In town I was clean-shaved and washed but now I'm smelly, dirty.
Pacific Crest, Appalachian Trail, wherever I may roam.
I'm comfy cozy, outlook rosy, in my tarptent home.
Sausages, Velveeta cheese, tortillas, snacks and more
The type of hiker food you find at the Dollar General store.
Morning comes early for a thru-hiker out on trail, but I got to sleep in a bit at the hostel. Woke up late at 7. Ha. Had a couple of the fruit pies I bought at Food King for breakfast and then went on my resupply run to Dollar General, which opens at 8. Sausages and a large block of Velveeta Cheese will make for a change of pace, replacing the peanut butter and jelly mix I've had for dinner up to this point. Returned to "The Place" and packed up my stuff so I'm ready to go. Library opens at 9 and I was hoping to use the Internet to send out a few I'm-still-OK messages to family and friends. Sad to say that the Net was not working at all. The librarian apologized for the inconvenience and contacted the trouble shooter, promising that it would be back up soon. However, an hour later there was still no progress so I decided not to wait around any longer.
Snorkel left 45 minutes before I did, her goal being the shelter on Thomas Knob. Perhaps I could catch her before she reached it. With this in mind, I strode out of town making good time on the path that forms both the Appalachian and Virginia Creeper Trails. There were lots of springs and streams either crossing or running alongside the trail and the walking I felt was fairly easy. The best part for me was when I was once again back near the high points of the trail. There are some superb views from the Buzzard Rocks area and the high shoulder of Mt. Rogers. I was quite happy to see the shelter in the later hours of evening because it appeared as if the weather was closing in, the dark grey sky making it seem as if it were closer to dusk than it actually was. The tenting area before the shelter was packed and pulling up to the two-level wooden structure, I discovered it was just as crowded. Everyone looked in fine spirits especially with the feral ponies providing some entertainment as they got it on right in front of the building.
Didn't see Snorkel anywhere and frankly was surprised I didn't meet her on the trail. I assumed she had set her hammock up back in the thicket of spruce. Going a short distance further, I found a nice camp on level grassy ground that was off to the left of the trail, nicely secluded by a couple of large bushes. Leaving late from Damascus, I was thrilled with the amount of ground I covered. Lying inside my tent, I felt far removed from the blustery weather outside. The evening meal of sausage, Velveeta cheese and tortillas was delicious.
Weather Closing In
Feral Ponies at Thomas Knob Shelter
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