Father Goose is back in China

Apparently Judd sent, just me, a Snapchat of June 21 (Hike Naked Day)  thinking that snapchat disappears instantly.... He forgot, I know how to take a screen shot. 

With permission:

my "find Judd's phone ap" says he's not in Virginia any more.....

Father Goose, seen on FB

He is WAY ahead of schedule. Due to take a train out of Harper's Ferry tomorrow; train out of DC later that night and bus to Augusta Thursday.     "Have done GA to VA, ME to MA, and now VA. Have yet to do MA to VA. I'm a LASH (long ass section hiker)."

Swift Run Gap - June 15

I hike into Swift Run Gap to try and hitch into elkton to pick up a resupply box. At the gap there's a family dropping off a mom and her two kids, 18 and 13 or so. Grammy and Grampy drove them down from Annapolis for a couple day hike on the AT. We chat and the family takes off into the woods. I start to hitch and Techla and Richard pick me up and ask where I'm headed. I say into elkton and they say hop in. They are the Grammy and Grampy. They are not going to elkton but are up for an adventure and will take me to the post office. By the time I get the post office sorted out I am less than enthusiastic about getting back on the trail. So I ask the post offices u if there's a motel in town and she's says no although we should try that place we passed on the way into town. With Murph driving and Techla navigating on her phone we track down the less than kosher looking place. When they let me out in the parking lot they say they'll wait until I know this is a place to stay. Techla looks horrified. When the workman comes to the door he says they are not open for business at all. M&T ask me where I want to go. I could have said harpers ferry. They were going to go stay in the park at one of the lodges and offered to take me. I suggested the nearest campground and they left me at Lewis mt. Campground inside the national park. I was just setting up when on walks mom, Cassie and the two kids Scudder, yes Scudder, and Juliette. We have a nice visit and instead of making them carry their food bags way down to the other end of the campground I suggest they put their stuff in my armored bear box that came with my site. Bad Hat has a cabin with Mr. Maroon. They offer ghost hiker one of the four bunks. I hear on the camp store radio that Jeb Bush has announced his candidacy. The AT passes right through the campground and a whole bunch of folks drift through to have a calzone or ham sandwich and a couple cold beers. Coors are $1.89 and Coors light is $1.00. Guess which one is selling.
81° Clear
Lewis Mtn, Elkton, VA, United States

I don't see much food......

The Lutherans' feast

85° Drizzle
552 Chestnut Ave, Waynesboro, VA, United States

Beardless looks 20 years younger

Judd sans beard. Sachet from England (Sache').She's on three month holiday after college taking two to hike the AT.

ice cream, brownies and shifted bubbles

I left Tree Streets B&B I Waynesboroand was on the trail by1000. Yesterday was a zero day I did no hiking. Rested about all I accomplished was three post cards and a two hour trip to Mings all you can eat Chinese Buffett. I was a spectacular Buffett. About two hours into the hike I met up with Chipmonk. He looked beat and we sat and talked. His wife wants him home. I had met up with him in Krogers the night before. We shared a box of gallon size zip lock baggies and a six pack of hard cider. On the way in I saw Waldo coming out of Mings. He's hiking without Keychain and Pathfinder. They have something planned for the release of the new Jurassic park movie. I ended up putting the rest of the bags and the two extra disposable razors and shave cream in the hiker box at the B&B I had found a tshirt and shorts in the hiker box too. The waist was a 32 but they seemed to fit adequately. I went to a barber and had the beard taken off. Too many kids calling me sir. By hat means I could walk down to the laundromat and was everything. I had asked bill the owner if he had any hiker clothes and he had said no. These places don't get how important it is to have a couple old shirts and pairs of shorts around for hikers to borrow to do laundry. Darn few hikers carry the luxury of town clothes. I sorted out my resupply box of four days. I decided I had about two days surplus and headed down to the Lutherans church to see if I could donate to their hiker box. On Thursday night they had a hiker feed for just a donation. Lasagna and salad and ice cream and brownies. There were probably a dozen hikers and two dozen parishioners. They run a hostel here too. At six pm the hikers can set up cots. It's a pretty popular spot. Or they can camp outside in a field. Showers are available. I saw Smoke and Slip and Ghost hiker. They did not recognize me without my beard. We all declined vespers. At Krogers I picked up a bag of Fritos. One of the highest calories snacks/bread products you can carry. Better than tortillas. Back to the trail. I left Chipmonk and headed out. The first shelter came and went at about seven miles and two o'clock. The trail is pretty good. Keep crossing the BRP. The up hills seem long but gradual the day turns into a 20.6 mi day. The shelter Is full and there's easily a dozen tents. I seem to have shifted bubbles as there are no familiar faces.
421 Walnut Ave, Waynesboro, VA, United States

That's Pathfinder. She's from Maine. Has been hiking with Waldo and Keychain. Except she an keychain are Aqua blazing. While Waldo hoofs it.
OOPS THIS ENTRY WAD SUPPOSED TO BE ADDED TO THE THIRTEENTH.
83° Mostly Cloudy
Appalachian National Scenic Trl, Troutville, VA, United States

Famous popcorn

FAMOUS popcorn hot dog stand before Waynesboro. That's Smoke and Ghost Hiker tanking up. Free sodas for hikers
85° Clear
10695 Rockfish Gap Tpke, Afton, VA, United States

Zero

I take a zero day. Pretty stupid I'm not hot on zero days. I'd much rather slack pack a few miles. I think because the Shenandoah park is weighing on everything. Heavy humid air. Thunder showers every day and frankly it's a boring trail. Well groomed almost manicured. Built for speed and long mile days. Everything is soaked with sweat and never dries out. I must really smell bad.
Rockfish gap with Swim. We are all headed down to the popcorn hamburger truck before we head into Waynesboro.
75° Clear
Appalachian Trl, Afton, VA, United States

Fathergoose. No beard.

Today I hike into Waynesboro to pick up a resupply box. The first thing I do is hit the local baRber shop and lay out $3 to have my beard shaved off. It feels good. Gad I have big ears. But it feels good. The local Lutheran churches hikers tent in their yard and put on a feed on Thursday night for anyone with a donation. Slip is there-- so is Smoke. They try really hard to get us to go upstairs for vespers. They didn't get any takers. I did donate $5 as it was a good spread. Crunchy vegetables! Earlier in the day I had gone to Mings Asian buffet for lunch. I wrote postcards and stuffed myself for over an hour. When I was coming in, Waldo was coming out. I yelled at him across the parking lot. He didn't recognize me at all until I said Fathergoose. No beard.
Below is Aqua Fresh and Keychain Fosty

84° Clear
Appalachian National Scenic Trl, Troutville, VA, United States

A personal high

Slip and I put the peddle down. 12 miles up is where there's 10 miles of closed to camping because of bear threats. So we can either do a baby day of 12 or dig down and do a 22. We opt for the 22 mile day. Usually when I do a long day like this it isn't planned but the trail and your energy turn it into long mile day. But today is planned and I woke up wondering if I could pull it off. We ate and and ate our way through. Stopped for two long take your shoes off breaks and planned on it staying light in too nine. We passed Little Bear and Atlas slack packing SOBO. Water has been short and they told which springs were flowing and which one weren't. We passed dripping rock the point of no return before lunch and waded into bear country. At one point there was a kid in his hammock up in a tree. A perfect bear tree. I don't know but I think he thought he was sAfe up there. He was t really. And pointed down the trail with a shandy finger and said there was a bear down there foraging around where he thought someone had taken a dump. Uh huh. Really? We saw no bear. Slip and I did 22 mile, a personal high. And found and found Smoke, Splash, Ghost hiker, and Casper already there.
78° Clear
Appalachian National Scenic Trl, Afton, VA, United States

Yogi-ing

Back on the trail I'm headed for harpers creek shelter. About 12 miles. I seem to have hooked up with Slip. He is a district conservationist from the DC area. We chat and I reminisce about u days as a supervisor at KCSWCD. I catch up to and pass Chipmonk. He's bound and determined to get to Mt. Greylock in Massachusetts near where he lives. His wife is turning up the heat and wants him home. Slip also is anxious as his wife wants him home too. He's really torn.
Below is Ghost Hiker. A cop from Houston. She's a Ghost because she likes to stealth camp. She has just Yogi'd a tortilla and PB&J for lunch. Yogi'ing is when you run out of food and your buddies chip in for your meal ticket.
77° Partly Cloudy
Appalachian National Scenic Trl, Afton, VA, United States

Where's Waldo?

I'm heading out to Buena Vista today to get a resupply box at the post office. I had tried not to sent these boxes to post offices because if I came through row on a Saturday or Sunday the chances were good that the place would be closed. That's what happened here. So I hike rift on by Saturday and Sunday and now , Monday I will back track with a ride for trail angel Gary Serra, Lawman. Low profile and low and slow will push on. I spend the night in another cheap moldy crappy hotel and eat bad Mexican food. There a health food store next door and I run into a couple ridge runners. People paid to hike all day and keep the other hikers out of trouble. They try to explain that there's been some bear trouble and part of the trail has been closed to camping. I don't know where I going well enlighten to decide if that affects me or not. There's a new kind of instant coffee in the store. A little cube. I decide to get a couple and see if it works or not. I also got a tiny bag of creol seasoning.
This fellow is Waldo. We keep crossing paths. He's carrying a plastic slide trombone with him and he wants to go to barber school after the trail. The two women he's been hiking with have gone off to Aqua blaze the Shenandoah s. They hook back up again in Harpers Ferry. 

81° Drizzle
5500 Mountain Pass Rd, Troutville, VA, United States

Scuzzy wuzzy wasn't fuzzy, was he?

Low profile and I meet up with Low andSlow on top of bluff mountain. He's spread out drying out and Sunning himself. He's a pilot. He suggests a weather app. Called Storm by wonder or weather underground. Uses NOAA data and presents it pretty well. I have t tried it yet. Low Profile uses a weather App that gives the weather at each leanto. On theAT. Weather on the ATi think its called. That night we set up camp and Goats Beard is there at the same camp by the river. I have to call a shuttle to go into a jean Vista. Gary is the man. A retire police officer who does shuttles two months of the year. Strictly cash. After much discussion Low Profile decides he does not need to keep me company just to go in to the post office. I have sent a box of resupply to this post office. You are not supposed to send resupply to a post office because it is closed on Sunday and usually most of Saturday. Then you have to wait until Monday. I missed the first road crossing opportunity to get in to Buena vista Saturday afternoon. Rather than sit and wait I hiked on and now the shuttle will cost a little more to take me backwards but so what. I get into Buena Vista ( pronounced with a long “u”) get my packages and because it's so hot and muggy decide to stay in another scuzzy hotel. Low Profile and Low and slow will hike on. It's not always hard to hike with someone but it becomes a different hike. Everything becomes a community decision. When and where to stop. How often to stop. How long to stop where to eat lunch and on and on. It can be done. And there are some good things about hiking with some one. You can tell stories or just listen to stories. You usually keep a quicker pace just to keep up with each other and if you stealth camp there's company in case you get the heebee jeebees. Low Profile is a Toyota parts manager. 

73° Clear

NOTE FROM DEVOTED WIFE:  Got news for him (when he ever checks a text message,) that his Buena Vista resupply box showed up here 5 days ago, returned from the Post Office, unopened. Hope he gets to shop for food at one of those scuzzy hotel towns.

Judd's June 14 - "Giardia wouldn't kill you, diarrhea would"

Woke up this morning to discover that Finn was camped beside me. I got in late last night sat for a few minutes at the shelter with about a dozen mostly kids. I asked where the water was and one young fellow pointed down the hill to what he described was the best spring he had ever seen. It looked so clean I fact he was drinking it untreated. The conversation digressed touched on giardia and other maladies. I finally suggested to the road that giardia wouldn't kill you. Diarrhea would. A hush fell and immediately the lines were drawn. The real hikers knew what I was saying and immediately it became clear who the hanger one here for the party were. Back to Finn. Yes he's from Finland. The last time I saw him he had replaced his rotting off his feet shoes with some new sandals. He had even learned that socks improved his wear. I told him that every time I stub my toe I think about him. He says he bought them a size larger than he wears just so he would have that added protection sticking out in front of his toes. I had caught up to him because he had taken three zeros in Waynesboro because he was sick. My goal today is to have lunch at Loft Mountain Wayside. The best part of the ham edged was the lettuce tomatoes onion. The cold Gatorade was good. And the blackberry milk shake was fair. As I was leaving Smoke showed up. His mom, Swim, is slack packing the shenendoas with her new husband so Smoke is on his own for a bit. I think virginia is wearing on everyone. Not least of which is the humidity and afternoon thunder showers. I'm dripping sweat all day and wearing it all night. Just wet and clammy. Not cold. So there's really no threat to life just wicked stanky. 

38.3051° N, 78.6125° W

devoted wife post

Today I texted Judd that his Waynesboro box came back to me, "REFUSED."  Was it refused by Judd or was it because it wasn't picked it up in time from the post office? Is he short food?  His meds?  Should I re-send the Waynesboro box further north?  Should I send the Elkton box now (or later?)  He never got the post cards all the family and neighbors wrote-- 'Lost by the US Post Office. '  Where do I send this next box? Front Royal?  I asked my "smart" phone to locate Judd's phone. My phone said:  "he's offline--notify you when he's on line?" and I say yes, but my phone hasn't yet.

After a bad work day: It's 9:32pm after a 12 hour work day-- I go to my comfort place-- HuluPLUS Jon Stewart...... and there are no new episodes. I'm all caught up at last Thursday.  It's merely Monday pm... I can't watch a real Monday until Tuesday.... my screen saver starts flashing selfies of my bearded husband with stranger-hikers.... the apple TV starts showing pics of all the latest : Judd-selfies with his new friends on the trail, our Scotland whisky tapping;  Daisy on the neighbor's dock, an AT privvy, Ryley on a sailboat in Spain;  Omer and Mike frying chicken,my new bathroom renovation....it's complicated.

June 13 - "shifted bubbles"

I left Tree Streets B&B I Waynesboroand was on the trail by1000. Yesterday was a zero day I did no hiking. Rested about all I accomplished was three post cards and a two hour trip to Mings all you can eat Chinese Buffett. I was a spectacular Buffett. About two hours into the hike I met up with Chipmonk. He looked beat and we sat and talked. His wife wants him home. I had met up with him in Krogers the night before. We shared a box of gallon size zip lock baggies and a six pack of hard cider. On the way in I saw Waldo coming out of Mings. He's hiking without Keychain and Pathfinder. They have something planned for the release of the new Jurassic park movie. I ended up putting the rest of the bags and the two extra disposable razors and shave cream in the hiker box at the B&B I had found a tshirt and shorts in the hiker box too. The waist was a 32 but they seemed to fit adequately. I went to a barber and had the beard taken off. Too many kids calling me sir. By hat means I could walk down to the laundromat and was everything. I had asked bill the owner if he had any hiker clothes and he had said no. These places don't get how important it is to have a couple old shirts and pairs of shorts around for hikers to borrow to do laundry. Darn few hikers carry the luxury of town clothes. I sorted out my resupply box of four days. I decided I had about two days surplus and headed down to the Lutherans church to see if I could donate to their hiker box. On Thursday night they had a hiker feed for just a donation. Lasagna and salad and ice cream and brownies. There were probably a dozen hikers and two dozen parishioners. They run a hostel here too. At six pm the hikers can set up cots. It's a pretty popular spot. Or they can camp outside in a field. Showers are available. I saw Smoke and Slip and Ghost hiker. They did not recognize me without my beard. We all declined vespers. At Krogers I picked up a bag of Fritos. One of the highest calories snacks/bread products you can carry. Better than tortillas. Back to the trail. I left Chipmonk and headed out. The first shelter came and went at about seven miles and two o'clock. The trail is pretty good. Keep crossing the BRP. The up hills seem long but gradual the day turns into a 20.6 mi day. The shelter Is full and there's easily a dozen tents. I seem to have shifted bubbles as there are no familiar faces.

421 Walnut Ave, Waynesboro, VA, United States

June 6 -UNCUT (i.e. unspell-checked ) from Vesuvius

I seem to have hooked up with Low Profile. A cop from Texas. He's as hiking with Yoda but when Yoda was medivaced low profile was left on his own. He wants company. Nice enough fellow full of stories. His wife seems unhappy he is on the trail for so long. He's shooting on ding home for Father's Day. We hike pretty much the same hike. He's slower on the uphills but faster on the downs. For every up there's an equal down. We do a pretty uneventful 15 mile day. Spend the night at johns hollow shelter. Mile 786.3 from springer.
76° Drizzle
Appalachian National Scenic Trl, Vesuvius, VA, United States

a circus and perforated urethra - June 5

14.9 mile day. Lunch time!
Young gun and rainbow. Boda and Low Profile. Low profile was hiking with Yoda. Yoda fell as he was stepping over a blow down across the trail and impaired his rectum on a broken branch. Actually he perforated his urethra. It took EMTs about an hour to find him and medivac him. The funniest part of the story is that Yoda didn't want Low Profile to set off his SPOT gps emergency locator because he didn't want every emergency responded on the east coast out looking for him. Also he didn't want his wife to freak out. There's talk of him coming back as a flip flop. Start at Baxter and hike south to where he got off. Low Profile may join him. The ATC is encouraging flip flops and other sectional type thru hikes to relieve some of the pressure on the trail. Lots of folks insist on a linear end to end approach but it really becomes a circus on this southern end of the trail as that's where everyone insists on starting. I'm glad I'm getting off at Harpers Ferry to spend summer in Maine. I can't imagine hiking through the heat of the midatlantic states in July and August. Boda has gone home with foot and shin splint issues. Young Gun is from Maine and tried thru hiking last year. Got as far as Glasgow. Rainbow is from Virginia and had to leave the trail to go to her college graduation. Wild and Boy were here. Collectively they are known as the Wild Boys. Also Krispy and Slip made an appearance. Little Giant and Aqua Fresh were here also
69° Partly Cloudy
Appalachian National Scenic Trl, Buchanan, VA, United States

yellow blazers...... June 4 (e)

I will slack pack back from Thunder Ridge Overlook. BRP 74.9. I even have a grapefruit to peel for lunch. So let's see omer and chat with a bunch of folks going against the flow as I am. There's mother Moab a yellow blazer in an unbrella. That's Wallet behind her. Moab also has an old dog with here that has a service dog harness named Utah. The poor old thing is not a service dog. She's a yellow blazer highly despised. People have even started writing shelter journal entries and signing them “Utah”. Feed me or carry your own water etc. 

60° Drizzle
Appalachian National Scenic Trl, Buchanan, VA, United States

  Here is what I, Melanie, devoted trail widow learned when  googling:  "yellow blazing."  (I thought maybe it meant dogs on the trail who pee everywhere.)

Yellow Blazing, Yellow Blazer: Hitch-hiking or otherwise skipping over sections of the Trail.

Other Jargon you may find useful:

TRAIL TALK  from sophiaknows.com

Blaze, White Blaze: A two by six inch square of white paint ocassionally and wholly accidentally left on a tree by the mythical maintainers. These are generally thought to indicate that: someone went this way before me and they apparently own paint.

Blue Blazer: A hiker who frequently substitutes blue blazed routes paralleling the official AT. These may be: shorter, flatter or more scenic than the official route. Many blue blazed trails are in fact vestiges of earlier AT routes and as such frequently head directly through popular resupply points avoided by the modern "scenic" AT.

Credited Miles: An as yet un-hiked portion of the official white blazed Appalachian Trail. Credited miles exclude side trails to shelters, water, services and views. Credited miles also exclude any portion of the Trail previously trod upon by the hiker (e.g. a northbounder's descent from Katahdin)

Flip-Flop Hiker: A hiker completing the Trail in a discontinuous hike within a single year. Flip-flop hikes may begin at either end of the Trail (i.e. Leg 1 North from Georgia, Leg 2 South from Maine) or may begin a convenient midpoint on the Trail (Harpers Ferry is popular) (i.e. Leg 1 Mid-point North to Maine, Leg 2 Mid-point South to Georgia).

GA-ME, GAME: Short hand for Georgia to Maine. A notation used in trail registers by Georgia to Maine thru-hikers.

Go-lighter, Ultra-lighter: A hiker who carries an extemely light pack (typically 15-25 lbs). Ultra-lighters use light-weight tarps in lieu of tents and favor sleep sacks (silk and fleece liners) over traditional bags. They are frequently cold and always hungry.

ME-GA, MEGA: Short hand for Maine to Georgia. A notation used in trail registers by Maine to Georgia thru-hikers.

Northbounder (NoBo):Short hand for a Georgia to Maine thru-hiker.

Pointless Ups and Downs (PUDs) Hills and full blown mountains senselessly included in the path of the Appalachian Trail. These features are frequently remote from the most natural trail route requiring exquisite and serpentine contortions in the path to deliver the hiker to the base of targeted monolith.

Purist: A hiker who insists on passing every white blaze (demarcating the official AT) between Maine and Georgia. See, also: Ultra-purist (var); Blue Blazer (ant)

Section Hiker: A hiker who seeks to complete the Trail in large sections over several years. Section hikers can take two, three or as many as twenty years (at 100 mi/year) to complete the Trail.

Southbounder (SoBo): Short hand for a Maine to Georgia thru-hiker.

Trail Names: The fanciful (some would say Super Friends-like) monikers adopted by or assigned to Appalachian Trail hikers. These names are used in trail and shelter registers and in actual conversation among hikers. An odd convention of the Trail to some, trail names are memorable and help hikers sort among the twenty Johns, thirty Davids and twelve Anns they are likely to meet in the course of months or weeks on the AT.

Thru-hiker: Generally used to mean a hiker who has walked the Trail from end-to-end in a single (normally continuous) hike. Often includes hikers completing the trail in a single dis-continuous hike within a single year, and may include hikers completing the Trail in large sections over two or three years.

Tour Hiker: A hiker who seeks to hike only the most desirable sections of the Trail. These hikers ofter start in Georgia and finish in Maine but, either because of time constraints or boredom, skip large sections of the Trail (Pennsylvania is a popular omission as are New Jersey, New York and Connecticut). See, also: Yellow Blazing, Yellow Blazer

Ultra-purist: A hiker who scrupulously insists on carrying her full pack not only past every white blaze on the Trail but over every inch of soil demarcated by those blazes. Unlike simple purists, ultra-purists consider dirt under a large fallen tree to be "part of the official AT" and will literally tag the space underneath from either side whenever forced to circumnavigate a blowdown.

Weekend Hiker, Weekender: A hiker who is out for 2-3 days and is more or less incidentally hiking on the AT. Frequently includes large camp and church groups. Often includes Boy Scout troops. Has been known in Pennsylvania to include penal boot camp outings.

Yellow Blazing, Yellow Blazer: Hitch-hiking or otherwise skipping over sections of the Trail. (Named for the yellow line down the center of the road) A yellow blazer is a hiker who skips large sections of the Trail because they are keeping a schedule or because the skipped section is difficult and/or tedious.  See, also: Tour Hiker

Yogi, Yogi-ing: In its strictest meaning, the act (or art) of obtaining desired goods or services without directly asking the candidate provider. In general usage, the act of obtaining desired goods of services from a third-party by any means including non-fatal force.

Zero Day, Taking a Zero, Zeroing: A day in which a hiker walks no "credited" miles (generally spent in a town or hostel). Zero days may be for resupply, recuperation and/or recreation. Hikers taking too many zero days risk "losing their hike" and/or becoming yellow blazers.

Keep running into them - June 4 (e)

Little Bear and Atlas. Keep running into them. 

60° Drizzle
Appalachian National Scenic Trl, Buchanan, VA, United States

...left without remorse - June 4 (d)

Gold Star. He carries it pinned to his pack. A recognition of achievement from a previous employer. He seems to have left without remorse. 

61° Drizzle
Appalachian National Scenic Trl, Buchanan, VA, United States

Smoke and Splash

Smoke and Splash. A mom and son team. Actually mom is a welt wed 3 mos ago. 

437 Walnut Ave, Waynesboro, VA, United States

59° Mostly Cloudy

June 4  (c)

June 4 (b) -- now OSHA is involved.

JC has changed his name to OSHA. AppArNtly there is some need for a safety officer around the campfire at night. Firefighter from NH and a big Patriots fan.
505 Maple Ave, Waynesboro, VA, United States

Guess what, Judd--you're walking home too.

Chipmunk. A technology teacher from Massacheusetts. Close to Mt. Greylock. He is walking home. 

60° Drizzle
Forest Road 812, Buchanan, VA, United States

June 4 (a)

Drizzle - June 3

Dora and Boston are staying at the same campground. They slack packed today and I'm thinking I'm going to do a slack pack too. That means we can share the cost of a shuttle
57° Drizzle
Appalachian National Scenic Trl, Natural Bridge Station, VA, United States

Mountain Dew and his trail magic

Mountain Dew and his trail magic. And Crumbs and Hot Pants ( the guy)
71° Mostly Cloudy
1351–1379 Jennings Creek Rd, Buchanan, VA, United States

Sublime today. Crumbs and Hot pants are there too - June 2

I met Sublime today. A Canadian who has already through hiked. He's a day care worker. He's also. Talker. Great chat as we walked along he was really excited to get off the trail tomorrow and get a ride up to Pennsylvania for an AT reunion of some kind. The. He wanted to make sure he got to Waynesboro for the free hiker feed at the Lutherans church on Thursday nights. He borrowed my phone to confirm his ride tomorrow from Buchanan we got down to the road and I went left to a camp ground and he went left to town. But first Mountain Dew is there with trail Magic. Crumbs and Hot pants are there too. They are two outdoor leadership educators from Canada 

71° Mostly Cloudy
Appalachian National Scenic Trl, Buchanan, VA, United States

June 2 - selfies with everyone

16.1 miles slack packing. I got a ride from HoJos north to mile 742.1 or BRP (blue ridge parkway) 95.3. The idea is that I'll hike south back to HoJos with a pack carrying only a jacket lunch and water. I try to take a bunch of selfies with everyone I pass. Now that I'm hiking against the flow I get to see everyone I've been hiking with for the last couple weeks. I'll get my miles in today but it will take time because I have to stop and talk to everyone. I caught up another grey beard called Chipmonk he is a technology instructor at a community college in Massacheusetts. He's trying to get to Mt. Greylock. That's where I finished my last section of Maine to MA. I met up with the twins. Axis and Mundi. They have some commentary tattoos. There is some mystic connection here that I am not too sure of. Sort of like yin and yang or beginning and end. I'm not sure I can tell them apart. One is a baker and the other is a specialized soldered. They're from NY. 

66° Overcast
421 Walnut Ave, Waynesboro, VA, United States

a couple grey beards

14.8 miles. 712.3 camp site to 727.8 HoJos in Daleville. It's practically right on the AT. The parking lot is empty of cars but the place is full hikers some concern about the laundry not working sent some hikers scurrying across the street to another hotel. The issue was resolved when the quarters were emptied out of the machines. If I wear my compression shorts and my rain jacket and crocks with no socks I can wash everything else. I can rinse the compression shorts out in the sink. Not a proper wash but close enough and the shorts usually can be dry or at least dry enough to wear in the morning. I am in the middle of one big bubble. Just north of McAfee knob is a place called Tinker Cliffs. I was looking back hoping to get a glimpse of mckafee knob thinking it was just back around the corner. But it was way the heck over there and I would have never guessed I had come so far and I never would have guessed that scratch of bare rock was the knob. I picked wild blueberries that were ripe. Took a nice long break and watched the thunder and lightening miles away. We have been getting afternoon showers like clockwork. Daleville has a Krogers grocery store and a good Mexican restaurant and a bbq joint called three little pigs. I slid into the three little pigs for bbq. And saw Goat's Beard. I joined him for a good over indulgence. Right when we were ready to leave a real thunder boomer rolled through big rain and big wind. So we sat and had a good visit for a hour or so. I'm making plans to get a ride north and slack pack back. I even bought a grapefruit to have for lunch.
That's Goat's Beard and me, a couple of grey beards. He's a social worker from Boston

80° Partly Cloudy
421 Walnut Ave, Waynesboro, VA, United States

He's WhErE?

Me, demonstrating Judd's route, to the Colby nurses....

Batteries not included

I go a week and this is what I get fromFather Goose. Yes that postage is $14.70 one way. Guess if it's refused they return it for "free."

 

And then, this morning:

It'll take me a while to open, post, download, paste the pics, etc.  Maybe he just got his battery charged.

"sort of a funky place...."

4 pines hostel. Got here at 1030. Really the only reason for coming was because I have a resupply box. It is sort of a funky place and really only comfortable for tenters. There's lawn chairs and cots behind the couches. Take your pick. On the way in I met Goats Beard and Reverse Chicken. And going up to Dragons tooth. A big stone. I fell in with Just Dave. Really the reason for coming here is to get the free ride into The Homestead restaurant. It's kind of a fancy all you can eat. AYCE. Restaurant that embraces hikers with what is rumored to be the eat food on the AT. It doesn't open until 11. But we all traipse off to be first in line. There really are families there in their Sunday best and all us stankyhikers. It was a dang good feed. Sat with Just Dave, Foo and another guy who seemed to be a partner more than a hiker. On the way back to four pines we stopped at a country store and luckily I remembered I needed a new stove canister. Most everyone else on the van got 24 packs of PBRs. When we got back I pushed on turned it into a 16 mile day. This didn't look like it was going to be a very restful place. I was surprised I could hike on a stuffed stomach. But I actually felt pretty good. We've been getting afternoon thunder showers. Just enough to to get everything soaked or cooled off before the afternoon slog and set up for the night. I got up to McAfee Knob. What a sight. There were thunder and lightening storms all around. I didn't hang out too long. Foo was there and he took my picture. He had been hanging around for a couple hours. I just wanted to get well below tree line. All the way up there were no camping signs. It's a pretty well worn track lots of day hikers. So of course just past the knob some idiot thru hiker has his tent set up. I picked my first ripe blueberries on the cliffs just past the knob. Spent the night at Campbell shelter campsite. Mile 712.4 from springer. 1476.8 miles from katahdin.

70° Partly Cloudy
6164 Newport Rd, Catawba, VA, United States

To Hell and Back

It's not easy to get a rattle snake to pose under a white AT blaze. I seem to be hiking in quite a bubble of hikers. Everyone has their snake stories and pictures --now I do too. I am going to slide into the hostel where my resupply box is tomorrow. It took a while to figure out just how far I should go each day. Now that I know I can go 20 miles if I have to. But everyone is going to slip a day or two so they can go into Captain's hostel for the fish fry and the hiker feast . I'm hoping that slows everyone up enough to so that I can slip into Four Pines hostel.  Pretty popular because the guy takes everyone into the local all you can eat buffet. Home place restaurant. Supposed to be the best food on the whole AT. These last couple days were 10 or 12 mile days. Pretty nice.like today I sat at the Audie Murphy** monument for about two hours. Mostly drying things out. I noticed that Murphy's plane crashed May 28. Whoa two days ago in 1973 I think. He was 47. I left pretty early this morning. Technically could get 10 miles in before lunch! Came across a stream and heard the neighbors yell out hey hiker dude, want a doughnut? So I said yes and moseyed over. It was Keychain , Pathfinder and another fellow eating Krispy creams that the owners had given them before they left. An old couple who love the place fighting off some pipeline that's coming through. Pathfinder wants to buy it and turn it into a hostel. There was an old board in the outdoor fire pit that said “Wyoming hotel”. There was an old covered wagon that would be a moveable rentable room like woodchucks teepee in Damascus. Right on the river we even found a swing chained to a tree but you could swing way out over the stream. Pathfinder is really excited and dreaming up all kinds of things for her hostel right on the AT. I trekked into the pickle branch shelter and down a steep trail to load up on water. The. The place was giving me weird vibes and I hike out again all loaded up with water to make supper and get me into 4 Pines . Found a nice stealth sites. Although now I am worried that there is an awful lot of poison ivy around. I had gumbo. Made by pack it gourmet. Wicked good. I've been supplementing everything with beans or corn. I have packets of dehydrated beans and corn. In the morning I put a quarter of a cup or so in this plastic jar I have with a tight screw on lid and add enough water to cover. By the time I'm making supper it's good to go. The other night I had bean and tuna burrito. Darn good!74° Partly Cloudy
7270 Bradshaw Rd, Salem, VA, United States

**decorated war hero and actor--You recall To Hell and Back-- come on, Judd and I aren't THAT old.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audie_Murphy

Lots of other characters

Friday the 29th. That means I'm 12 days into my conditioning 14 days. Seems like I've been at this longer. Today was 10.4 miles. I'm trying to figure out a schedule that gets me into four pines hostel. Written up as a three bay garage with a shower. There a resupply box there and I think I should just about get there with no food in my pack. A close call but that's how it's supposed to work. 12 miles tomorrow and 7 miles to get into town. Rumor is that the fellow who runs it ferries everyone into an all you can eat restaurant. I'm up for that. I got up early this morning and was the first one on the trail. I swear there were 30 tents at this lean-to. People were rolling in at 10 pm. Everyone really close. The people beside me set their tent up directly under where I hung my bear bag of food. I got that down quietly in the morning. Crawled up and over the continental divide. The eastern continental divide I guess. I took a picture. I had just gotten up and over this sort of open space and thunder storms rolled through. I was wondering how all those campers I left sleeping were going to get through here especially with all those metal hiking poles. Saw deer, hummingbirds and they looked like horned toads. Kept passing through air heavy with honeysuckle. No snakes but everyone else seems to have stories and pictures of humongous poisonous vipers. An hour before the shelter it started raining. Got a good bath. Had some hot grits for a late lunch. Then set up my tarp and hammock. I'm getting good at keeping everything dry. Well at least only damp. Took a nap to the plop of rain; woke up around 430 and now it was definitely too late to think about pushing on. Although some of my friends were to find a stealth camp. Pretty much still raining. I'm hoping it'll Peter out by morning. In the last few days have hiked with JC a r eroded firefighter from Nashua. A mom 50 something and son twenty something team. A nice Finnish fellow very insightful American humor. A couple German boys. Oblivious. Smoking cigarettes at the picnic table we were eating supper at. I don't want to think about where those two now empty coke cans are. Lots of other characters. Passed a local young fellow carrying a blanket a tarp and a gallon jug of water. Nada nice chat he's out for about 25 miles of trail. My hammock is comfortable and dry. I don't know how this tarp does it so well.

UNEDITED: "You blow into the tube."

Today started ok but that 20 miles yesterday must have really beat me up. One thing was I started out with no water. I didn't even try to choke down a granola bar. The nearest water was 3 miles away. My mouth was already dry. It was going to be like this all day. I had visions of making 15 miles when I started out. That was going to change. I figured out how to get the last bit of water out of the tube of my water bladder. You blow into the tube. The. That eliminates the vapor lock and you can suck the water you can see sitting in the tube. There were a couple serious ups and down and by the time I got to the shelter campsite 10.7 miles out I was beat. I had thought I was going on to the next one. All I could do is drink water and set up my hammock for a nap. Right before I lay down a hiker was taking off and said it was 2:30. Ah man I thought it was 4:30. I took my nap. It rained. Hikers showed up all afternoon ate and pushed on to the next shelter. Then there was a lull and folks started showing up. I laid down around 730 and since then it sounds like about 40 people have showed up to camp. The is is the circus. People throwing empty come cans. Dropping orange peals and smoking in the middle of cooking supper. It sounds like tents going up all around me practically tripping on my tarp stakes. Earlier a mother and son team showed up. Fun to chat. There is a Finnish fellow and two German boys. Key chain showed up waiting for pathfinder and Waldo. And JC from NH showed up. He's a retired firefighter and built rugged. He moves quick.
Mountain laurel in full swing. Pink lady slippers. Pink trillium. I've got to get up and out early tomorrow.