weary as water

every time i blink i have a tiny dream

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Day 64, 65, 66: A Zero, A Nero, and Another Zero in Pearisburg

May 19, 2013 by zag Leave a Comment

It was really amazing to see AWE for the first time in two months. I have missed her so much. 
But still, there was work to do. I needed to work out my shoe issues (the Salomon’s have continued to bruise underneath my ankles, and they don’t have hardly any grip on the sole), so we went to the outfitter in Blacksburg. The outfitter in Johnson City told OWL that all Salomon shoes have a 30 day no questions asked return policy…unfortunately we found out that is only true if you purchase the shoes online through salomon.com. Bummer. The local outfitter was nice, but they didn’t have any non-waterproof boots or trail runners. So we decided to go to the nearest REI, a 2.5 hr drive to Charlotte, NC.
It was weird to ride in a car for a long period of time, covering a third of the distance we have travelled so far in a matter of hours. The shoe guy at REI was pretty nice and lI think OWL & I both tried on every pair of non-waterproof mid-boots and trail runners in the store! Finally I settled on a pair of mid length (above the ankle) Keen boots that felt pretty good. OWL bought a new pair of the Salomon trail runners she was originally using. I also got a pair of thin “travel” pants – I don’t want to wear shorts during the summer (ticks!) but my current pants are thick (read: heavy) and are literally falling off because I have lost so much weight. (AWE also brought a pair of ‘too small’ thin rollup pants I had at home, but they also fell off me). Not sure how the thin pants will hold up over rock scrambles, but not too worried about it either. I have needle and floss and bandana…I can make it work.
After spending far too much time in REI, we went to Mellow Mushroom to eat dinner. What a nice treat! Then drove back to Blacksburg for the night.
—
The next day, we hiked the 5 miles from Trent’s Grocery to Lickskillet Hollow (the section we missed during our slackpack from Woods Hole). It was so much fun to hike with Emily! Even in the rain! OWL & AT dropped us off at Trent’s Grocery, and AWE and I started hiking SOBO. Then OWL & AT then drove to Lickskillet, parked the car, and hiked NOBO. When we met, they handed us the keys. (How smart are we?) OWL & I both had on our full packs (to test out our new shoes), and AWE & AT had daypacks loaded with fruit & snacks for other hikers. But we didn’t see  a single hiker on the trail! I have been trying to figure out how AWE uses an acorn for a whistle – finally got her to show me exactly. And although I didn’t find any wintergreen berries, I did get her to try pine tips (tastes like Christmas!). The new boots feel fine – I’m wondering if maybe I should have got a half size larger – but too late for that now. As AWE’s father says, “it will either work or it won’t, guaranteed!”
We also went by the post office, where I had a care package waiting from Post! (Post is the SUPER NICE section hiker I met in the Smokies, hiking with her father). It was so nice to get her goodies, a letter, and a photo of her & her father on top of Rocky Top! Thanks, Post! I really appreciate it!
  
—
The last day of our mini vacation was bittersweet. It was still amazing to be in the same place with AWE, but I still had to do all the “regular” in-town hiking things – sort through the food box, go to the post office to mail the bounce box, update the blog – as well as sort through the things AWE brought from home. (We did manage to eat at a delicious Indian buffet for lunch – my taste buds were dancing!)
It was a tough decision trying to figure out what to send home, and what to keep. A lot of thru hikers send home their winter gear in Pearisburg (or even before), but I am nervous about sending *all* of it home because it is still early May, and it can still get cold (especially at the higher elevations). 
So, I swapped out my 15 degree bag for a 45 degree bag (the stuff size difference between those two bags is amazing – my pack is not stuffed to the gills now). Other things I got from home: two synthetic tshirts; one a ‘smartcool’ fabric and the other a zippered synthetic. a pair of compression socks, a pair of (smaller) compression shorts, and a lighter sleeping pad. I sent home my extra long sleeve fleece, my worn out sock liners, my wool tshirt, and some extra socks. I am keeping my patagonia capilene baselayer and smartwool longjohns for sleeping, as well as my hat, gloves, & balaclava. I’m keeping my puffy jacket too, because it doubles as my pillow at night. My pack isn’t much lighter because I’m still keeping the cold weather clothing, but fitting everything into my pack is much easier now that my gargantuan 15 degree bag isn’t taking up half the space in my pack.
I’m a little nervous about tomorrow – we have a 19+ mile day planned (with new boots and 5 days resupply!) – but all I have to do is walk.
 

Filed Under: appalachian trail Tagged With: AWE, care package, gear, gear swap, nero, OWL, trail magic, vacation, zero

Day 59: Chesnut Knob Shelter to Jenkins Shelter

May 8, 2013 by zag Leave a Comment

10 miles

We left the shelter about 9 just as the fog was lifting. Walked with OWL until almost lunchtime. I always like hiking with somebody, and hiking with someone who knows me from home is pretty much the best. Stopped to get water and discovered that my Steripen battery was dead (and because of poor planning on my part, I didn’t have an extra). The guys from “The Thru Project” were camped there and gave me some sweetwater drops to treat the water. As a bonus they showed us a video they took last night of a bear! The bear was up in a tree about 30 yards from the water source, and dropped out of the tree so fast!

Took a lunch break with GrandBob, the 2 section hikers from last night, and OWL. Then found out I had cell service, so called AWE and talked with her for an hour or so. I miss her so much, and we don’t get to talk every day, so when I have the chance I try to take advantage of it.

From there it was a pretty easy walk to the shelter. At first it was just the guys from lunch, plus KFox and a dude named Animal. Then people started pouring in; Big Yankee, Mallet, Twig, Rooster, the Virginia Creepers…there must have been 30 people tenting around the shelter. We also found out there is a Dairy Queen in Bland, so we’re going to try to hitch in tomorrow. (We are VERY BAD at hitchhiking so it may not work out).

GrandBob is going into town tomorrow to see a doctor so he split up his remaining food among me, OWL, and Animal. I got a snickers bar and a mountain house meal. Thanks, GrandBob!

I had heard of Animal before – he thru hiked last year (or maybe the year before) and carries all his stuff in a 5 gallon bucket. He is a forager as well, and brought us some wintergreen berries (they taste like wintergreen!) and pine tips. Pretty good! I would definitely take a foraging class from him if he ever decides to teach one.

Filed Under: appalachian trail Tagged With: animal, AWE, big yank, foraging, grandbob, KFox, mallet, OWL, rooster, shelter, the thru project, trail magic, twig, virginia creepers

Day 31: Standing Bear Hostel to Brown Gap Campsite

April 12, 2013 by zag Leave a Comment

9.8 miles
Took another shower this morning at the hostel because it felt so good! My clothes are all stupid stinky, though.

As usual, a good night’s sleep is followed by a hard climb out of the gap the hostel/town is in. I called AWE as soon as I thought I might have service and talked with her for about 40 minutes. It is so good to hear her voice.

Caught up with Goat and walked with him for the climb up the mountain. Even after all this time I am still so slow at uphill climbs! You would think I would be in shape by now…well….I am in better shape than I was before but I still have a ways to go before I am running uphill.

About two miles from the summit, I started noticing the trees were covered in ice. Shortly afterwards I noticed that the trees were dropping HUGE CHUNKS OF IC EVERYWHERE. I guess the rain storm we experienced the night before was an ice storm at the higher elevations. The trail had a bunch of recently downed trees, broken by the weight of the ice, that made navigating the trail difficult. Oh and did I mention the softball sized (and larger) chunks of ice falling from the sky? I got hit in the arm & back three times but not in the head. (Could a falling chunk of ice knock you out if it hit you in the head? Seems like the sort of thing Mythbusters should figure out).

Finally made it to the summit of Snowbird Mountain and the (still icy) grassy bald. Immediately dropped my pack and had a quick lunch. Goat started up the trail, but (as usual) I was taking my time getting ready to go. BearFoot showed up – we were quite relieved to be out of the icy woods of doom – and we talked for a minute. The sky started to clear up – first just a peek of blue sky, then actual sun! It was amazing. It was as if a switch had been flipped, and the day went from miserable to incredible in just a few minutes. It was a gift.

We walked to the top of the bald together, then turned around and took pictures. You could see the fog moving across the bald, following the path the ice storm must have taken. On the other side of the bald, the trees had no ice.

Got to the shelter and OWL was nowhere to be seen. Tex said he saw a note for us on the shelter sign that said she was going on to a campsite three miles up the road.

I was super unhappy about it. We had talked before (on the other occasions she skipped ahead) about how I would like to at least be involved in the decision to skip ahead, since I am always the one playing catch up.

So, catch up we did. Made camp. SilverStreak made a fire, which was really nice, and brought a beer from the hostel to split. OWL contributed some whiskey. Had a fun time hanging the bear bag (my first try the rock bag twirled around the branch and got stuck). Silver Streak & OWL helped me get it loose. SilverStreak is so very unimpressed with the PCT method to hang a bear bag.

Talked with OWL about the plan. About how I like reaching the destination and I don’t like it when I find out at 4pm the destination for the day has been changed. She said – I knew it would make you mad but I thought we could get more miles done which would make for an easier day tomorrow. No matter what, I have your best interests at heart.

So there we stand.

Now, sleep.

Filed Under: appalachian trail Tagged With: AWE, BearFoot, brown gap, Old Goat, shower, tenting, Tex, the plan

Day 24: Spence Field Shelter to Derrick Knob Shelter

April 1, 2013 by zag Leave a Comment

6.5 miles

I knew today was going to be tough, but it turned out to be even harder than that. Goat & I hiked up Rocky Top (you know, the Tennessee Fight Song – Good Old Rocky Top, Rocky Top Tennessee? Yeah, that Rocky Top). Great views. I was taking pictures when AppleButter showed up – she is from Tennessee and had the actual song on her phone, so we listened and sang. It was so cool!

Also saw my favorite section hiker ever, who was out hiking with her father. Goat gave her the trail name “Emily Post” because she is so nice and polite. I shortened it to Post. She got to the top of Rocky Top as we were leaving. I can’t imagine being out in this weather section hiking, but they seem to be having a good time and aren’t too overwhelmed at all the stinky thru hikers in the shelters.

Then we climbed up Thunderbird without too much trouble and I thought the hardest part of the day was over…the hike was going pretty awesome so far. (Except, of course, that my right ankle was still panging with each step, and my right knee was complaining too). Then it started to snow, and it turned from a hard hike into a pretty difficult hike. The snowpacked trail was topped with ice, and fresh snow on top of that made it literally one step forward, slide half a step back

Instead of fighting the snow and the trail, I just tried to embrace the part of me that loves to be outside and play in the snow. I tried to remember how I felt, pre-hike, in January when it snowed and AWE & I were both off work. I was so excited – we went out and hiked, and had a mini snowball fight, and had a great time playing in the snow. So I tried to play in the snow as I hiked. On the downhill sections I stopped trying to fight gravity, and just started skiing down the trail with my big wet boots and my hiker poles! I was pretty good.

We finally made it to the shelter, there was room inside for me. We had 29 people in a capacity-12 shelter…very tight quarters. The hiker tv was even MORE entertaining – a dude was stuffing the fire full of twigs and sticks and didn’t stop until the entire fireplace was chock full of wood. (Then an ember fell into my wet boot sitting in front of the fireplace – lucky for me the boot was so incredibly wet it didn’t even scorch anything!)

My knee still hurts. But my ankle is getting better.

Filed Under: appalachian trail Tagged With: AWE, hiker tv, ice, Old Goat, Post, rocky top, shelter, socks

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random quote

To the question whether I am a pessimist or an optimist, I answer that my knowledge is pessimistic, but my willing and hoping are optimistic.
Albert Schweitzer, philosopher, physician, Nobel laureate (1875-1965)