way.
For a moment, I watched "JP" ease his way down the hill.....in familiar short steps..... rocking back and forth...side to side.
Then I planted a pole, and stepped up that hill.... with tears in my eyes....heading North.
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