Mold and tornadoes
I slept restlessly all night. The outdoor bunkhouse had no beds, so I lay on a yoga mat and a sleeping mat. My hands kept going numb all night. When I woke up I was ready to hit the trail. Mentally, that is It’s been a while since I’ve been ready to go and put some miles on it. I put on wet clothes. They smelled of BO and mold. It was a little rough.
Once I checked my phone in the house and was able to confirm that my family was fine. My sister didn’t get anything. My parents on the other hand got torrential rains and a tornado touched down a few miles away. About twenty miles away, a tornado touched down and killed a man. It was a rough night for Oklahoma.
I packed my bag and went to choose. I didn’t stay for breakfast. Breakfast isn’t much fun when you’re allergic to eggs. I left early. The creek that ran through the property was full and muddy. It must have rained more during the night.
Jesus feet
At the end of the trail I passed three other hikers and a female in the group saw my feet and yelled at the others. I stopped and showed them my sandals. “Do you walk in them?” “Yes. I wouldn’t have it any other way.” I walked past them and heard the woman comment, “She’s the first one we’ve met and she’s walking in Jesus sandals. She has Jesus’ feet.” I knew at that moment that if I didn’t already have a trail name, I would be called Jesus Feet.
Unfortunate Falls
The hike was easy. I’m slowly getting used to hiking in the wet. I put on my headphones and decided to listen to some podcasts. I came to the Dismal Falls sign and decided to take the 0.6 mile round trip.
It was nice. I didn’t regret going. Duck actually camped there. She was actually camping right next to the falls. I was so jealous. I waved goodbye and moved on. The road was still relatively flat.
Ribble Trail
The upcoming section had a possible second route. Instead of slowly weaving my way up and around this one mountain, I could ride the Ribble Trail, do all the elevation in one go, shave off five miles and see a waterfall (per FarOut comments). I did it.
The moment I stepped onto the side trail, my body gave me plenty of indication that I needed to poop. Right then and there. I hurried to find a half-covered area before dropping the trowel. I didn’t even have enough time to dig the catola. I barely had time to grab the toilet paper. But everything turned out well. Although, I almost pooped because my sweaty ass refused to let go of my pants. The benefits of thru-hiking.
Moving on, the Ribble Trail was nice. I crossed the same stream at least four times, but the grade was not bad. At least until the last mile and a half. It really took off. Near the top of the mountain I passed the old remains of a previous shelter. I took some photos. But I never saw the waterfall.
Waterless hike
At the top I realized I was extremely low on water. I checked FarOut and the nearest water source was four miles away – my final destination. I needed something before. I decided that if I really needed water, I would go to the Woods Hole Hostel and get some.
The road trip that took me to the Woods Hole Hostel didn’t take long at all. I was still listening to podcasts. I saw a sign saying the hostel was 0.5 miles away. There were two shelters. I looked at the elevation map and saw that I had another climb to go before I reached cover. The hostel was sounding more and more appealing, but they only had tent space available and I refuse to pay for camping when I could do it for free. I looked closer and saw that the path might lead me directly to the shelter. It was flatter which meant I wouldn’t need as much water. I did it.
I felt like the laziest hiker ever when I hiked. I told my sister and she said, “You’re literally walking the Appalachian Trail. How lazy are you?” It’s all a matter of perspective I guess. I lost cell service so I picked up the pace.
Doc’s Knob Shelter
I found a side trail leading back to the AT and climbed the grassy hill back up. I arrived at Doc’s Knob Shelter shortly after. This shelter had a porch with additional seating and the water source was under the shelter. It was luxurious. I scooped up the water before absentmindedly looking for ticks.
I ran my hand over my knee and felt a very small bump. I looked down and saw what looked like a small broken piece of leaf. My calves were sprinkled with leaves. I looked closer and saw legs and a head stuck to my skin. Without thinking, I plucked the tick. It was so small. Since I didn’t have cell service, I couldn’t confirm what kind of tick it was. I figured it was a deer tick because it was about the size of a poppy seed. Regardless, I went into frantic search mode.
I checked everywhere and used wet wipes to wipe away the various dirt collected on my calves. It was the only thing I could find. What got me was that it was secured. I wasn’t looking for ticks that small and wasn’t sure if it attached today or yesterday. Regardless, I will keep an eye on the area that bit me and look for a sign of Lyme disease. That put a damper on the day.
I got something to eat and put on a long sleeve shirt and pants that had been sprayed with Permethrin. I didn’t care if it was hot outside. Then I went to do my bear hang.
The Bear Hang Incident
None of the trees were good. I honestly thought about having food at the shelter. I moved on and found the tree intact. I threw the rope up and it started going wild. I pulled the rope back towards me and that’s where I ran into a problem. The bag of stones was wrapped around a small branch. I pulled and the tree bent with it. It was a younger tree that still had a lot of flexibility. I spent ten minutes trying to pull my bear rope. Nothing. I threw my hands in the air, dropped the rope and said, “Shit.” I was going to wait for the next person to show up. If I pulled hard enough, I think someone might get a hold of the branch so I could untangle the bag. If that doesn’t happen or it doesn’t work, I will have no way to properly store my food.
Loneliness sets in
I returned to the shelter and sat down. And I waited. I showed up at 1:30pm with enough energy to keep going but in no rush. I made a reservation at Angel’s Rest Hostel for tomorrow night and figured it wouldn’t take me long to walk nine miles tomorrow.
No one stopped by until 4:00. I decided to take a nap. It was a short thirty minutes. I became aware of the sound of thunder and rain. And so it continued until 6:00. And anyway, no one was here until then. I became very lonely.
I had gotten so used to the presence of Sweeper, Kea, and Fine Young Buck that I felt lost inside. They were always there. It was getting to the point where I needed a day or two away from socializing because my social battery was dead. Now I miss the laughter and the easy banter. Their absent presence was deafening in the empty enclosure. Invasive thoughts reared their heads again. One day at a time. Thinking about the future is depressing. I have to stop doing this if I want to succeed.
After dark cocktails
Shortly after 6:00 the Duck appeared. She decided to stay as soon as I said we were less than ten miles to Pearisburg. We would get there before noon. She helped me hang the bear and I finally untangled it. It was bad. I would never have gotten over it without her help. We ate dinner and we both said we weren’t eating as much as we should have. I still had the food I bought in Marion. A lot too. She mentioned how she wanted to eat better on the trail and I agreed. I need to have some dried fruit or something.
It was getting dark and two hikers arrived, having driven there for over eight hours. They set up a bear hangar and began settling into the shelter. One pitched his tent right on the porch. I lay down and watched. I could smell wet socks/dirty feet and was convinced it was just Duck’s stuff. She said her stuff smelled bad. It was probably her stuff, but it was also my soaked hiking socks I’d worn two days ago that were marinating at the bottom of my outer pocket. I somehow forgot about them. Oh, good.
I was about to call it a night when one of the hikers from the troop asked if we wanted a cocktail. It was either Jim Bean and Dr. Pepper, or lemonade and Jack Daniels. I made lemonade. We all stood around talking about the trail, the stupid things people do, bears and national parks. It was beautiful. We talked until 10pm. It was time to go to sleep.
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