From a slightly larger trail town

Greetings to all from New York City! Let me tell you, it is extremely strange and a bit intimidating to be in a place this busy again. I'll get more to that when I reach the end of the entry though. For now I think I need to catch you folks up on the trail since it has been quite a while since I've been able to get to a computer. As a result I am going to do my best to condense my entry as best as I can. This may mean that a few of the more mundane days just end up getting skipped, but who knows. I guess we'll just see how the entry goes.

I had planned to get out of Duncannon early and do a full 17 mile day to the third shelter out. That didn't happen. Something about being in a bed just kind of sucked me in and I didn't end up starting out of town until slightly after 11. Even then I thought I might have been able to make it. The weather had other thoughts. Some pretty dramatic thunderstorms arrived in the early afternoon. There was no way to avoid the first one, so I just got wet. This actually wasn't too bad. It was a really hot day and the rain cooled me off. However, it wasn't so pleasant that I wanted to continue to walk in lightning when more storms started to roll through. I ducked into the shelter at 10 miles out to dodge the next one and ended up staying there when the storm never really let up. I was in the company of Fire Marshall, Pythagoras, and Pogue.

The most notable thing about the next day was some wildlife sightings. Early in the day, there was still quite a bit of mist out and about which always brings out the salamanders. I got some pretty good pictures of a really cool looking little flame-orange one with spots. This was a pretty tame sighting compared to the one that came later however. I had been warned that somewhere in this area was a talus field where rattlesnakes might be a problem. It was a good thing I had been warned I likely would have missed the rattled tail poking over the back of a rock and walked right up to it. Instead I was able skirt it and discovered that I would not have walked up upon a single snake, but rather into the middle of a group of four. It appeared that the rock field housed a viper den. Fantastic. Now, I am not normally afraid of snakes, I am careful around them obviously but I find them really interesting. I have to admit though, the thought that I might uncover another one under a rock unexpectedly made me quite uncomfortable. It took me probably 15 minutes to cross that small rock area. I got some good pictures of the snakes too though.

The next day wasn't too notable except for the fact that it was much cooler than it had been in a while and we spent the night at a rather upscale shelter. The day after that though was a little different. I had a packege waiting for me in Port Clinton PA which was 23 miles away. At first I was planning to go most of the way there and then go into town in the morning to pick up the package. However, I was covering ground well enough that I decided to try and get the whole way before the post office closed. I made it no problem. I did the whole 23 mi between 7:50 and 4:20 with an hour break for lunch. I was pretty pleased with myself. I haven't done much hiking for speed, but it was kind of fun for a change to really push myself and see how far I could get in a specific amount of time. I spent that night in the Port Clinton public pavilion with a -number of other through-hikers including Golden Boy, Caveman of Ohio, Flick, and Diesel.

The next day I was determined to do the exact opposite of the blur of speed hiking I had done the day before. It worked pretty well. I had a very nice morning walking at a very reasonable pace and then ate lunch at the Pinnacle overlook. There were a bunch of people there and I got into conversations with a number of them. Everyone seemed very interested in what I was doing and as a result began offering me food, which I of course accepted. One family who I spoke with for a very long time gave me some really good apple and another couple gave me about 1/3 of a salami and some cheese. I was thrilled. I really enjoy meeting people that way. They are always a lot of fun to talk to. The last 8 or so miles of that day was pretty tough and I left my Duke shorts at a shelter where I changed clothes, but even so it was a really good day.

The next day was very hot, but mostly pretty easy walking. That is of course excepting a big rock outcrop called the Knife's Edge which I am surprised I didn't kill myself on. That night I got a room at Fine Lodging in Slatington (which I heartily advise against if you are not a thru-hiker) and was taken to dinner by the wonderful Natalie Sevin, another former student of RJ Reynolds High School. The food was alright, but the company and the Margeritas were excellent. Also on that venture we went to a Wal-Mart in order to get a book. While we were there, two women got in a very serious fight. I have no idea what it was about but it was one of the more unreal things I have witnessed in public.

The next day I had to climb out of Lehigh Gap which is a notoriously difficult climb. It was pretty steep, but it wasn't really all that bad so long as one wasn't too concerned with moving quickly. The top of that mountain was pretty distressing. About 4 miles along the top of the mountain was like desert. Nothing but rock and scrub as far as the eye can see. Something done by people had killed all of the vegetation up there. It was almost surreal it was so different from anything else I had encountered.

I had to pick up a new re-supply in Wind Gap the next day so I only ended up doing about 15 miles. My company at the shelter however was pretty cool. There was a father and fairly young son (JB and John) with one of the son's friends (Logan) out hiking for the son's birthday. It was really cool hanging around kids in a camping environment again. I had a really good time talking with them. It made a me kind of homesick for camp.

The next day I finally left PA behind me as I passed across the Delaware Water Gap. Unfortunately, the rock didn't all stay behind with the border. Even so, the Water Gap area was beautiful. It was really lush and actually kind of reminded me in places of North Carolina in the summer. I also saw two more bears that day, one full grown one right after I entered New Jersey and then a lone cub in the mid-afternoon. The cub made me real nervous because I couldn't see its Mom so I had no way to know if I might be between them in someway. I moved out of there carefully but very quickly. I also, saw a porcupine just before reaching the shelter for the night. I was thrilled because I had never seen one before. Unfortunately I was unable to get a good picture.

The next day was great walking but is really only set apart by the late afternoon thunderstorm and the discovery that my boots don't grip too well on damp rock. Fortunately, I only needed one lesson in that particular field of study.

I found it very difficult to move rapidly the next day, fortunately I didn't have to go too far that day. In truth it ended up being a really nice day. There was a wonderfully cool and very strong wind blowing for most of the day which made walking exceedingly pleasant, at least if one likes wind which I happen to. I ran into some kind of camp counselor training session at High Top shelter which made me miss Camp Grier once again. I saw two more bears (one was huge) and I helped a novice hiker out with some navigation. All in all it was a very full day for only having been 13 miles.

The next day was really great too. I ran into a really cool couple out dayhiking who had some good information for me about the upcoming trail. The husband of the pair was a hiking Lutheran Minister whose trail name is Double Rev. A little while later I discovered the end of one of my hiking poles had come off, I spent a good 40 minutes looking for it with another really fantastic trail pair until Double Rev came up and returned it to me triumphantly. Apparently, I had lost it miles back. Thanks again Pastor Priest! Also that day the trail followed a boardwalk across a really pretty marsh for about 2.5 or 3 miles. It was kind of fun walking and I struck up another good conversation with an older couple. Interestingly, the wife of that couple was from Warsaw Poland. I have really met some cool people out here. That day ended with a really great climb up steep Wawayanda mountain and getting eaten alive by mosquitoes at Wawayanda shelter.

I crossed into New York permanently on the morrow. Say goodbye state #8! There was some really pretty ridge walking that day with a lot of really good views of some local lakes. There seemed to be some kind of sailboat race occuring on one of them which was very pretty to watch from way up on the mountain. I ran into Triple A that afternoon which was pretty cool since I hadn't seen him since leaving West Virginia. Its always good to run into familiar faces. That night I stealth camped by the trail with Scottie 2 Lite in a really nice little grove north of Buchanan Mountain. It was a great place to spend the night.

I had some pretty tough walking on the following morning. A lot of stuff that was pretty close to rock climbing, not to mention the Lemon Squeezer which was almost too narrow to get through. I guess they thought we needed a challenge when they routed the trail through there. That night I finally met Shadow (another Gluten free hiker) at the shelter and had a really good evening talking with him and his friend Frindy.

I don't remember a whole lot about the next day because I was aiming for New York City where I currently reside. It has been really great taking it easy here and even better seeing Sarah. The incredibly wonderful people at the Columbia Center for Celiac Research, that is Cynthia Beckman and Dr. Peter Green took me out for a wonderful meal at a Vietnamese restaurant called Safran my first night in town. I had a blast. We really had a fantastic evening, which is represented by the fact that we didn't finish until 10:30 or so. Thanks again to Cynthia and Dr. Green. I really can't say enough.

Sarah I went to the Metropolitan museum yesterday and I followed that up with a double movie screening at the academy with Celia, one of my moms friends. Today was a bit more mundane in that we just kind of hung around the city but I did get to a cool used book store and an overstuffed outfitter called Tents and Trails over in the Wall Street district. Also, I don't think I need to say that I haven't really stopped eating since arriving in town. So, all in all it hasn't exactly been the usual trail town experience.

One final personal note. To Yorkie, Beat Box, Waffle, Yard Sale, The Dude and so forth...where the heck are you guys? I thought you would have caught me by now. Anyhow get a move on. I'm all by myself up here.

Later,

The Breadless Horseman

Across some new states

Greetings from beyond the half way point! Odd as it is to say I actually now have less to do than I have already done. Its fairly hard to believe. I left Harper's Ferry mid-day on the 4th with a little bit of a heavy heart. I was glad to be getting back out on the trail, but it was also kind of hard after having seen the folks in town. I did a pretty bland 10 miles to Crampton Gap Shelter that afternoon and called it a day. Fortunately, the next morning I was back in the swing of things and all was right with the world...except for my boots. I had traded out my tursty Salomons in Harper's Ferry for a pair of Vasque's due to the fact the the Salomons were about the buy the farm. Unfortunately, the Vasque's were clearly going to take some breaking in, and the backs of my heels were pretty raw by the end of the day. Its a shame my mind were so focuesed on my feet that day because it was a really nice day to be out. The wind was blowing real hard, like it was going to storm, more or less all day. Fortunately, the rain never came and I got the wonderful cool weather anyway. Other than that though, there isn't much to be said about that day.
The boots felt a lot better when I put them on in the morning. Maybe my heels had toughened over night. Anyhow, it was a nice mornings walk and when I got to an overlook called High Rocks there was a hang glider preparing to take off. I helped him launch and got a number of good pictures. I have never seen someone hang glide before and I have to say it looks like a whole lot of fun. Maybe it's the next thing I need to try when I get back from my trip. Anyhow, I crossed into Pennsylvania later that afternoon, putting me into big state #7.
I only had ten miles to go into town to get resupplied and they passed by in no time. In addition to knew boots I also shed some gear and picked up a new (much lighter) pack in Harper's and when I don't have any food it feels so light I can fairly fly across the ground. I was planning on getting in and out of town pretty rapidly. Instead, I ended up spending the night at the wonderfully welcoming home of Jim and Cheryl Hutchinson. Cheryl also has Celiac and they were kind enough to not only give money to my cause but also open there home for me to spend the night. It would have taken a better man than me to have turned down such hospitality, not to mention such an abundance of gluten-free food.
On that note, the people at Foods by George had sent a large shipment of food to the Hutchinson's for me including Gluten free pizza, english muffins, brownies, and crumb cake. It was all outstanding (it was particularly nice to have some pizza) and I really want to thank the folks at Foods by George for their donation. It was most appreciated.
I got away fairly early the next morning after stuffing in as much food as I could, and set out for the Iron Masters Mansion Hostel at the HALFWAY POINT of the Appalachian Trail. It was immensley hot, somewhere up in the 90's but I got used to that pretty quickly. I am thankful that my background of summer camping has made me at least somewhat resistant to the heat. The bad part of that day was the fawn that I saw. Five or six miles in that day I came across a fawn with a broken leg lying in the middle of the trail. It was quite clearly in pain and distress, but I couldn't think of anything that I could do for it so I just had to keep on moving. Gorilla later told me he had picked it up and moved it off the trail and he was fairly sure it was dead. Seeing stuff like that is always hard, it makes everyone involved just feel completely helpless. I think people have a hard time dealing with things when there is absolutely nothing we can do to change the course of events. We don't like to think of ourselves as helpless.
Anyway, on a more light hearted note I arrived at halfway that evening and as per tradition I had to partake in the HALF GALLON CHALLENGE. For those of you who don't know, the half gallon challenge involves eating a half-gallon of ice cream in one sitting. I thought this would be no problem. What I thought turned out to be quite wrong. The last third of the ice cream was fairly brutal. I more or less had to choke it down. Another hiker named Sublime, who I know fairly well, had actually broken the speed record of 4 minutes and 14 seconds with an astonishing time of 3 minutes 48. How can someone eat that much ice cream in that amount of time you ask? By melting it and drinking it (shudder). It will be quite some time before the idea of ice cream excites me again.
The next day was pretty standard. I got up and going pretty late, thinking that I was only going to the shelter 15 miles away. I also really took my time that day for the same reason. However, upon arriving I suddenly decided it would be a better idea to do the remaining 4 miles to the campsite outside of Boiling Springs. The last mile or so was through some farm fields and that was really pleasant walking. The sun was casting a really nice late afternoon light, the temperature was pleasant, and the wind was blowing. Incidentally I don't think I have ever fully appreciated the phrase "waves of grain" until now. Those fields are unbelievingly vast, and they really do move like the ocean when the wind blows. All I can say was it was quite idyllic. In spite of that my choice of camping may have been a mistake since the campground ended up being right next to the railroad tracks. Anyone who has ever spent the night in a house near the tracks knows why.
The next day ended up being longer than expected as well. I planned on doing 22 miles to the last shelter before Duncannon. Instead I did a full 26 miles, my longest day thus far, all the way into town. I have only a couple of things so say about that day. The first 12 miles were rediculously flat. They were all across farm country and I think there might have been a net rise of 20 feet the whole time. This sounds like it would be really cool, but it actually get rather boring after a while. Secondly, the gypsy moth caterpillars are incredibly distressing. They are all over everything out hear, and you can actually hear them knawing away all of the leaves. Aside from that , they are just pretty gross. I really hope the forest service can figure something out, because there are a lot of dead trees out there. Finally, I do not want to wake up with a porcupine as an unexpected bedfellow. This desire is brought on by a sign at one of the
shelters warning that there have been multiple sightings of Porcupines in the shelters and that the salt from perspiration is a definite attraction. Fantastic. Anyhow, thats all for now. I hope everyone is well out in the real world. Sorry, I was going to try to upload some pics, but the computer I'm working with seems to be resisting. I'll do my best to get some up next time.

Later on,
The Breadless Horseman

PS - I have been reminded that I should mention that I am in fact trying to raise money for Celiac Research with this hike, so that is what I am going to do right now. If you are interested in contributing or just in learning more about my hike and the disease go to http://www.celiacdiseasecenter.columbia.edu and look for the appropriate link. Thanks again.

The Shenandoahs and more

In spite of the title of this post. My entry is actually going to begin before I entered the fabled Shenandoah national park. When last we spoke my friend Ben and I were on our second night out from Beuna Vista. The next day I was planning on doing about 16 to the last shelter before Waynesboro and Ben was going to get off about 7 miles out at a parking lot along the Blue Ridge Parkway. Ben got off as expected and his mother brought me some excellent chicken salad that was most welcome. As it turned out however, I had a bit more than sixteen in me that day, I ended up pushing a full 21 on into Waynesboro that evening in hopes of being able to accomplish what I needed done early and being able to get right back out of town. Unfortunately I ended up needing a second night in town to do everything and it is a shame I didn't get a night at that last shelter. It was in a lovely little spot and the shelter itself was of a very different and interesting construction. On the other hand, the hostel run by the Lutheran church in Waynesboro was very welcoming and the people were exceedingly kind. In fact when they cooked dinner for all the hikers my second night there they went out of their way to find some gluten free pasta so that I would be able to partake. I highly suggest that hostel to any hikers going through, although you do have to vacate between 9 am and 5 pm.
The next day there was no more lolly-gagging around. It was straight out in the morning and on up into the Shenandoahs. In spite of the fact that I was carrying 13 pounds of food for me trek across the Shennies the first day was not overly challenging. In fact it was downright easy for the most part. On the other hand however I experienced something that I hadn't really encountered thusfar. As I was walking through some very dense sections of forest I started to feel a little uncomfortable. This got me to thinking about something Bill Bryson wrote in his book A Walk in the Woods about how the woods always seemed vaguely sinister. I had never experienced that during a daytime hike, but at that moment I began to understand. I think it might have something to do with the density of the woods not letting me see very far in any direction. Anyway, as I said my first day in was not hard wasn't hard but it was long and is was seven 'o clock before I got to camp and I was ready to be done for the day. To my pleasure however I was greeted with the offering of some warm Margerita from a woman named Spindle. It was very tasty and quite welcome.
I slept very well that night and as a result I was rolling not long after 7 the next morning. The temperature was pleasant and there was a beautiful morning view from Black Rocks only about .6 miles from where I started. I had made 13 miles by lunchtime and honestly thats about all I can remember about the walking that day. My journal entry is sadly lacking due to a finnicky pen. I do remember however, that we had a fun evening at the shelter that night hanging around with StoneAge, Triple Deuce, and Eulah among others. Triple Deuce had a radio which was a very special treat. Its amazing what music will become welcome when you haven't heard any at all in some time.
The next day was without a doubt my most memorable day in the Shennies and at the very least in the top three overall. When I left the shelter that morning I had no real idea where I was going. The first shelter was only 12 miles which seemed far too short but the second was a full 24 and my ankle really wasn't feeling up to that kind of mileage. Incidentally, nearly all of the shelters in the Shenandoahs are spaced in this rediculous fashion. You either have to do a really short day or a 20+. They say you can camp in pre-existing campsites as well but these are very few and far between. It is very frustrating. Anyway, moving away from the inadequacies of the Shenandoah shelter system. I decided to just start with the first part of my day and aim at a big car-camping site about 11 miles out for lunch where I could get a few goodies to supplement my food. On the way there I had a much more satisfactory bear sighting than my first one. This one did not run away immediately. In fact it didn't seem to be remotely concerned that I as well as Yorkie and Beat Box were nearby. This fact however did present a problem eventually when we wanted to keep going and it was still near the trail. After we finally got past the bear we were basically at the campground. Unfortunately the comfort and shade there was such that I got sucked in to hanging around a bit too long along with my two cohorts Stone Age, Triple Deuce, Eulah. I must say even though we stayed a bit too long, just hanging about drinking Cheerwine was very nice.
We had not gone too many miles from the campground when I started hearing some thunder in the distance. At the time I didn't think much of it. I just kept walking. Soon however the clouds were rolling in and the thunder was decidedly closer. Unfortunately, there wasn't really anywhere for me to go to take cover. All I could do was keep walking. Sure enough a short time later it was as though someone turned off a light switch somewhere. Accompanying the sudden darkness were buckets and buckets of rain. It was hot that day so I had decided to forgo my raingear and just get wet. I was soaked in moments. The trail quickly became a creek that a talented kayaker could most likely have navigated successfully and my boots just as quickly filled with the water rolling over my ankles. All of this really wasn't too bad though. When it started to hail though, I must say I thought nature was fighting a little dirty. The rain lasted probably an hour in much the same downpouring fashion, during which time Yorkie, Beat Box, and I covered about 2.5 miles. When the rain finally abated we thought that the nearest possible location would be a nice place to set up camp. As it turned out, this was Big Meadows Campground. Unfortunatley, it was Memorial Day weekend so there were absolutely no available campsites (we actually knew this before we got there.) We immediatly proceeded to try and beg (or Yogi to use trail terminology) a spot to camp for the evening. It only took us two tries before we were taken in by the wonderful Bruce and Cindy Scarlett. They recognized our plight immediatly and not only gave us a place to sleep but leftover burgers and soda, as well as some really good conversation. They are magnificent people. Some trail angels spend a lot of time around the trail looking for people to give food or assistance, but the ones who really end up being the best are folks like Bruce and Cindy who simply see some folks in need and leap to their assistance. Thanks again guys, it was a great evening.
The next morning the guys and I set out. I at least was wearing boots that were more than just a little waterlogged. Honestly though only two things really stick out about the walk that day, an unsuccessful attempt to Yogi food at a campground and the distinct fear that I was going to get caught in another gully washer that afternoon. The signs were all there and I was practically running the last 4 or so miles to the shelter. Of course it never actually rained. Ah well. That night we had some serious excitement. Sublime had bought travel Candy Land. Needless to say, the competition was fierce.
The next day I decided to really take advantage of the amenities offered by the park. That is to say, I decided I was going to get a milkshake at a wayside. I did this, and I more or less planned my day around that activity. Once again, while enjoying my time off I got a little caught up and ended up chilling out for several hours. That day though it wasn't too big a deal as I was only planning on going 16 miles total and stealth camping at Hogwallow flats. In truth this campsite was rather less than splendid, mostly because it wasn't a campsite. It was just a slightly larger than average open section with an acceptable amount of kind of flat ground. On the other hand it was kind a cool night since it is the first time I have ever really stealth camped completely away from a proper camp site.
I got up early the following morning but it took me a good while to get moving out of camp. Once I did however, the sluggishness faded quickly. I knocked out the 10 miles to the road into Front Royal in about 3 hours. The Dude was only a bit behind me and it didn't take the two of us long to catch a hitch into town to Weasel Creek Outfitters in town. We were on our way to the post office when we ran into Truffles and Ross who had apparently been in town for 5 days. After meeting with them we adjusted our destination to the grocery store which ended up being a very good idea. Since eating out can be challenging for me in these small towns I was just going to get a couple of things to tide me over until dinner at the Food Lion. Instead The Dude and I bought a large Rotisserie Chicken from the deli and devoured it (as well as chips, soda, fruit, and a pint of ice cream for me) using plastic sporks and fingers on the bench right outside the grocery store. We skeletonized that thing like piranha at a cow. I felt very much like a hobo, but that was actually kind of cool. Incidentally, aside from being a huge meal it was also really cheap, I spent like eight dollars on it.
After getting all we needed in town The Dude, Ross, Truffles, and myself got a ride back to the trail and hiked the five miles to the Jim and Molly Denton Shelter which is really cool. It has a big front porch and a spring fed solar shower that was unfortunately broken. We were joined by numerous others and had a really cool evening hanging out around the porch.
The next day was kind of nondescript except for a couple of things. First, early in the day I had to walk through about half a mile of really narrow trail through a chest high hay field. I felt like I was walking through tick central. Oh yeah, the hay was also mixed heavily with poison ivy. Awesome. This one guy Sapra got something so bad his face swelled up and he had to get a ride to a hospital. Secondly, the shelter I stopped at for lunch was rediculously small, hexagonal, and looked like it should have been the home of a gnome or something. Very Odd. Finally, Waffle caught up to myself, Yorkie, and Beat Box after chasing us all the way across Virginia which was pretty sweet.
The final full day before Harpers Ferry was really tough. It was immensely hot right from the get go and about the first two thirds of the day were comprised of a section of the trail known as The Rollercoaster because of its constant up and down undulation. As you can imagine this was not the most relaxing walking ever. In truth I think it was some of the tougher walking I've done, in spite of the fact that none of the peaks were overly high. I was glad to finally hit a bit of flat once I was past them. Late that afternoon I discovered exactly how easy it would be to get lost in the woods. I went a good long ways from the trail to use the bathroom, thinking I had a good grip on the direction I was heading. When I turned around however I realized I couldn't really tell where the trail was. It took me a fairly hair-raising five minutes to work my way back and when I did I was a pretty good ways from my stuff. I was quite creepy. Anyway, that night I was at another cool, porched shelter and I got to relax in it while watching a pretty good thunderstorm outside. The next morning I rose and hoofed it quickly in to Harpers Ferry where I met my folks for the weekend and where I am now currently residing.
Having now caught up to my current location I am going to call it a night for I am tired.

Take it easy,
The Breadless Horseman

After another very long stretch...

Hello to everyone. I apologize for having been disreputably slow to update lately, but there have not been many good times to do so. As I recall, when last I posted I was in Roanoke a good 13 days ago. That is obviously a lot of time so I will be attempting to condense a few things in order to control the enormity of this post. So here we go...

Leaving Roanoke was hard in that I had a very nice stay and Mary Ellen's grandparents made it very apparent that I was welcome for as long as I wished to stay. I think if I had taken them up on that offer I might very well have stayed for a month. I managed to dredge up a little will power however, and Mary Ellen dropped me off at the trail around 10:40. Even though it was tough leaving, it was wonderful to be hiking again. My legs felt really strong and my feet were very light. It felt like I practically flew to the first shelter, about 6 miles out. I hadn't planned on stopping for lunch that early, but it started to rain a bit, so I thought I would sit it out and eat a bit. As a result I had a nice chat with Diamond who was also rolling through that day. Honestly, most of that day's hiking was a bit of a blur (possibly because it was now 12 days ago), but I do remember the weather being very pleasant and the scenery being quite nice. I stopped again at the next shelter expecting to just take a brief break, but for the second time I was held up by some threatening weather. There was rather suddenly some very dark clouds, and very loud thunder rather nearby. After my last encounter with this kind of hold up (as some of you may remember it didn't really do anything that time) I was very inclined to ignore the signs and move on. I didn't, and although it never rained where I was, I later discovered it pored where I would have been if I had continued on right away. I did eventually leave that shelter and had a nice walk paralleling the Blue Ridge Parkway. The sunset through the clouds was fantastic and I disturbed a few deer along the way. While trying to keep me in view one of them did this odd, side to side, head wiggle that reminded me heavily of when people try to do the "Egyptian" head bob. Odd thoughts. Anyway I was at the shelter shortly thereafter, where I joined Beat Box for the evening. When I left the next morning I immediatly discovered that there was a rock in my shoe. I thought this was odd since there hadn't been one there when I went to sleep the night before. It wasn't a rock. It was a millipede that had crawled in during the night and curled up when I put my foot it (shudder). At least it wasn't a spider. I always check my boots now incidentally. Anyway that kind of set the tone for the rest of the day I felt like I was walking through mud the whole time. I did have a very pleasant lunch reading by a river, but I actually stayed a bit too long and as a result had quite a climb to do very late in the day. Mistake. That night I was once again with Yorkie, Beat Box, and Magellan. I had a lazy morning in camp the next day (I had picked up the last installment of Stephen King's Dark Tower series in Roanoke, and I find it difficult to do just about anything when there is a story needing to be finished). Not much sticks out about that morning, but that days lunch certainly does. I was sitting by the side of a forest road when a pick-up suddenly pulls up rolls down its window and the driver immediatly and without preamble begins asking me if I've seen any bears, excuse me, b'ars. Upon hearing my negative he began expressing his amazement at this, considering the number he himself had killed in the area. He then began discussing the prevelance of B'ar in several other areas of Virginia before saying good bye and heading on his way. I assume he was just being friendly, but it was still a very odd experience. I booked it out of lunch (not related to the guy in the truck I just felt like moving quickly) and made the remaining eight miles in remarkably good time. That was also just some really pretty walking with regular views of surrounding mountains and towards the end, several good views of the James River. At the shelter, Beat Box and I were expecting to find Yorkie waiting for us. Instead we found a note telling us that he would be waiting for us at a camp site .8 up the trail. We were less than thrilled to learn we had more to walk that day. However, I was slightly mollified by the dark chocolate bar I found with the shelter register. It was quite tasty.
Next morning we walked across the James River footbridge which according to my map is the longest pedestrian only footbridge that you cross while on the trail. I find this to be a sort of amusing stat considering the fact that it seems to have been built specifically for the trail. Anyway, we caught a quick hitch into Glasgow, took care of business and tried to catch a quick hitch out. Instead we hitched for about 40 minutes before getting one of the more hair raising rides of my entire life in the back of a yard care truck. Attempt to end my own life prematurely number four accomplished. Actually I exaggerate, it wasn't that bad, I just felt more precariously perched than I actually was. After getting back to the trail we did a tired 10 miles in the heat to Punch Bowl Shelter which is supposedly haunted by the spirit of a boy named Ollie who died up on the mountain. We didn't hear any spirits but there were more than plenty of frogs lulling us to sleep. The next day was immensely lazy. We did something like 8 miles before stopping. In truth we were just killing time before trail days because we couldn't go any more than another mile before getting off anyway. As a result of the short day, we did manage to avoid a pretty good sized rainstorm, which was quite nice.
The next section of my story is about trail days. There was entirely too much going on to effectively write about here. Thus I am going to do a brief list of things:
-hitching long distances is an interesting experience and I got very lucky
-lots of hikers in one area causes one raucous party, tent city was madness
-I danced around a big fire one night for probably an hour with a bunch of others, it was rather primal
-the mysterious and amazing gear deals that supposedly existed there were not forthcoming, at least not to me
-the hiker parade was awesome, but I need to remember a costume and water ammo for next year

that is barely scraping the tip of the iceberg on the overall experience, but it would take much to long to go over it all.
After trail days I spent the night in Amherst, VA with my roommate Ben and his folks. It was a really nice rest after my "restful" weekend. Ben and I set out the next morning to do 21 miles to The Priest. It was a rather embarrasing first climb. I seemed to have lost a bit of my trail legs because I got rather quesy around the top of the first hill. Fortunately, that particular problem did not arise again. I don't remember much about the walking of that day. I was too engrossed in actually having someone from off the trail to talk to. It was a really nice change. A little taste of the old without having to give up my trail time. The next day was much shorter, only 13.9 miles. Once again we had good conversation, but on that day it actually sparked a bit of reflection on my part. Ben asked me how I view my existance out here. He wanted to know if I saw it more as a battle of me against nature or of me getting in touch with nature. After thinking about this I don't believe either one is totally correct. I certainly don't look at this as a battle. Nothing I am doing is remotely warlike. However, I am not so arrogant as to think that I am really getting truly in touch with nature out here either. There are too many roads and I have too many trappings of civilization around me, even the shelters are a bit of a break away. I guess I think of myself as more of a close and somewhat protected observer, kind of like a man in a cage watching the sharks. Even that analogy seems a bit over violent and dangerous though. At the shelter that night we met a very nice girl named Asheley who was a recent graduate of UVA. She made very good company and the three of us had a very nice, long evening cooking dinner and talking and whatnot. Anyway, I'm not quite caught up, but that is where I'm going to leave it for now. I'm sorry if this hasn't been the best entry. I'll try and do better next time.

Until then,
The Breadless Horseman

The Lonely Post

Lonely, I'm so lonely....well not really. However, I did have quite a bit of time for personal reflection upon leaving Pearisberg. I don't know if it was the kind of crappy weather or just a general malaise, but for some reason more or less everyone who I had been hiking near decided that an extra day in Pearisberg was called for. As a result my first two days out from town I did not see a soul. The only thru-hiker I saw during those days was Magellan slack-packing North to South, and other than her the only people I saw were a couple of folks when I was crossing the road and such. I was completely isolated. It was very different from anything I have experienced thus far, especially not having anyone to converse with in camp in the evenings. The first night was a little freaky because, as those of you who read last week's post will know, I'm not always the most comfortable alone in the woods at night. However, it turned out not to be too bad, and was in some ways pretty great. I didn't have to worry about disturbing anyone else with the hours I kept or moving around in the night, and I didn't have to worry about them disturbing me either. Hooray for no snoring!

That first day out of town was really foggy and was rainy for a while, but the real rain didn't last long at all. I actually really like the woods in wet weather. Everything just has a very different aspect to it, everything looks kind of mysterious in low light with mist rolling through it. Its easier to imagine that I am really a long way from civilizatioon. Anyway, it was a nice walk that first day, and that night I stayed at the rather damaged Swamp Creek Shelter (a tree had fallen on it at some point, so only about half the shelter was usable.

I rose the next morning feeling pretty good after a surprisingly refreshing nights sleep and got moving, thinking maybe I would actually see someone that day. Obviously, that didn't happen. I had to do a stint of road walking that morning for about 1.5 miles because there was a bridge out on the trail. It was a weird change but anything different like that can be kind of cool. It was a new way of appreciating the area, and the road did at least follow the river very closely and it was quite pretty. I ate lunch at Wind Rock that day, and spoke with a couple of the few people I saw those first couple of days. There was a very panoramic view from up there, and it was a very nice day so I actually had a rather hard time pulling myself away to start hiking again. The rest of the day was a bit of a blur, although there were some really pretty woods that were appropriatly sun-dappled in the afternoon light, and as I recall there was a nice breeze blowing. It was just a very pleasant walk. Also, there was a really nice view from Kelly's Knob late in the day. I would have taken a picture, but I was facing straight into the sun. I was alone that night at Laurel Creek Shelter and I built a big fire (maybe too big, though nothing bad happened). Unfortunately, the fire was too far from the shelter to keep me warm. It got wicked cold that night for some reason. Even with a liner in my bag I was still kind of chilly, I was wishing I hadn't traded out my 25 degree bag for my 40 degree. It was also the first night since probably the smokies that I slept in my hat. It was a really weird cold snap.

I didn't get going the next morning until after ten, something I haven't done since very early on. Maybe it was because I hadn't slept all that well, but I just felt really sluggish all that morning. As a result the fairly steep climb up the only mountain that morning, was actually kind of brutal. Fortunately, I was only going twelve miles that day. I discovered at lunch that day that I was out of water treatment ( I knew I had been low, but thought I had at least enough for a couple more liters). This would normally not have been a problem as I would just have begged off of someone else, but as I was by myself. I got rather thirsty that afternoon. As a result I spent the first few hours in camp that evening boiling water on a wood fire (I wasn't using my stove because I was also kind of low on alcohol). This works in theory, but my water definitely came out tasting kind of ashy. Fortunately, Magellan showed up that night (hooray company) and I was able to borrow some iodine tabs from her. I know it sounds like I went out really unprepared, and I suppose I had, but if there had been people like normal there would have been no problems. In truth I would have been OK even if Magellan hadn't shown up, I would have just had to have moved a bit slower so I could boil water. Anyway, you live you learn. I will always now make sure that I have some emergency water treatment, just in case.

The next day was kind of standard, but I felt really good. There was a really great uphill section early that day. It wasn't super steep, but it was nice and long, and it really got the blood pumping. Its exactly the kind I like. It was actually quite invigorating. That afternoon, in rather sweltering weather, I crossed up over Dragon's Tooth, which has a very nice view. However, I think the most notable thing about that particular site is the climb down the other side. Going up wasn't bad at all. I was following a ridge so I would go up a ways and then walk flat for a whiel, all the way to the top. Going down the other side however, was something roughly akin to rock climbing. I mean that literally. There were several sections when I was crawling down a rock face on ridges in the rock. I think I may have gotten a little taste of what New Hampshire through Maine is going to be like. Magellan and I camped by a little stream about a mile past that descent for the evening, and we more or less ate and went to bed.

The next day was very short. I only did like eight miles (I couldn't move any faster because there was no reason to get Daleville before Thursday afternoon, as I was to meet a friend to come into Roanoke, which is where I am right now.) It was a very nice little walk though and in the afternoon after picking up a mail drop in Catawba I spent most of the afternoon hanging out on McAfee's knob, which boasts one of the best views I have seen thus far. I also took the required cliche pictures of myself sitting on the knob. It is apparently the most photographed spot on the trail. That night at the shelter, after several short days, were finally caught up by Stretch, Yorkie, Beat Box, and The Trail Dogs (Pooch and Tom Doolie); though these last two kept moving that evening. It was good to be back in the fold.

The next morning I got up around 5:45 (sorry about the alarm guys), and went back up to the Knob to watch the sunrise. It wasn't quite as good as the one I saw on Blood Mountain back in Georgia, but it wasn't exactly a slouch either. I took a few more cliched pictures and then returned to the shelter to pack up and start my day. The first six miles or so flew by. It was really pleasant hiking, but what really set them off was the fact that I SAW A BEAR. Actually I saw a bear and a cub. I only noticed them when they started running away from me up a hill. Even though it meant I only got to see them for a few moments, I'm glad they ran that way instead of towards me. I think what struck me the most was how small the cub was. I mean it was really tiny. From where I was it looked like a rabbit following this mama bear up the hill. I had no idea they were ever really that little.

The rest of the day was taken up by being really hot and feeling a bit overfull from eating too much lunch and drinking too much water as a result of the heat. Nonetheless, Beat Box and I made some rather blazing time and I got to Daleville around 3:30, where I hung out for a few hours until Mary Ellen and her grandfather came to pick me up and take me into Roanoke. It has been an immensley pleasant stay thus far. ME's grandmother served me a delicious late dinner when I got in and they have continued to be immensely hospitable hosts. I would like to say an enormous thank you to them.

On the subject of thank you's, I must say I have been remiss in not yet thanking Lee Tobin yet. For those of you who don't know Lee does the Gluten-Free baking for Whole Foods, and I have not tasted anything of his that wasn't phenomenol. Anyway, he has been kind enough to donate a large number of cookies and other such items to my hike, and I must say I am always looking forward to the next mail drop to see which item I'm going to get this time (right now its Chocolate Chip Cookies and Orange Cranberry Scones). If you haven't tried his stuff you really need to go to a Whole Foods and get some. Its all great stuff. Anyway, thats all for today. This week I think I will leave pictures of myself on McAfee's Knob at sunrise, and the broken down shelter that I stayed in. Enjoy.

A Long Stretch

Hello all,

It has been quite a while since Damascus, in fact I think this may have been the longest time I have gone without spending at least a night in town. I was out from the 25th of April until yesterday, the 3rd of May. I was more than a little dirty by the time I arrived. Anway, it was a rather eventful week I think. The first day out of Damascus I tried to make a decision to no longer care about time or distance. That is I will try not to care how far I have gone in how much time. If I don't get into camp until late, it shouldn't matter. It's not like I have an appointment. This sounds really easy and obvious, but is in actuality rather difficult. Its hard to break through that element of time that is built into all our lives. However, I think I am getting better at it, and its a good thing because I think if I had continued that way, it would have really started to damage my enjoyment of the trip. On a slightly less serious note, I also made a decision to no longer carry Snickers bars in my top pocket when its 75+ degrees as they tend to liquify rather quickly. That first day out of Damascus was about 16 miles and just breezed by, I had a really nice walk. A lot of it was riverside, which made everything seem very lush. I made my first of at least two attempts to end my own life that night however, when I some how managed to leave my lighter in my cookpot and then proceeded to boil my meal. Fortunately, the lighter did not explode, nor was the plastic of the lighter breached. Go me. I spent that night with Larry, Yorkie, Owl, Beat Box, and Loner Boner (his last name is actually Boner, so don't get any ideas). The next day we headed into the Grayson Highlands. Buzzard Rock afforded some very nice views. Unfortunatley, just as I was about to head up Mount Rogers, where things were supposed to get really pretty, it started to look like a storm. That storm started as I headed up the Mountain, and as a result there was mist all over the highlands when I got up there. This is the first time that I have really been kind of bummed out by weather. I have heard that the highlands were really pretty and I wanted to see them. Granted mist provides a certain attractive quality all its own, but in this case I just wasn't satisfied. The mist did break open later. One of the other things people always talk about the Highlands is the ponies. Most people saw a bunch. I saw one that afternoon and it seemed pretty skittish. Even just that one was pretty cool though. Its a kind of odd experience to suddenly round a bend and be faced with a wild horse. Even a small one. They are pretty impressive animals. Anyway, the mist broke enough for me to get a couple of good views later that day and I ended up spending the night at Wise Shelter with Yorkie, Larry, Signage, Pearls & Starvin Marvin, and Yorkie's friend Jesse Jackson who had come out to walk for a couple of days. This is incidentally his real name, not a trail appellation. The next day started off very nicely, the weather continued to look kind of threatening, but it at least wasn't too misty. As a result I got several uninterupted miles of highland vies. Honestly, they reminded me a great deal of the Scottish Moors I had seen when visiting that country a number of years ago. Granted my memory could be a bit faulty, but Yorkie (who is from England) agreed that there were definitely some similarities. Basically, they just look really wild, brown grass, scrub, and rock as far as the eye can see. I think the wind and dark sky added to the similarity as well. It doesn't sound particularly beautiful but it is. Startlingly so in fact. I had to go into Troutdale that day to pick up a package and the people at Jerry's Store there, particularly Jerry himself were immensley helpful. They made it possible for me to get in and out of town in relatively short order and on to the next shelter well before dark, so I would very much like to thank them for all their kindness and hard work. That shelter that I pushed to was one called Trimpi (a very weird name I thought) where I camped with Yorkie, Jesse Jackson, Triple A, Larry, Bonnie Carolyn and many others whose names I did not obtain. The next day was kind of a mixed bag. The day broke bright and sunny and we did a nice bit of walking through pastureland early which afforded some nice views of the surrounding mountains. However, shortly thereafter my ankle really started to throb and it didn't really stop all day. It can really mess up a day when that happens. We took an immensley long lunch at the Partnership Shelter. We took a long lunch here because there is an Italian Restaurant that will deliver to the shelter. Most people got pizza and I got a chicken salad, which while not pizza, was still pretty good. The Partnership Shelter itself was very plush as well. It even had a shower (its located very near to the Mount Rogers visitors center). Yep, its pretty hard out here on the AT, but we tough it out somehow. Around 3 I left to do the remaining 7 miles to the Chatfield Memorial Shelter where I spent the night with Yorkie, Jesse Jackson, Mountain Mike, and Beat Box (freakin psycho did 27 miles to catch up to me and Yorkie). The next day constitutes the reason that I am out here. It was beautiful. Maybe it was just my state of mind, maybe it was the fact that the weather was flawless, but whatever it was, everything seemed exceptional. The first few miles were largely different from what I am used to. They were over a lot of fields and low hills. It was a nice change. The fourth mile is all within view of what I think was I-81. Now, at first this seems like it would be a real downer. The idea of the trail is to get out in the woods and the intrusion of such a man-made monstrosity seems like it would be awful. Quite the contrary however. I found myself thinking about how when I drive on the interstate I often think about what it would be like to be walking around the surrounding countryside, and here I was doing exactly that. I was experiecing that same part of the country in a way that all of the people on that road probably never would. It was actually kind of comforting. I also saw what I think was a red-winged blackbird around that time. I have never seen one of these before. They are remarkably pretty birds. That flash of color against the dark is very striking. That afternoon I experimented with shirtless hiking as it was rather hot. I expected it to be uncomfortable but actually found it to be rather pleasant. I passed through a lot of farm country which provided some really great views that were a nice change from woodlands. The next day was extremely long so I'm going to try and distill it down to some key events. I did ten miles to Chestnut Knob Shelter for lunch and hung out for far too long. It was just too nice a spot, bright sun, good view, good company. I think I could have hung out there all day. I did a hard ten miles over flat but difficult terrain from there to Jenkins shelter. There were a bunch of people there. It was here that I made my second attempt at snuffing out my own life. I was re-lighting my stove to make hot chocolate and for some reason the alcohol basically exploded out of the stove. I don't think I did anything different, but it scared the living crap out of me. It also burned off some of my arm hair and set my pants on fire briefly. Don't play with fire kids. Beat Box and I had decided we were going to try a little night hiking that night, and oddly so had everyone else at the shelter. So just as the last light was leaving the sky Box and I left the shelter. Now I saw all light left the sky. That isn't really true, the moon was so bright we walked almost the entire way to our campsite by moonlight. We only turned on our headlamps during a kind of sketchy roadwalk where it was difficult to find blazes. We cowboy camped (read no tent or shelter) in a group of about 10 with at least 10 others tented nearby. It was where hikers go to die apparently. I can't say I'm going to turn nocturnal, but night hiking was an interesting change. Honestly, the next day was mostly monopolized in my mind by the trip I had to make into Bland (which is very deserving of its name) to get a mail drop. As for the rest of the day all I can really think of is a really long ridge walk with very little water. Probably not the most fun 10 miles I have done, but you do have to take the good with the bad. At Jenny Knob Shelter that night I was with Beat Box, Diamond, Stretch, Stubble, and I met Bucket, Old Yeller, and Singe (who I discovered also eats Turkey Spaghetti from lip-smackin backpackin', though hers isn't Gluten free). The next day was crazy. I got going early and really hammered out some miles, both my ankles felt good and I was at the suspension bridge that marked six miles in no time. It was a cool bridge by the way. From there it was only 1.6 to Dismal Creek Falls which was supposed to be something that was not to be missed. The falls itself turned out to be kind of mediocre, but I was very glad I went anyway. There was quite a party of hikers hanging out there including Numbtoe and Shadow, who are friends of my friends Burt and Carol Smith. There was also a big pool at the base of the falls, which I decided to go swimming in though it wasn't really all that hot and the water was clearly very cold. This produced the interesting scenario of me hanging out by a fire in a public park, soaking wet, in my underwear. Never a dull moment. I got to the next shelter after that by about 2:30, took a long break for lunch and was about half a mile up the mountain when some very serious thunder started. I didn't fancy walking a ridge for 7 miles in a lightning storm so I returned to the shelter to see what would happen. What happened is the storm blew away, but it took two and a half hours to do so. As a result I was leaving for my destination around 6:40 and I ended up walking the last three miles or so in the dark. Alone. I am now going to put a disclaimer up, in the next few sentances I'm going to sound like a big whimp, however unless you have done this you don't understand and if you have and disagree with me...well I would ask you to kindly shut up. I was very nervous. Hell, I was scared. The woods is a big empty place in the day time. It is a huge, empty, dark space when it is night and you are alone. I don't think I've ever walked quite that fast without really being able to see where I'm putting my feet, and incidentally navigating boulder fields in the dark is a pain in the butt. The fear was starting wear off during the last mile or so into the shelter, but it is not an experience I am dying to have again. On the other hand I am glad I did it on some levels. I arrived at the shelter around 10 and went to sleep as quietly as possible. I woke to rain and it only got worse as the day moved on. Fortunately I only had 7 miles to go to Pearisburg, which is where I currently reside, taking it easy and preparing to head back out tomorrow. Walking in the rain is never as pleasant as when you know you don't have to stay wet. The pictures I am leaving you this week are of the Grayson Highlands and myself in Dismal Creek. Take it easy.

-The Breadless Horseman

Into VA

It has been quite a week since my last update. I have hit all kinds of milestones. The day I left Erwin was my one month anniversary on the trail. I thought it was fairly appropriate that I was once again leaving a town on that day. Also this week I crossed the 400 mile mark (I'm currently sitting at around 460 in Damascus I think) and as the title of today's post suggests I made North Carolina and Tennessee my second and third states bagged by moving on into Virginia. Now I'm facing more than 500 miles of VA terrain until I get to claim another. For those of you who don't know Virginia has more of the AT than any other single state. It actually contains about a quarter of the trail all by itself. Oh, and I almost forgot I also did my biggest single day this week at 22.2 miles. But enough about milestones and onto what actually happened this week. Unfortunately, the first day back on the trail after Erwin was pretty hard for me. It started out with some very pretty woods along a stream, but I started getting really tired shortly after I actually started heading uphill. I was actually kind of wiped by the time I stopped for lunch, where I discovered the gluten-free waffles that were to be my bread for the week had started to get moldy. Awesome. I don't think I got the right combination of calories that lunch because I only got more sluggish as the day went on, and I actually had to cat nap on the side of Unaka Mountain just to make it up. That was to date the only day I really didn't feel like being out there. The only day that I found to be really tough. On the other hand the top of Unaka was very pretty, with a lot of snow still on the ground among some very imposing conifers. That night I ended at Cherry Gap shelter with Waffle, Tapper, Dre, Chicago, Ziplock and Nitro, Frito, Silver, and Yorkie. Fortunately, the next day was a lot better. I had slept like the dead and was thus full of energy. Also, the day just seemed right it was breezy and sunny and I knocked out miles pretty easily in the morning. The afternoon was quite a bit tougher due to the fact that I was climbing Roan Mountain which was more or less straight up and still had a good amount of ice on it. Even that wasn't really enough to daunt me however. I was just happy to be out. Incidentally, upon summitting I learned there had once been a hotel for rich people up there in the early 1900's. What a cool idea. I can't even imagine what that must have been like. I imagine they thought they were roughing it up there. I must say though the idea of having the surroundings with a little warmth at night did sound somewhat appealing. The sign up there said that hotel actually had a golf course at the hotel. I have no idea where it might have gone. Anyway, I spent that night at Roan High Knob shelter which is the highest shelter on the AT. It was actually a little cabin. It had four walls and a door. We didn't know what was going on, but it was quite welcome and I imagine it would have been more so if the weather was worse. I spent that night with Frito, Silver, Yorkie, Mr. Easy, and No Problem (sans goat). The next day started out promising enough. There was some beautiful mist and clouds rolling through the mountains that made for what I think will be some very nice pictures. However, I was so focused on this scenery that I missed the turn when the trail split. Thats right folks my amazing sense of direction and I got rather lost. I ended up going on what turned out to be the Grassy Ridge Trail about a mile and half out of my way, which in turn cost me an hour and a half or better. I was not a happy man. I think my swearing was likely reverberating through the valleys for the rest of the day. As I result I ended up taking lunch at Over Mountain Shelter, several miles earlier than I wanted too. Over Mountain is a pretty cool shelter however, its a old barn that has been converted and it sits in a very nice little valley. I would imagine that its a drafty place to spend the night though. Anyway, after that it was up and over Little Hump and Hump Mountains and wouldn't you know it, rain started just as I was leaving the shelter. This rain turned fairly serious as I was crossing Hump Mountain to the point where I was starting to get a bit nervous, but fortunatley nothing came of it. I wish I had been able to appreciate those mountains a bit more. They had some nice views and their terrain was kind of unique. The rocks, trees and grass on them made me feel like I was crossing a plain in Africa, except..you know...more vertically. The rain continued for the rest of the day but I crashed at Mountain's Rest Hostel that night so it wasn't a big deal. I also thoroghly enjoyed the Ben and Jerry's I ate that night as well as the company of Yorkie, Stealth Blew, Nobo Hobo, Dorothy & Toto, Frito, No Problem, and Mr. Easy. The next day was thankfully much drier and more direct in route (though I did lose the trail early on and had to be called back by Yorkie, go me). There were some very pretty sights that day. We passed Jones' Falls which was quite a wonderful waterfall and I tried to kill myself by climbing a bit to get a better location for a picture. Fortunately, I did not succeed. Shortly after that we walked along the Elk River which seemed fairly idyllic in the heat and sunshine. I think I would very much like to go back and camp there sometime when I can hang around for a while. Yorkie and I ate lunch at the brand new Mountaineer Falls Shelter which was quite excellent and then pushed onto Moreland Gap Shelter for the evening. As the sun was going down The Owl showed up with a dog who had apparently followed him from the hostel he had stayed at the night before. He left that dog with some sectioners who were also staying at the shelter to return on their walk south the next day. I must say I kind of freaked out on the dog when it wouldn't stop barking in the night, but what can I say I was tired. Yorkie thinks I scared the section hikers, but I think he exaggerates. Next morning I knocked out about 8 like it wasn't even there and got to look at another very pretty waterfall, Laurel Falls. Incidentally the entirety of the Laurel Fork River that I have seen is really pretty. I would like to hike around it some more if I ever get the chance. While taking a long lunch I thought I discovered that I had lost my money and ID. This turned out to fortunately not be true but it sort of tainted the rest of my day nonetheless. As a result pretty much all I remember from that afternoon was a lot of uphill until arriving at some fairly spectacular trail magic on the backside of Lake Watauga. This particular trail magic was run by the wonderful former hikers Dead Bear and Moonbeam. I ended up camping there even though I was about a mile from my goal for the night. It simply looked like too much fun to move on. That evening was spent with Yorkie, Beat Box, Bus Driver and Secret Lover, MA, Marshall, Tattoo, Drip Dry, Dead Bear and Moonbeam, Mr. Easy, No Problem, Twiglet, and One Third. It was a very surreal evening. I don't think I can fully express the feeling that was around that night but just to give a general idea some of the events were as follows: three hikers mooning the party on the other side of the lake, the threat of possible police arrival (turned out to be nothing), a trail runner who had stopped to talk coming back later that evening with a keg IN A KAYAK, and lastly but certainly not least a drunk guy riding out of the dark on a horse at about 10 o' clock to hang out with us for the rest of night. Oh and I almost forgot the Karaoke chorus of Roxanne performed poorly by myself, Bus Driver, No Problem and I'm not sure who else. Like I said it was quite a night. I pushed out early from that site the next morning and had a very pretty walk along the lake as the sun was rising. There were several good climbs that morning, but I took about 2 hours for lunch and a nap, and after that the day was a breeze. Almost all of it was completely flat ridgerunning, which I consequently really enjoy. You can throw down miles like they are nothing. That was incidentally my big 22 mile day. I spent that night with Terrapin Flyer, Granite, Yorkie, and Beat Box. Yorkie and the Box didn't show up until it was basically dark, I really hadn't thought they were coming. I also had the pleasure of having a really good Crew chat with Granite, who as it turned out was an oarsman for UMass. I honestly don't have much to say about the next day because I was more or less focused on getting to Damascus and nothing particularly interesting happened beyond moving into Virginia. So there it is. I'm here in Damascus waiting to see if the weather is going to turn nasty and prepping to head back out tomorrow. Thanks for tuning in. Until next time.

-The Breadless Horseman

PS- Since the post with the link to the Columbia Center for Celiac Research has rolled over, I think I will post it again here for any newcomers. http://www.celiacdiseasecenter.columbia.edu