5/7/06 Sunday: Thomas Knob Shelter to Troutdale Baptist Church Hiker Hostel...21.2mi

Got up to chilly, foggy, drizzly weather and decided I best get going before it gets worst...lol... Im out by 0800, with visibility of about 50ft, I head North... Not many pics today due to the weather. I make it 5 miles to the Wise Shelter before it starts pouring... A cold front has definately moved in resulting in 40 degree temps. I take a short break and find it too cold to stand around, so after an energy bar I head out for the next shelter... another 6 miles hoping that the rain will abade... Well I get to the next shelter, Old Orchard Shelter, at about 1300 to find it inhabited by 5 hikers in their sleeping bags... LOL... Fair weather hikers apparently...lol... I ring out my socks, these Goretex boots are so great!, and put the cold damp socks back on... dont want to use my only dry pair until bed time tonight... After chatting with the group a bit and eating another energy bar, I'm off to the next shelter, Hurricane Mtn Shelter(Aptly named). The rain did stop about 1400 but the 40 degree temps unfortunately were here for a bit... I arrive to the Hurricane Mtn Shelter at about 1530 to find a brisk wind blowing along with the 40 degree temps... I meet another hiker there, an ATC staff member on duty patrolling the trails, his name eludes me, and we have dinner together. I read the trail journal to find most of the hikers are drenched and cold and have sought out the hostel in Troutdale... Not a bad idea but one that will require hitchhiking... After chatting with the "Ridgerunner" a little more I find that he is off duty in about 1.5 hours and would be willing to give me a ride to the hostel... I just have get 6 miles in 1.5 hours.. He would meet me at VA 16 and take me to the hostel... No problem I said and I quickly packed and started on my 6 mile jog... lol... Needless to say I made it one time with him waiting for me and I had a very comfortable nights stay with 9 other weary hikers...
PICTURES:
1. Couple of section hikers out for the week end having breakfast as I was leaving
2. Kinda foggy but not raining...yet...
3. Caught a glimps of a pony and her fold grazing on the mountain
4. Had dinner with this ATC Ridgerunner at the Hurricane Mtn shelter...he later drove me to Troutdale Baptist Church Hostel...
5. Nice waterfall on the way to my ride...
6. Pic of a pizza party at the hostel...Quite a long ordeal to get the pizza which was 19mi away and no car... Thanks to "firefly" and "barely legal" and 3 hours later we all had pizza... The Ridgerunner drove them there... They had to hitch back...LOL...

5/6/06 Saturday: Damascus, VA to Thomas Knob Shelter... 28mi

I really felt great when I woke this morning... I had a pretty long day planned which included a climb to the tallest mountain in Virginia (Mt. Rogers). My day began early with 40oz of caffenated beverages and a king sized snickers... 28mi would be my longest yet and I would need all the carbs and calories I could get... I was off at 0730 with a mile walk on streets until I would pick up the trail again at the N end of town. The route was not quite as flat as I had presumed but the ups and downs werer not too severe and by 1125 and 10mi, I was ready for my first break just N of the Sounders Shelter on a Sunny Mtn peak... I always remove my boots to let my feet, socks, and shoes air a bit when I break... I snacked for about 40 min and continued on my way... I had a chance to walk on the Virginia Creeper Trail for a bit and was really amazed at the numbers of people out enjoying the spring scenes... I reached the Lost Mtn shelter next at 1330, another 5mi, and decided to take a short break of 20min... I had an accident with the camera on Buzzard Rock, the wind blew it off a rock as I was posing for a pic, and I thought my picture taking was over... The lens refused to retract for a bit...it finally bagan working...what a relief... Ive not often walked throught the woods in Maine in the spring...due mainly to the black fly menace... but the spring here is full of all kinds of birds singing and bees buzzing... all sorts of wild flowers... Its quite amazing... As I made my way up to the Thomas Knob shelte the weather began to change with cool air and wind replacing the warmth of the day... A front was moving in...and rain would soon follow... more reason to get to a shelter for the night... I arrived at 2000, tired from covering the 28mi but content that I had a most productive day... I had the entire second floor of the shelter to myself... very nice..
PICTURES:
1. The Virginia Creeper Bike/Hike Trail on the outskirts of Damascus
2. Just reaching "Buzzards Rock" point of my hike and just before dropping the camera about 4ft onto some rocks
3. Spring water "gushing" from the ground about a mile from Buzzards Rock near where I had dinner...
4. I finished dinner here and sat enjoying the view before pushing on... I has been a lovely day
5. I finally make it to the Mt Rogers area and although I have climbed a few peaks today...this would be the tallest...
6. Thats me stopping for a pic...
7. One of the many nice views to be had while ascending Mt Rodgers...
8. There were 4 hikers, and this dog, on the first floor of the Thomas Knob Shelter. This was one of only a few 2 story shelters on the AT...I decided to take the 2nd floor and had it to myself.

5/5/06 Friday: Damascus free day... no walking :)

I stayed at the Damascus Old Mill Inn a second day to relax and complete my blog entries. I had a chance to check out the town and visit with some trail friends who were also staying in the village. I thorrowly enjoyed my stay and left on Saturday totally refreshed and reinvigorated. It rained most of the day and I was quite happy to be in a comfortable environment for another day.
spent a few hours at the Public Library entering the text for the blog but their rules prevented uploading any pictures. So the search was on in town for a computer. I want to thank the staff at the Mexican Cafe with their one computer... and such a big demand... they were great... That evening there was a live band playing at the hotel... not well attended but I did enjoy the music of The Jones Boys very much before retiring for the evening...
PICTURE:
1 I want to thank the staff at Damascus Sundog Outfitters, for allowing me to use their computer to complete my blog. If not for their generosity, this blog woul have not been possible...