Wednesday, May 31, 2017
I took my time to get going this morning. There was no reason to hurry today.
After taking a look at the map and the calendar, I knew I could go easy for the next few days and still meet up with Stick when he returns from his conference. Even with a more casual hiking schedule, I’ll probably have to take a zero day.
| Weather | Partly cloudy for much of the day, with a brief shower in the afternoon and a thunderstorm in the evening |
| Trail Conditions | Easy ups and downs for most of the way, then a steep climb in the last mile |
| Today's Miles | 15.0 miles |
| Trip Miles | 658.6 miles |
It’s funny to think that after only hiking with him for a couple days I would adjust my schedule in order to hike with him again.
I hardly know him, but we hit it off well and discovered we have many things in common. It seems like a good idea to hike together.
I am totally fine to be by myself, but it’s nice to have someone to talk to occasionally.
Occasionally.
He does like to talk a lot.
Starting off this morning, the trail was easy. There were only a few spots with rocks. Otherwise, the trail was mostly clear, though it was a bit overgrown in several places.
Early on, I saw Tin Man. I had not seen him on the trail since I stayed a night in Erwin. At the time, he was hiking with Brooklyn, whose work schedule prevented a complete thru-hike.
Tin Man told me he took a week off just before Trail Days and helped Brooklyn get back home, which was, as you might expect, in Brooklyn.
Being the last day of May, it was totally appropriate to see Mayapple plants beginning to wither.
The weather was pleasant, but there were not many people on the trail.
The trail continued to hug the Virginia-West Virginia state line, and as it did yesterday, entered a long meadow. Actually, it was a series of meadows.
This ridge is part of what’s known as Peter’s Mountain, which is named for Peter Wright, an early settler of Virginia.
The mountain is 52 miles long, making it the longest of the Appalachian chain.
At some point while walking through one of the meadows I lost my bandana. It's the same thing that happened to me nearly two weeks ago. In this case, though, I had no idea where I might have dropped it, so I decided it was not worth going back to find.
When I came upon a rock that had been placed on a couple logs to make a bench, this seemed like a made-to-order spot to eat lunch. It wasn’t even 11:30 yet, but I didn’t care. The spot was too perfect, so I stopped here anyway.
A couple hours later I passed a junction with another trail, the 330-mile Allegheny Trail. Construction of this trail began in 1975, and about 20 miles of it remains to be completed.
The Appalachian Trail made a turn here and began a descent of Peter’s Mountain.
A sign had been posted just beyond the trail junction saying Pine Swamp Branch Shelter, which was located about three miles ahead, was temporarily closed. Camping within a 300-foot radius of the shelter was also prohibited.
The closure was due to danger posed by standing dead trees, which were killed by gypsy moths.
The trail continued the long descent down the mountain, with several switchbacks to make it easier during one steep section, about halfway down to the bottom.
When I arrived at Pine Swamp Branch Shelter I was surprised at first. It didn't appear as though the closure was warranted. I expected to see trees in danger of falling nearby.
A closer look a short distance away, though, revealed the tops of several trees were dead.
Some work had been done to remove dangerous trees, but there were still too many dead ones within a distance that could have put people in danger.
Just beyond the shelter was another sign, but not about trees. It said “The Captain” was recovering from surgery and his yard was closed.
That was disappointing news.
The Captain got his trail name because people said he looked like Captain Kangaroo. His house, known as The Captain’s Place, is situated across Stony Creek from the trail.
He has normally allowed hikers to camp in his yard, even when he isn’t home. To reach it, they travel on a zip-line strung across the creek.
The trail followed along the creek for a couple miles. I met a hiker named Pigpen in this section.
She continued on, while I stopped at a wooden footbridge to eat a snack to fuel up. I knew that from here the trail began a long and difficult climb. The trail went up 1000 feet in just over a mile.
A couple tenths of a mile before reaching Bailey Gap Shelter, where I planned to stop for the night, I had to stop to collect and filter water.
To reach the spring to get the water, I had to walk another tenth of a mile down a path off the trail, so I dropped my pack at the trail. I brought the water back up to where my pack was to filter it.
Shelters are usually placed closer to a water source than this, but it was the only one nearby.
When I arrived at the shelter just after 6 p.m, Pigpen was in the shelter. She said she was suffering from a migraine.
About that time the sky began to rumble and darken. Though it didn’t seem a storm was approaching quickly, I didn’t waste time setting up my tent and preparing dinner.
The rain began to fall at 7:30, just as I was wrapping up camp chores, so I was ready to crawl into my tent.
Soon after, heavy rain began to fall, but it only lasted about 45 minutes.
Again the morning's come,
Again he's on the run,
Sunbeams shining through his hair,
Appearing not to have a care.
Well, pick up your gear and Gypsy roll on, roll on.
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