Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Pearisburg, VA
May 15 and 16
Another small, poor Appalachia town. The people were very helpful and friendly however. I was able to arrange a slack pack shuttle with the owner of the Rendevous Motel. This gave me a 21.7 mile jump on the 93 mile stretch from Pearisburg to Daleville/Troutdale. It was also my first official 20+ mile day on the trail!
By doing this I was able to cut a 7 day leg down to a 5 day leg – much better.
May 17 and 18
1st day out of Pearisburg featured two tough climbs of 1,500+ feet of elevation gain. But it was a nice sunny day and my energy was good, so I knocked it out even though it took me nearly 11 hours to do the 16 miles carrying 5 days of supplies.
2nd day out of Pearisburg was only 12.4 miles, but in many ways a harder day. It rained all day long, was cold too. Temperatures were around 50 degrees. And windy to boot! A truly miserable day weather wise. Also had to cross some very treacherous cliffs in the afternoon that were very scary in the wet weather. I was very happy to get to camp in one piece tonight!
May 19
Did a short 10.1 miles today. Enjoyed the day very much. Observed two deer grazing by the trail for about 15 minutes. They watched me, I watched them – it was cool! I also saw my first rhododendrons in bloom today – also very cool. Nice weather today. Sunny.
Oh – had a very awesome thunderstorm last night that lit up the sky, rocked the mountains, and boomed the shelter. Very cool show to observe from a warm, dry shelter. Even better was the full moon that came out later in the night when the storm passed.
Another small, poor Appalachia town. The people were very helpful and friendly however. I was able to arrange a slack pack shuttle with the owner of the Rendevous Motel. This gave me a 21.7 mile jump on the 93 mile stretch from Pearisburg to Daleville/Troutdale. It was also my first official 20+ mile day on the trail!
By doing this I was able to cut a 7 day leg down to a 5 day leg – much better.
May 17 and 18
1st day out of Pearisburg featured two tough climbs of 1,500+ feet of elevation gain. But it was a nice sunny day and my energy was good, so I knocked it out even though it took me nearly 11 hours to do the 16 miles carrying 5 days of supplies.
2nd day out of Pearisburg was only 12.4 miles, but in many ways a harder day. It rained all day long, was cold too. Temperatures were around 50 degrees. And windy to boot! A truly miserable day weather wise. Also had to cross some very treacherous cliffs in the afternoon that were very scary in the wet weather. I was very happy to get to camp in one piece tonight!
May 19
Did a short 10.1 miles today. Enjoyed the day very much. Observed two deer grazing by the trail for about 15 minutes. They watched me, I watched them – it was cool! I also saw my first rhododendrons in bloom today – also very cool. Nice weather today. Sunny.
Oh – had a very awesome thunderstorm last night that lit up the sky, rocked the mountains, and boomed the shelter. Very cool show to observe from a warm, dry shelter. Even better was the full moon that came out later in the night when the storm passed.
Bland, VA to Pearisburg, VA
May 12-15
Really not much to report here. Scenery was so-so. Weather was so-so. Most interesting thing was I found myself in a pack of about 20 northbound thru-hikers all headed for Pearisburg at the same time. We’d gotten bunched together by a sever storm that caused almost everyone to take a zero day at the same time in Bland (when I was there with Jen and Evie). We then were all on the same 2 ½ day plan to get to Pearisburg. It was a fun group of people, most of whom I’d met along the way before, so I enjoyed traveling for a few days with a large “herd”.
Really not much to report here. Scenery was so-so. Weather was so-so. Most interesting thing was I found myself in a pack of about 20 northbound thru-hikers all headed for Pearisburg at the same time. We’d gotten bunched together by a sever storm that caused almost everyone to take a zero day at the same time in Bland (when I was there with Jen and Evie). We then were all on the same 2 ½ day plan to get to Pearisburg. It was a fun group of people, most of whom I’d met along the way before, so I enjoyed traveling for a few days with a large “herd”.
The Big Visit
11 & 12 May
Had a wonderful visit with my daughter, Jennifer, and my Granddaughter, Evelyn. What a special treat! We had dinner at Ruby Tuesday and went shopping for various supplies I needed at WalMart.
Evelyn talks much more than when I left, though much of what she says is in Evie-speak that only she understands. I love her so much! She walks much better than she did 2 months ago and also has many more teeth. Otherwise, she is the same beautiful golden child I left at Neel’s Gap. She cried when I said goodbye, and it broke my heart – again.
Oh well – this time it will be less than a month until I see her and Jen (and my wife) again.
Had a wonderful visit with my daughter, Jennifer, and my Granddaughter, Evelyn. What a special treat! We had dinner at Ruby Tuesday and went shopping for various supplies I needed at WalMart.
Evelyn talks much more than when I left, though much of what she says is in Evie-speak that only she understands. I love her so much! She walks much better than she did 2 months ago and also has many more teeth. Otherwise, she is the same beautiful golden child I left at Neel’s Gap. She cried when I said goodbye, and it broke my heart – again.
Oh well – this time it will be less than a month until I see her and Jen (and my wife) again.
Friday, May 16, 2008
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