Trapped in Troutdale

Alright, we're not reall trapped. We're just waiting until Tuesday morning to get our maildrop out of the post office. We took a zero yesterday because Scribe's achilles was hurting after a real rocky day, and we're just not willing to risk injuring it again. We had a good day - a really good church sermon about the outdoors in the morning, a church picnic in the afternoon, some volleyball, a little Fluxx, dessert at the cafe, and a late night movie on a tiny screen under a pavilion with 5 or 6 hikers huddled around- Thanks, Tumbler. (FYI - Troy is a quite good flick) We shared the hostel that isnt really a hostel with several hikers, trail dog Max, and 3 girls who were biking across country, from the Va coast to Oregon. It was really interesting to compare the lifestyles of long-distance biking and hiking. Their bike ride was also a fundraiser for the American Cancer Society, so I donated and got to draw on their banner for $1 a square inch. My AT symbol with our trail names on it was a nice addition to this super-cool keepsake. They were really fun and inspiring people, and I wish them every happiness on their journey. Good luck, girls!

Today we slackpacked 8.5 miles from Fox Creek to Dickey Gap. We saw yet another snake, this time a small harmless Garter. It refused to get out of the trail, and at first we weren't even sure it was alive. Finally Gadget resorted to flicking it aside with his trekking pole, and the poor thing ended up airborn, and then stuck in a tree. We watched until it found it's way down, and then moved on. The rest of the day's hike was pretty uneventful, other than meeting a nice section hiker named Kimo who was finally finishing up his thru-hike. He reminded me a lot of Gerry Timlin, for those of you who know who that is. Then we hitched a ride in the back of a pick-up, and tonight will be our last night sleeping on a picnic table under a pavilion at the so-called hostel. If that sounded unappreciative, I'm sorry, it wasn't meant to - a picnic table is just fine for me on a rainy night.

The rest of the pictures are up. Take care!

-Scribe

Troutdale, not Troutville

We're in Troutdale, Va in a lovely little restaurant that caters to hikers. There is a limited resupply, a hostel, free showers, and free internet here, plus the yummiest cheeseburgers on the trail so far, next to Slick B and Holly Trout's. Jerry and Susana, who run the place, are super friendly and nice. We have a maildrop sitting in the post office here, but we didn't realize it was Saturday and the post office closes early. Tomorrow is Sunday, and Monday is Memorial Day, so we're out of food and stuck in town. I'm not sure what we're going to do, maybe slackpack a few days or try to make it to the next town on the slim jims and potato chips the little store here sells. We'll see. Tonight we're sleeping in the Baptist Church up the road a bit, super nice people who don't mind that we're coming to their morning service in hiker clothes. They're doing a lunch for hikers tomorrow also, which is really nice of them.



The last few days have been beautiful on the trail, although there has been some rain. We hiked through the Grayson Highlands, which were awesome, and with the wildflowers, rain, and wild horses made me think more of the Scottish Highlands than the fields of Montana they are supposed to resemble. Even with the drizzle there were some incredible views, but that wasn't even the best part. The ponies, oh, the ponies! They were so beautiful and fun, each with a different personality. Some ran and hid, some were curious, and some were outright rambuncious. My two favorites were the black mare with the long hair that we nicknamed "Dreds", who kept gnawing on all our gear, and a younger pony who seemed detached from the rest of the herd, just standing on a hilltop with the wind in her mane gazing off in the distance. When she spotted us she tossed her head , whinnied, reared and dissapeared into the fog. She was absolutely breathtaking. We also got to see lots of new foals, including a newborn with the umbillical cord still attached. Pretty neat! One of the babies grabbed my trekking pole in his mouth and tried to walk off with it. It was very cute. All the horses want salt, so they love sweaty hikers that they can lick and chew on their gear. Sometimes it was hard keeping them away.

We saw other interesting wildlife too the past few days. We almost stepped on a copperhead (yikes). There are lots of snakes out right now. We also saw a white-tailed deer running across the highlands, a red squirrl or two, and a really funny looking rabbit. I really have no idea what it was.

We had a good time at Wise Shelter last night, hanging out with Hong Kong Fuey, Dragonbreath, Topsoil and Raffle, blowing up empty fuel canisters and firecrackers (boys...), and ragging on the dayhikers who were camping next to a sign that said "No Camping." Genious. HKF also caught a cooked up a couple crawfish - he had never had one before, so we got to teach him how to cook and eat one. It was amusing

We'll add pictures of the Highlands and ponies as soon as we can, but the computer here is tediously slow, so we can't do it now. Love to all!

- Scribe

On the trail again...

Early Monday we headed back out on the trail after a 3 week hiatus. We were so excited to be back, and the first day out was perfect. We took the Virginia Creeper Trail out to where it met up with the AT, and it was beautiful. The Creeper Trail used to be an old railroad, so the entire thing is no more than a 6% grade uphill. It follows Whitetop Laurel Creek almost the whole way, and we discovered some amazing swimming holes and waterfalls during our hike. There were around 30 train trestles on the trail, and we had fun watching the native brook trout jumping. The trail also ran right past a cafe - it's not everyday you can stop in for ice cream and air conditioning during a backpacking trip. We also went through some pastures and fields. Someone was very lucky to have the farmhouse and hilly meadows between two mountains with a trail through their front yard. It was a gorgeous place. We did an easy 12 miles that day, and camped on a sandy beach right next to the creek. Scribe built a kicking campfire and the moon hung over the mountain top in a perfect silvery crescent. It was a good place to be.

The next day, we left the Creeper Trail and returned to the rough and rugged AT. What a shock to our systems! Getting back on after so much time off is a whole other ballgame. Our feet hurt again, we were sloooow on the uphills, our legs didn't want to cooperate... we both got huge nasty blisters. I guess it's going to take some time to get our trail legs back and get used to this whole hiking thing again. The first few miles were good - we saw a deer sillouetted prettily in the trail ahead. Chris reached for his camera, and it jumped away, so no picture... sorry. It wasn't a whitetail... maybe a mule deer? Are they around here? A quarter mile later we crossed our last train trestle. This one was 150 feet and 500 feet long. We found a snakeskin on it, and a few minutes later we found the snake it had belonged to. It was still shedding, so that was neat to see. We took lunch at a crowded shelter, and then began the big climb of the day. Man oh man, are we not used to this anymore! We climbed Whitetop Mountain, the second biggest mountain in Virigina, and abour 4 miles of steep climbing. It took forever, and by the time we reached the top, we were beyond done for the day. We camped near the summit. It was really pretty and unique - not quite a bald, but not a traditional summit either. Good views, and fun rocks perched here and there.

Today we took a half day. It's harder than we expected, getting back into the swing of things. We didn't want to make our blisters worse, they're really uncomfortable to walk on, and Scribe had a bad, bad headache. Our dispositions were lousy because we were headed to Mt. Roger's (the tallest mt. in Va) and the Grayson Highlands, and it was pouring and miserable out. We didn't want to battle that big mountain in a storm, and more importantly, we wanted to go through the highlands when it was beautiful weather. The Grayson Highlands are akin to Montana Grasslands, and inhabited by wild horses and cattle. It's said to be one of the best places on the trail, and utterly breathtaking. No way were we slogging through in bad weather, so we called it a day near a road and hitched into Damascus for a shower and a decent dinner. We ate at the Old Mill, which was fantastic beyond belief, and now we're sleeping in a $10 hostel on a wooden platform covered with a thermarest. It kind of resembles a bed, but not quite. We took showers - heavenly- and washed our clothes at the same time. It never ceases to amuse us that this feels like luxury after a few days in the woods.

Keep your fingers crossed and pray for us that our transition from townies to hikers goes smoothly. We've posted a few more pictures. Love to all.

-Scribe

Last Day Of Trail Days

Well, we decided to stay in town for the last day of trail days. The parties are winding down and coming to an end, and the tent city we're camped in is thining out. We'll be heading out of here tomorrow morning and are planning on doing ten to twelve miles.

-Gadget

Trail Days

Well, we made it to trail days yesterday afternoon. Scribe's parents drove us down (they wanted to come to trail days anyway) and us hikers slept the whole way.

We are having a blast. The girls, Persistant and Certain, are here and it was great to see them again. We all went out to dinner together, which was nice. My parents got to meet them, which was great cause they've been following their journals online. It's going to be a short reunion though, because poor Certain has developed plantar fasciatis and has to take some time off. She's going ahead to Wayneboro to stay with her friend, and then going to hike on from there, so she'll be ahead of us. Persistant is hiking on alone, so we might be with her for a while. The best of luck to both of you, and I'm praying for a speedy recover for you, Certain.

We got to see some other friends too, which was really great, and the festival is a lot of fun. We hiked in a parade that is basically a big water fight between the hikers and the locals. We carried water guns and water balloons, and the locals pelted us with fire hoses and other unfair high powered things that we can't carry. Cheaters! Then we went to the talent show, which was hysterical. After that they announced the winners of drawings. Earlier we had taken a quiz on the trail and those of us who got hundreds got entered in the drawings. We all aced it, even Scribe's parents which impressed us a lot, so we were entered in the drawing. There we several small prizes and then they announced thewinner of the grant prize - a $250 Hennessy Hammock, along with it's accessories, a granite gear eyeglass case, and several stuff sacks. And the winner was..... Scribe's Dad! It was really exciting because he had just been saying he wanted one! Yay!

We're camped in the giant rowdy tent city tonight, and looking forward t the big bonfire and drum circle. Depending on what happens tomorrow, we'll either hike out then, or monday. Scribe's mom and dad are leaving in the morning - we'll miss you.

We posted some pictures of trail days. Enjoy.

-Scribe

Home Sweet Home

Don't Panic - we're not giving up. The doctor informed Scribe that she has to take two weeks off, minimum, for her ankle to heal. If she keeps walking on it, chances are we will have to give up for good. So, we're off the trail for 2 weeks or so. It really sucks, but health comes first. We'll be back out there right around trail days. See you all in Damascus!

-Gadget