Saturday, May 19, 2012

Slayer

     I hit the trail late in the day with a weather report promising that rain was on the way.  I only planned on hiking five miles to the nearest shelter which rumor said was a palace among shelters.  Sure enough when I got there I took in the behemoth that could hold twenty people on two levels, had windows throughout and plenty of seating.  I set up my sleeping bag in the penthouse suite and settled in for the night.  Not long after darkness fell the rains began.  They lulled me to sleep and greeted me in the morning.



     After I ate my breakfast and packed up my gear I set outwith the rain still pouring down.  This was a first.  I had yet to have to leave camp while it was pouring out.  The trail started out in pretty good condition as it wound back and fourth up a steep mountain.  My legs felt nice and fresh so I climbed with little strain.

     As the days wore on and the miles kept passing, the rain never relented.  I went up and over several peaks and past many views with nothing to see but the inside of a cloud.

     Eventually the ground became saturated and the trail turned into a river.  There were spots where I could walk along the edge of the trail just barely skirting the edge of ever deepening puddles, but that didn't last long.  I had to trudge through ankle and calf deep sections with no where to go except straight through.


     When I came a shelter I sat down with my pack still on and had to make a choice.  There was plenty of day left so I could stop there with only doing ten miles for the day or I could push on to the next shelter which was twelve more miles away.  I thought I sensed a lightening of the steady rain, so I stood up and kept going.

     Hours passed and the rain was unrelenting.  The light started to dim as I came upon Matt's Creek shelter.  I had to hop from rock to rock over a stream in order to get there.  When I went to go sit down I was shocked to see eight people already crammed into the little six person shelter.  Two of them were thru hikers I had met before and the other six were local kids sipping Bud Lite.  I pulled out my dinner and ate it on the edge of the sleeping platform and then decided I would set up my tent and just sleep in it for the night.  One of the thru hikers said that they would squish over, but I said "No thank you".

     I set up my tent as quick as I could and dove for cover inside.  I wiped the water that made it inside off with my little ShamWow that I carry.  Then I stripped off my soggy clothes and put on my nice dry wool long underwear.  I was really quite comfortable.  Then I started feeling a mist of water coming through the tent fabric.  I knew it wasn't leaking, but the condensation on the inside walls from me breathing and being wet were getting knock off from the heavy drops on the outside, causing a mist sensation.  Then the ground where I set up started to get saturated.  I said "Screw this!", grabbed my sleeping stuff, ran back to the shelter in the dark and squeezed in.  It really wasn't that bad.  Us three hikers were on one side and the six teenagers giggling and buzzed were on the other.  They really had the bad end of the deal.

     At some point in the night the rain stopped, so morning came with blue skies.  I retrieved my abandoned tent and tried to hang it up to dry before I packed it up.  I had to put on my soaking wet hiking clothes from the day before.  The worst part is when you first put them on because they are so cold.  Once your body warms them up some it isn't so bad.  The little steam that I hopped across last night was swollen to the point of being uncrossable.  All the rocks were covered by raging water and the banks were too far apart to safely jump across.  I was happy that I decided to push on last night or I would have been stranded on the other side until the water subsided.

     I started out from the shelter hiking along the James river which is over a hundred feet across and the water was the color of a chai tea latte from Starbucks, complete with a little foam from the churning water.  All over, little streams were flooded, but nothing impassable.


     The blue skies were welcome, but the warm sun heated everything up to the point were I felt like I was walking in a sauna.  I was drenched in sweat on even easy climbs.  Then came the flies.  I don't know what kind they are, nor do I really care.  These little bastards were vicious.  First I would hear them.  Bzzzz  bzzzz bzzzz, as they circled my head.  Then they would land on my hair and want to freaking break dance or something.  I don't know what they were doing, but it was annoying as hell.  I started off swatting blindly at them.  Now, it is not easy to swat at anything with hiking poles strapped to my wrist.  So first I had to take off the straps and then I could proceed to swat violently at the air as they dodged my useless attacks.

Bzzz bzzzz bzzzz, came a fly.
Remove straps.
Grumble.
Swat frantically.
Stop.
Turn in circles to try and see the damned creature.
Swat some more.
Scream like a lunatic in the middle of the woods at an insect.

     Then I started formulating a plan.  I was going about it all wrong.  I needed to think differently.  Like a hunter.  I smiled to myself.  All I needed to do was catch them they were down.  I got excited, I'm gonna kill everyone of these monsters.

     So I hiked on and when I heard the dreaded bzzz bzzz bzzz of a circling devil I set my plan in motion.  I clenched my jaw as I was being circled, resisting the urge to strike out and swat it away.  Then I felt it hit my head, but not land.  Sort of like a shark does to it's victim before it devours it.  I kept walking like I didn't notice, but nonchalantly removed the strap of my hiking pole from my wrist so it couldn't tell what I was doing.  Then it landed.  Whack!  I smacked myself in the top of the head with enough force to crush ten devil flies.  Bzzz bzzz bzzz, it flew off unscathed.  "Ahhhhh!", I screamed after it.  "I will kill you!"

     On I hiked.  Through beautiful rhododendron and mountain laurel tunnels.  Along sides of mountain with views of bluish valleys and distant peaks.  Then came the familiar drone of another damned fly.

Bzzz bzzz bzzz.
Wait.
Bzzz bzzz bzzz
Wait.
Bzzz bzzz bzzz
Wait (much harder than you think)
Bump, bzzz bzzz bzzz
Remove straps
Bzzz bzzz bzzz, land
Whack!!!!!

     I swear this time I left a hand print as the bastard flew off again.  He returned in short order and we started the process all over again.

Bzzz bzzz bzzz.
Wait.
Bzzz bzzz bzzz
Wait. (Eyes squint)
Bzzz bzzz bzzz
Wait. (Breath quietly)
Bump, bzzz bzzz bzzz
Remove straps (Try to relax)
Bzzz bzzz bzzz, land
Wait. (Remain calm)
Little bastard starts disco dancing on my scalp.
Wait.

     Then time slowed down.  I could feel the cool breeze on my wet brow.  I moved gently.  I was aware of every motion on my dome. I moved slowly at first. Then...

Whack!

     I got it!  Oh my god I got it, I got it! Ha ha ha, I fricking got it!  I threw it on the ground and stomped on it in victory.  "I killed you, you little bastard!" I screamed.  Bzzz bzzz bzzz, another circled.

     I trudged into the shelter late in the day having killed scores of flies.  I slept like a glorious warrior knowing that he has slain his foes mightily.  I am such a nerd.

     The next day I met up with my father for a quick breakfast, food resupply and then I was back out on the trail.  I spent most of the morning climbing high into the hills.  It was a warm and beautiful day.  Drastically different from the rainy and muggy days prior.  I crossed the fields atop Bald knob and over the peak of Cold mountain.  When I arrived at the shelter I set up my tent and let it air dry for an hour or so before I threw my sleeping bag inside.  This shelter had a ton of little gnats flying around so as soon as I could I retreated to the refuge of the tent and went to sleep.

     I set off pretty early the next morning feeling rested and strong.  I made my was up a mountain called The Priest and started down the other side.  I started feeling a strange sensation in my left leg right above the ankle as I plodded down the steep decent.  It started as a slight tension and steadily began hurting.  I immediately started having flashbacks of all the pains I felt in Georgia.  I stopped at a little creek to refill my water and took out my bag of pills.  I fished around and pulled out two ibuprofen, popped them in my mouth and continued down hill.  At the base of the mountain was the Tye river.  There was a little suspension bridge going over it and on the other side there was a large rock on the water's edge.  I sat and soaked my sore leg for an hour while trying to work out why it was hurting.  It didn't feel quite like all of the other times a pain arose, it felt more specific.  After thinking about it, I decided that it was related to a stumble I had a while back where one of my trekking pole got wedged between my legs and I smacked that portion of my leg.

     I left my little soak spot and continued on.  Now the trail was going steeply uphill, retaking all the elevation it just gave up.  My leg only stung occasionally at this point so I pushed on to a spot I heard about with abundant waterfalls.  It was a little side trail not well traveled and the brush was tightly pressing in on both sides.  When I reached the falls I was blown away by their beauty.  Each one had a little pool perfect for taking a dip, but the weren't accessible.  There were rocks or trees or other obstacles blocking entry.  Then I spotted a pool that did have a little path heading towards it and I followed.  Figuring there was no one traveling on this trail, I stripped down and waded into the cold water.  It was invigorating.  I was racked with goose bumps, but I felt wonderful.  I didn't stay too long, but walked out that area with a deep sense of well being.  I felt really at peace, but it could have been the pain killers too.

     Strangely, I pushed passed the shelter I was originally aiming for the night.  I just felt a need to keep going, so keep going I did.  The trail was rocky, but I still was managing surprisingly well for having a bum leg now.  I stopped at dusk directly on an overlook all alone.  I set up camp and watched as the light slowly faded.  This was the second time I camped by myself since I started this trip.  The first time was also my first night of the trip over two months ago.  I felt a bit nervous, but thrilled at the same time.  I don't know why I pushed on to stay there, but I was really happy that I did.


     When dawn broke I gather my things and headed out early.  I drank all of my water during the night so I walked a mile down the trail to a spring and had breakfast there.  It felt really good to be up and moving so early, but my leg was still hurting.  After breakfast the trail went up and down one rocky out cropping after another.  It was tough going, but I was trucking along.  Then I caught a flash of motion in front of me so I came to a stop.  I looked up in time to see a small black furry critter climbing up a tree directly next to the trail as fast as it could.  Knowing what it was I didn't keep going, I waited.  Then I saw mamma.  The black bear lumbered through the low brush stopped, looked at me, then took off running.  Thankfully not in my direction, but she was gone in a flash.  I knew she wouldn't have gone far so I moved through that area as quick as possible.

     By afternoon I made it to Rockfish gap, where I planned to meet my father.  As I waited for him to show up I inspected my leg and found that it was pretty swollen.  When he arrived I hoped into the RV and took off my shoe and sock to reveal a swollen sausage foot.  I don't think that there is anything majorly wrong with my leg, just the swelling causing pain when I try to use the foot.  I took a day off in Waynesboro and will be back on the trail tomorrow.

     I traveled one hundred miles in this six day stretch and now I enter the Shenandoah National Park.

~Frenchy

11 comments:

  1. Stumbled across your journal while preparing for section hiking this summer. Wonderful writing and details! BTW when you hit Maryland- Weverton to CrAmpton Gap- be careful of rattlers. I didn't see them on the trail, but another hiker said there were tons in the rocks just off the trail on the right hand side. Good luck on your journey. ~Mother Puma

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    1. Hey Mother Puma thanks for reading, I just finished going through that section, it was really beautiful and treacherously rocky. I can see why there would be snakes around. Good luck on your section hiking!

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  2. You need a bug hat. That is a beanie with a propeller on top. Great AT tour thanks. I always look forward to reading.

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    1. I'll have to look into that, do you think four propellers offer more protection than two. Hmmm, deep thoughts :)

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  3. As much as I hate your guts, I love reading about this trip!

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  4. You are now the Lord of the Flies. Remember "Man who catch fly with chopstick can accomplish anything!" Mom's advice: Lord, get some chopsticks. If anyone can do it, you can. Love you.

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  5. maybe the bug net hat from rei wasn't such a bad idea after all.

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    1. I think I can comb my beard in a way that will prevent them

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  6. Great stuff Frenchy, I have truly enjoyed following you throught your journey.

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    1. Thanks Randy I feel like you have been with me from the beginning. Oh, Andrea from the Dillard House just had her baby boy!

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