lotushiker

[lotushiker]

http://www.trailjournals.com/lotushiker/

Try this address for my blog txs

[lotushiker]

Switching

Tumblr has been inconsistent w uploads. I am switching to trailjournals.com 2018. I'll still be listed under Lotushiker or HarveyHoward400@.gmail.com

Thank you for ur patience. I'm not really a tech guy and Tumblr has been a very challenging experience. It was when I looked on their site and saw the different worldwide outages they were experiencing that I decided to change platforms.

[lotushiker]

Sun Day 69 4/22

Woke up at 7. What a change to listen to people packing up. Really haven't experienced laying in my sleeping bag with other people packing up. Wasn't that interested in talking to anybody in particular so I kind of just lay there. About 7:30 I remembered I wanted to talk to Blaze. I jumped up. Now made a point of saying goodbye, which was cool, cuz I spent a night in a the shelter with him on my third day on February 16th. He was doing twenties and blasting away. Somehow we're in the same spot 10 weeks later. Had an early morning breakfast. Talked to Mel. She twisted her knee yesterday. She can just barely walk. She's taking the day off staying at the shelter. She will evaluate what her options are tomorrow. I shared the free shuttle driver list with her from Waynesboro. Mel shared her hiker gem of wisdom of Leuko tape for blisters. I'm going to upload the picture of her application of Leuko tape. The young men feel good about going in to Waynesboro. We will zero for 3 days with ibuprofen, ice, and regrouping. Timeout's pack weighed 17 lb. Mel's pack without food and water weighs 12 lb. I'm going to take a serious look at my pack. I will unload some things. I'm sure of it. The fact that we have the Infiniti to store stuff in and retrieve it if we want is a very nice trail luxury. We left Blackrock Mountain shelter around 12. We hiked the mile up to the BlackRock Summit. Spectacular views. Took some photos and then made our way down to the BlackRock parking area to wait for the yellow truck ride. We got back to Waynesboro, got a room at the Quality Inn, and headed out to the Green Leaf Grill for a spectacular dinner. Everybody really enjoyed their meal. We went to the food store. Came back watched MMA and basketball, while we were icing our knees and went to sleep.

Will ice for 3 days. The day before Luke leaves, I am hoping to go down to McAfees Knob with the young men. It would only be an 8 mile round trip hike. It would be great to see something spectacular before he leaves. Then we'll get back on the trail. We will try to take small bites while Curtis finds his feet and manages his body so he can be successful on the trail. It would be very cool to be on the trail for 6 weeks with Curtis if he can hang.

[lotushiker]

Fri Day 67 4/20

Fri Day 67 4/20 left boys sleeping, went out to the car to work on my blog. Came in at 8:30 to get them up and they were coming down for breakfast. Got ourselves organized and out by 10:15. Called for a trail angel ride. After about 15 calls found a nice fella who said he'd pick us up at 11 in the Quality Inn and drive us out to the trail. Said he been driving people out to the trail for 30 years. It was quite cool blowy windy when we started. I missed signing in to the Shenandoah Park and getting the permit. Just spaced it out. Walked right by the sign in sheet. Curtis jumped out in front Natural Born leader. It was a day of moderate climbs. Everyone is hiking better today. The aclamation process is happening. Having hiked 14 miles 8 Miles doesn't seem that much. It was very enjoyable. The young men have been very opened to suggestion, ideas, and thoughts of how this might be done. They accept as a given, that they don't have any clue of what's going on and somebody else may know a little better way. So, a very refreshing experience for me. We talked a lot about trekking poles and everybody was getting the hang of it by the third day. I did figure it out and it took me 6 weeks. Took a few minor breaks to get some pictures. Came across a trail angel couple giving away some kind of like homemade brownies. I drank a lot of water and ate some cheese. We came into the shelter. I think just before 4. Shelter was pretty busy place. Must be 10 or 12 people here tonight. Most people came from Rockfish Gap. Same place we came from. Time Out showed up. His knees are recovering. Big Load yellow blazed up the trail hundred and 50 miles or so. Lot of nice conversation, sharing of information around the picnic table as everybody cooked and ate. The Young men are getting it figured out on what you have to do to make miles and be happy. Just the fact that so many people are here today, the young men got on board with let's get out of here early and get the next shelter early and stake down our place. Our goal will be to leave by 5 in the morning. We will hike by headlamp. It's really quite enjoyable to be hiking with two of my sons. My knee feels pretty good so we'll just keep going easy. They say the 14 miles tomorrow is pretty gentle. I've heard that before. Its 7:30 and there are two people left at the picnic table. Everybody else is snuggling down in their bags. They are resting or going to sleep. The sun has not set over the edge of the mountains. Now we're down to a one person table. He's the fire Builder. He builds a fire every night. Said he stays up until sunset. He's a real night owl. Hiker midnight is Darkness. So we're all going to bed well before midnight. I'm all for it. I'm going to go in, work on my stretches, fall asleep. This is the first day I it's been warm enough, light enough, and I've had enough time to work on my blog in real time same day. Very cool. It helps only do 8 miles in the day as well. When you're doing 20, 25 or more miles there's not much day left and there's not much energy left. Once you eat you just want to go to sleep. Being with the boys has really dialed it back for me. It's definitely a different experience. Very pleasurable and enjoyable. Good night.

[lotushiker]

Tues Day 64 4/17

Day 64 4/17 so another 9 hours of sleep. Good breakfast do my stretches ice my knees around 9 Curtis calls and said he's an hour and a half out. I head down to the Waynesboro Museum. It's supposed to open at 9 and the door is locked it's 10 after 9. I start to walk back to the hotel. There's an elderly woman walking towards me on the sidewalk. I asked her what time does the museum open she says as soon as I unlock the door. So I walk a block back to the museum with her. The very nice museum reflecting the history of this town really enjoy myself for an hour or so. I get back Curtis calls almost immediately and he's pulling into the hotel. We unload his stuff. Review it. Then head out to get some breakfast. While we r at breakfast Curtis thinks why don't we see if Luke wants to stop it Front Royal where we're going to leave the car and not double Drive. We touch base with Luke and he's only about an hour out of Front Royal. We're an hour and 40 minutes so we wrap up breakfast and head out. Meet Luke at the Quality Inn in Front Royal. We drive back to Waynesboro. Now like around 3. We start going through all their gear. Taking tags off, comparing, evaluating. Somehow postcards sold them puffies without hoods. Some other little twists and Curiosities. We stop talking and head out to the Rockfish Gap Outfitter. We want to get there before they close to buy a few things that they need. We have a great time there they really know what they're talking about that's a Rockfish Gap Outfitters.

[lotushiker]

Mon Day 63 4/16

Day 63 4/16 9 hours of sleep. Actually like the breakfast at this Quality Inn. Ate 2 loads of eggs. Did my four doses of ibuprofen 600 mg every 5/6 hours in the day. Ice my knee two times. The second time was in the afternoon. I actually got tired and took another nap while I was icing my knee. I just pulled my sleeping bag over top of everything slid down in the bed and went to sleep with ice on both knees. Also took a nap this morning while I was doing my blog. I get tired while I'm doing the blog. I just slid down and went back to sleep so lots of sleep on this zero day. Did go down to the Wells Fargo to get some cash. That was one advice that was wrong. Most sources said you didn't need cash on the trail. That was very wrong. At shelters, getting a shuttle, and some stores, cash is the only option. Next to the Wells Fargo was the post office Who do I see but, if it's not Research and No Shoes. So I hang out with them. No Shoes is talking non-stop on the phone. So Research and I walked back to her shelter, which is Stananimals . Stan runs 3 shelters on the trail. It's a bit further but I check it out. They invite me back for dinner tonight. No Shoes, the professional cook, is doing a vegetarian meal. No Shoes shows up and goes through her care package. I scooped up a number of things that she's decided she does not want to carry. Her brother made her six like one pound slices of fruit cake. I go back home, home being the Quality Inn. I work on my blogs and get up to date. Around 5 Research calls and says they haven't even started. Around 6 it's time for my next ibprofen. I'm starting to think like I'm just going to stay in. So I start eating cottage cheese and yogurt. 6:30 Research calls and says cooking now. So it's cold out. So I dress up pretty warm and head down. The hostel's very nice. It has a full working kitchen, two big refrigerators, lots of plates, dishes, pans. Everything is there. We hang out. Conan from Germany is there. Conan is going back to Germany in a couple weeks to compete in a 46 mile Mountain Run Race. Feral the blind guy, blind in one eye is there. Poi boy and his family is there. There might even be 8 other people there. The place was full. No Shoes makes a great dinner. She made the sweetest beets I've ever had. I loved it. I wash all the dishes and pans because that's what I do. If someone else is cooking I'm washing. Around 9 I walked back to the Quality Inn. I eat some more cottage cheese and yogurt take, my last ibuprofen and I'm done. In the morning I'm going to pack up and move to a different room cuz the boys are coming.

[lotushiker]

Sun Day 62 4/15 Zero Waynesboro Nice People

Sun Day 62 4/15 The night before when I asked about laundry the clerk apologized and said they had no laundry on-site. Then he said why don't you take my car down to the laundromat at the other end of town. So last night I went to the laundromat in his car as well as another shot at the food store. So I went in and had a great breakfast, rare in these hotels. They actually had eggs. The day clerk was the wife of the night Clerk. I told her how nice her husband was and she told me how happy she was married to him for 34 years. They were a very pleasant couple. She said you must be the hiker he loaned the Car to. If you need it for anything today I'm here until 3. So after 12, after I iced and did my two doses of ibuprofen, I borrow the car and went out to the Rock Gap Outfitter for an hour or so. I went to a number of different stores and got back at quarter of 3. I spent time working on my blogs trying to catch up for a week's worth of blogs. The storm really hit. A tornado touched down in Waynesboro, which was very unusual. The TV came on with a tornado warning and a shelter-in-place direction. New experiences for me. Never a dull moment on the trail. Other than that, I had a quiet evening and actually got 9 hours of sleep. I had taken a nap after breakfast as well. I guess I need a little sleep. I talked to both Curtis and Luke who are going to arrive from different directions on Tuesday. Will organize on Tuesday and launch for a nine-day run up to Front Royal on Wednesday 127 miles. Most days will be 13 to 15 miles. Hopefully we will arrive 4/26 or 7. If we arrive the 27th it'll be a 10-day trip. I'm excited to be hiking with my two sons. It should be a memorable life experience for all three of us. If the AT is anything ...it's memorable, impactful, and challenging.

[lotushiker]

Sat Day 61 4/14 Jump off the Trail

Day 61 4/14 I actually sleep in. I thought I was getting up early and leaving at 5:30 so I would be ahead of Craig with my bad knee and can go slow. But somehow I turned off my internal automatic alarm and don't wake up till 6. I hike out a little before Craig. He soon passes me on the downhill. I'm a little nervous cuz he was talking that he would get to the pick up location earlier and we call for the ride earlier. After a 6 mile down hill, we do a 2 Mile uphill. I'm able to really move on the uphill. I'm slow on the downhill. I catch up to Craig at a shelter where he's having lunch. There's another woman there a section hiker taking a break as well. We're all talking about the storm. After lunch the trail is both very Rocky at points and incredibly beautiful in many other sections with great views. Craig is ahead of me but he's having an AT moment at one of these view sites. I passed him by without saying the word to disturb him, to try and get ahead cuz he's now faster than I am. When I get to the last shelter before the pickup I realize it's still a mile and a half to go and only 35 minutes before the pickup. The good news is there's a lot of uphill which I am faster at. 3:30 was the pick up, I get in at 3:32. Stananimals runs 3 hostel. He drives us back to Waynesboro. Craig gets a shower and is back over to the to the hotel before I even finished checking in. But I'm in a very patient moment and attitude. We go out to eat. he takes off on a 8 hour drive. I start my icing my knee and taking my ibuprofen. I'm thankful that I was able to get to town and start resting my knee.

I was able to skip 25 miles which I can do later.

[lotushiker]

Fri Day 60 4/13

Day 60 4/13. I wake up in at 3 to my consternation both my back and my knee are still talking to me. This is a first for me. Usually I'm tired and possibly sore when I finish hiking. I wake up refreshed and ready to go. I have been having slower mornings, slower starts. I should have seen this coming. This is Rookie mistake number 4. Too fast, too far, too hard. Who would ever think did that phrase would ever apply to me. So I'm on the trail by 4:30 a.m. Hiking by headlamp. I go across the longest Footbridge on the AT across the James River. It's a really cool, very solid Bridge. I am protecting my knee on the long uphill 3000 foot climb over 6 Mi out of the Brown Mountain Creek shelter. Brown Mountain Creek area was a freed slave settlement back in the late 1800s and early nineteen up to 1920. You still see remnants of rock walls and foundations. Again I love learning the history of an area. I make it to Hog Camp Gap 8 Miles away by 8:30. 8 Miles 4 hours I'm pleased because I'm hiking slower with my knee. On the way I make the rookie mistake of losing my watch. When I figured it out I wasn't going back to see if I could find it. I know where I lost it. I made a apparel change and that was the spot. To my surprise Fresh Ground is already setup. He went 45 minutes to the store did all his errands and back. He left at 3 a.m. Time Out and Big Load are there at Hog Camp cap. They've been here for 3 days. They're both super fast hikers and both have knee problems. Time out is actually going in to get an MRI. As it turns out there's eight or ten of us who made it the 850 miles who would be considered strong hikers who have painful knees and have to slow down or stop. Fresh Ground scrambles 9 eggs with a lot of cheese for me. I'm going to add an extra day because I don't want to do the long last day that I had planned. But now I don't have enough food because I was food light. Both Big Load, who used to hike with Bullfrog, and Tjme Out dump out their food bags and say take what you want. That's how it works on the trail. Everybody is helping everybody. Doing this Trail day after day it's a very hard thing . Everybody respects everybody else who's putting in the hours, the miles, the effort. the last 2 months when all of this group has Ben hiking, the weather has been really rough. 5 major snow storms in 5 weeks. It's kind of like all for one, one for all. There really is a Brotherhood on the trail. After an hour I move on. My back is not bothering me but my knee is. I make it to the Priest shelter. There's a number of people there. Cougar, a southbounder who is finishing up her through hike, a three generation group of a midwife Tag Along, a mother, and Poi Boy a nephew, Powerhouse, three college section hikers, and Craig another section hiker and Leah, a section hiker. After I get water and cook dinner, Craig walks over and we start talking. Big rain storm is coming tomorrow. Craig is going to jump off the trail in 15 miles, a day early to miss the storm. I have another 40 miles to get to Waynesboro. With my knee screaming at me, I ask Craig if I could jump in his his shuttle. He says sure we make plans. I'm getting off the trail to rest this knee. There are no medals for pushing through pain on this Trail. Pain is clearly a warning sign that I have overdone it. Hopefully all this is is it needs rest. And there's no actual damage. Even with all these people at the shelter it's very smooth, very pleasant,and by 8 very quiet.

[lotushiker]

Mon Day 56 4/9 Zero in Daleville

I wake up around six, do my stretches. I quietly sneak out, start doing my laundry, go down and do the breakfast buffet and when it come back around 7, they say it's okay to turn the light on. No Socks gets out around 10:30 to start hiking 17 MI. Research and I go to the Post Office. It's cold out. It was snowing last night, snowing this morning. I met a guy at breakfast who happens to be in the parking lot. I asked him if he can give us a ride to the post office and he obliged us. He asked us if we want to go out to lunch, so we go out to the three pigs and have lunch. Then we hit the food store and the Outfitters, get a ride back to the Super 8. I'm all done all my chores except for packing and my blog. I talked to Jimmy about my next week schedule. I'm heading for Waynesboro. Luke is going to come meet me in Waynesboro on the 16th of April and hike for 10 days or so. So we get organized. Research leaves after lunch at 1:30. I just don't know how many miles you can hike when you start at 1:30 in the afternoon. I'm trying to be done by 3. Both of these women want to be off the trail and finished by August the 1st. I went over the numbers with them and said they have to hike 16 miles a day from now until August 1st with only 10 0 days altogether. We'll see how that works out for them. I work on my blog post. I'm having trouble with posting my blog with Tumblr, it keeps saying it's not working. I talked to my sister Sue, pack everything, eat my 2 lb of cottage cheese and crash out early.

[lotushiker]

Sun Day 55 4/8

I'm up at 5:30, stretch, eat more pumpkin bread, drink a lot of fluid, and I'm out of there by 7 am. 7:15 I'm on the trail heading towards McAfee Notch 10 miles away. I'm moving, well hiking over pastuers. I'm having a good morning. I get the McAfee Notch at 11 a.m. 10 miles in 4 hours. I spend a half an hour there, having a great time taking a lot of photos. Two couples are there when I arrived. One of them had just proposed and become engaged. I asked one of them, Rebecca, to take some photos for me. She was a delight. I really had a good time getting some photos. She told me about the engagement. I told the couple a good marriage is irreplaceable, priceless. Why I was there Jumpstart showed up, which I didn't realize was going to happen. We didn't plan it. He was hiking to Daleville as well today, finishing off a big mileage day for his last day of his section. So we left together. Hiking on another 6 miles or so to Tinkers Cliffs. Tinkers Cliffs was spectacular, just like McAfee Notch. You look out over three different valleys in Virginia. You go way up to the cliffs. Tinkers Cliffs is just to the right of McAfee notch looking another Direction so the views are spectacular, for I don't know 50 or a hundred miles. There's two women eating lunch. So we stopped and chat. One is Research, who is 53 years old and the other is No Shoes a 25 year old. They have been hiking on and off together for quite a while. They both started in January. So we hang out for about 20 minutes enjoying the first full day of sunshine in two months of hiking in a beautiful place with a beautiful view. So I say to Jumpstart, you ready to go. With that, all four of us stand up and we move out together. We're now a working unit. That's just how it works on the AT. People don't talk about it, it just happens. Jumpstart is leading and at one point I don't see any white blazes. We realize that we got off the trail. Research says I'll double back to scout back. I scout out to the right. Research finds a blaze. She starts going to hike so we could see her if she's on a Switchback. I told her to stand still. I hiked to where she is. I get back on the trail.then the other two, and now Research is leading the group. Today there is one spectacular view point after another. It also helps that the sun is out and you can actually see more than a hundred yards. So we hiked the 10 more miles back to Danville together. As we're approaching Danville the women who know that I'm taking a zero day at the Super 8 ask me can they split a room with me. I say sure it's like hanging out in the shelter except it has a bathroom with a door on it. So we get in. Jump Start has done his research on eating in Danville says let's go to the Three Pigs. We walk a half a mile and have a fantastic dinner at Three Pigs. I eat more than I can hold. I have to carry food home. Every bite was spectacular. We're all attending to things for our hike. We have been talking to the women about how heavy their Packs are. I mean one is 42 lb and the others 38. I call them Amazon Women because I can't or won't carry a heavy pack. They asked me how I get so many miles in. I tell him I start at 5 a.m. I get 10 miles in before 10 a.m. in the morning and it's easy to get another 10 miles in before you're done for the day. I have a 22 pound pack. When it is loaded with food and water for 5 days, it's probably 29 or 30. Around midnight I shut down the lights and we're all asleep. I

[lotushiker]

Sat Day 54 4/7

So as I'm coming down to the road I look ahead and I see what appears to be a Fresh Ground encampment. I'm excited. I've enjoyed Fresh Ground food, encouragement, and wisdom. I see his hammock setup under his tarp. He has his whole food distribution setup. I get in. I called out but Fresh Ground is not around himself. There's a handwritten sign had to go to town Cookor help yourself. So I looked through things. Cooked four eggs piles of cheese on it. 2 Apples and two clementines, couple handfuls of cashews. A hiker starts to walk by. I call out "don't you want something to eat." Turns out it's a local fella named Numbers. He was just doing a section hike Southbound. He's never experienced the Fresh Ground station but he's heard about it. So he stops. I tell him to sanitize and make himself at home cuz I'm going to eat my eggs. Fresh Ground pulls up. He's happy to see that we made ourselves at home. Fresh Ground is his wonderful self. To some degree Fresh Ground is part of the quiet Ministry that I see going on throughout the trail. They don't try and talk about it. They just try and do it. They're out there helping, guiding, assisting, and comforting those in need. They always have a positive attitude. They r just present and available to help. I spend an hour with Fresh Ground and head out. I started out with a big climb up 1400 ft. Then I hike A Long Ridge that seems to go on forever. I get to the Eastern Continental Divide where the water drains either into the Gulf of Mexico or the Atlantic Ocean. Then I get to the Dragon's Tooth. This is a very tall singular Rock that Jets up like a dragon's tooth a well-known destination for hikers. It's been off and on raining and snowing Now it's sleeting. lots of moisture anywhere from 30 degrees to 34 degrees temperature. As I start down this very steep descent from the Dragon's Tooth I get off the trail accidentally. I'm a hundred yards down an extremely steep Rocky Mountain face when I realize this. I'm looking but I cannot see a white Blaze and that's a bad feeling. I turn around and literally crawl hand over hand on my knees back up this hundred yards and find a white Blaze. A guy in a blue jacket goes by me as I'm changing my gear. This is the most technical descent that I faced in 700 miles. I can't keep up with the guy in the blue jacket. Then I hear someone call out my name, Lotus. It's Numbers, the guy who was walking by Fresh Ground I met this morning going southbound. The weather was too snowy for him where he was and he had come back. He couldn't get phone service. He was going to be able to get picked up. He chose of hike hike back towards his home. Together, I felt much better. The temperature was dropping, the Rocks were getting slippery. This was a nightmare. We work our way down a mile and a quarter of tough technical descent. By that I mean you're on 3 in of rock, you're holding on with your hands, you're not using your trekking poles. You are climbing down the rocks. At the bottom there's a sign that says dangerous mile and a quarter Trail, stay close to the blazes.

I think now you tell me after I'm finished the mile and a quarter. I got off the trail it was scary I see and difficult. Now you see that sign if your local coming for a Day hike or you're a southbounder. Northbounders t don't get to see the warning.it's too bad for them. They should know better. Continuing my hike towards McAffees Notch. Rhododendron is all wet and hanging on the trail. As I walk I'm constantly drenching myself. My pants are soaked. my gloves are soaked. My hat is soaked. I am soaked. I guess I was a fool to send my heavy Burton mittens home. I've been a fool before. My hands are starting to go numb from the cold. I decide to bail on the today's hike. Mr Jimmy, told me about Four Pines hostel. It's almost as if he knew ahead of time, cuz his phrase was if you get in trouble and you need to bail at rt 624,go right to the Four Pines hostel. He said that 5 days ago. There's more than meets the eye with what goes on with Fresh Ground and Mr Jimmy. I read the sign wrong and go the wrong way and end up in a store. I say I'm looking for the hostel. The nice young woman says I'll call they will come pick you up. 3 minutes later a guy pulls up and gives me a ride back to the hostel. It's a very nice hostel. very nice. I have a great evening. I meet Jumpstart and Turtle. Turtle is doing way too many miles, eating way too many ibuprofen, and killing his knees. He probably won't make it. Jumpstart is doing just the opposite. He's coming out to do a section hike 50 miles in 4 days. Learning his gear, learning what you need to know, to hike the AT. When he wants to do the whole AT he'll be ready. We have a great night the wife makes hot pumpkin bread with a quarter pound of butter brings it over to the hostel. They have a wood stove. I have a great time building a roaring hot fire that warms up this huge hostel. We get to bed early. Because it's so cold I figure I won't leave until 7 ish so that it has a chance to warm up.

[lotushiker]

Fri Day 53 4/6

Wow I must be tired. Didn't get up until 8 and didn't start hiking until 9:15. Another tough day of getting my legs started on the uphill. I'm carrying a little more water this time, which means a little more weight. Water is 2 pounds 2 oz per liter. My not finding water has caused me to focus more on making sure I have water. When I'm hiking the trail I lose total contact with calendars. I don't know what day of the week it is, I don't know what day of the month it is. It's another world out here. Everyone is a moving from where they were last night, to where they're going to be tonight. And that's about the extent of what they can deal with. Everything is pretty much in the moment. Unfortunately I forget the names of the shelters gaps and mountains. I remember going over Mount Rogers and meeting to section hikers. They asked me where I spent the night I said and a seller back of me. They said what shelter you hiking to. I said the next one. I had no recall the names whatsoever. It's a place to sleep, eat, and move on from. I don't remember the specifics.

I am traveling light on food. I was tired. I'm coming in to resupply with two to four pounds of food. You want to time it so that you come in to resupply actually empty and hungry. You'll get your most efficient mileage when your pack is the lightest so no food and little or no water is your highest efficiency. Because I started so late I ended up getting in late again. Late in the sense of late in the day. I like to get in around 4 3 or 4 gets fed set up everything good and then be ready to fade anytime 7 or 8 at night.. I've been alone in the shelter again tonight which is fine with me. I can make all the noise I want in the morning without feeling I'm disturbing anybody. Everybody needs their sleep. I meant an older gentleman named Longhorn yesterday. He was hiking back from a shelter after posting info about free lunch on Friday in town. He offered to give me a ride from a road if I wanted to give him a call today. Because of the late start I missed that opportunity.

[lotushiker]

Thurs Day 52 4/6

Up in the dark 3:30. The bag did pretty well. I wasn't toasty but I wouldn't wasn't totally dressed as I would be if I was worried I would be cold. I did something with my gas that I learned in Damascus. The Outfitter there told me to hold gas against my body to keep it warm before I used it. This would keep the gas in a more gaseous State as opposed to a liquid state, Therefore it will burn more efficiently. Again started out very well again I did the first 10 miles in 4 hours. I took a nice break for lunch. I figured I'd get in between five and six at this rate. I came across a section of the trail that I call unstable, different sized, sharp-edged, roockyr, scramble. This turned out to be a very intense section of Trail. I nearly fell 30 times. It required total concentration. Big rocks rolled, everything was sharp. A fall here meant you had to land on sharp jagged rocks. When I came to a break in this section and looked at my watch, it was already after 5. I had six more miles to go. I guess I won't be getting in between 5 and 6. Headed into a Wilderness Area of the trail. I was able to make good time and I really cut loose with the speeds. Tired but I didn't want to get in after Dark. It's hard to catch up on your sleep if you're getting in and start gathering water at 9 at night. I passed a fellow, turned out to be Brian Marshall. He was a local hiker and quite aknowledgeable Outdoorsman. He made the last 3 hours quite enjoyable. Got down to the shelter at quarter of 8. Again the shelter was empty I was alone. Got my water, cooked my dinner, went to bed I was tired. These have been three challenging days. There's been a different challenge every day. While cooking dinner, I could actually see stars, which may be the first time since getting on the trail 2 months ago. I have felt so tired these last couple days. Another big day tomorrow so I'm going to sleep in a bit.

[lotushiker]

Tues Day 50 4/2/18

I was up and moving on 3 hours sleep. I was ready to roll at 4:45 when Bubba, the shuttle driver, picked me up. I was on the trail at 5. I had ideas early in the day about maybe extending my day. But those ideas faded as I tired and faded. They are forecasting snow for Saturday. We'll see if I am wise or fool to have sent my zero bag and heavy gloves home. So it was 26 and a half miles today. Pasted the 600 mile mark today. I'm staying at the Y P shelter. Most people don't want to stay at this shelter cuz 2 people were murdered by the same guy at the shelter. He was in jail.

Today was the day of many bridge. There was a suspension bridge that I have a photo of. They 8 were lot of smaller variations of bridges. There's a nice big one as well. I will say that wood at the bridges there is slippery and even that though I knew that I did slip coming off the suspension Bridge. I must have crossed 20 different Bridges at least today. In one mile there were six Bridges alone. Towards the end of the day I got pretty tired. I arrived at the shelter around 2 30. There were southbounders, a husband-and-wife section hiking but they were just taking a break at the shelter. I was so tired that as soon as I was able to eat I got in my bag and at 4 I was asleep. I just couldn't stay up. Two other hikers came in, Conan from Germany a long distance Runner, and Legs who I've hiked with before. Around 6pm I woke up as they were talking. Legs wanted to build a fire. I finally got up around 6:30 and enjoyed interacting with Conan and Legs. This was the second fire that I experience in 2 months. Legs asked us what was the special event that might have happened to each of us. Conan asked him about a special event. Leg shared how he was coming up a long hill a couple days ago and he just had an emotional release. He started crying but it was he wasn't sad it was just like loose wild emotion. It was pouring out of him that he had no control over. He doesn't understand it, doesn't know what it was, but it absolutely happened. Around 9:15 we all went to bed. I was used up. As usual it was windy and around midnight it started to rain. legs and I both scooch back deeper into the shelter and kind of went sideways against the back wall.

[lotushiker]

Mon Day 49 4/2 Clinic

I got up at 6 am. I got a shower and was getting ready to eat a Subway when there was a knock on the door. It was Bubba here to take me to the clinic an hour before it opened. We had talked about a loose plan but had not confirmed. Bubba was t shuttling six congressmen hiking and it was going to take the most of the morning. So I talked about getting to the clinic an hour or two before it opened. Then I'd be able to go to the Post Office. No need to confirm. Bubba showed up. I was dressed and ready all by the grace of my higher power. I grabbed my boxes that I had pre-packed to mail, my Subway. Off I went. Everyone was still laying down in the dark when I took off. Hung out at the clinic, ate half my giant Subway until they opened. Realized one of my brighter moments was I didn't bring my medical insurance card. Saw a very nice older Country Doctor. He said "I'm going to point a shotgun at this rash. Don't want to have this knock u off the trail." He was very interested an envious of my journey. He gave me an antibiotic to ward off any possible infection as well as almost the same cream that I had bought over the counter at Walmart. I'd also come across a steroid booster cream from the fellow who owned the motel. I was working on trying to get my medical information insurance information. My CVS Pharmacy was able to give me my prescription information which allowed me to pay for the prescription he wrote. In terms of paying for the doctor visit they gave me a one-time $20 experience. I got to the post office at 11. I thought it closed at 12 but it was really 11:30. The female postmaster couldn't be nicer or more gracious. I mailed my boots, Burton mittens, and bag home and my tent onto Daleville, Virginia. After Bubba dropped me off I was extremely tired. Sleepiness just rolled up over me. I took a 2-hour nap. I slept lije the dead. Luke hooked me up with my the insurance phone number. I have my insurance information now entered into my phone. I also ordered a new insurance card. I continue to struggle with the internet trying to post my blog. Things don't post well here. Getting organized for a 4:45 departure in the morning. Waiting for the game at 9 p.m. tonight. Talked to Curtis. Things are looking good for his arrival sometime in mid-April. Sprayed my new bag with Permethrin to ward off ticks and mosquitoes. I sprayed all my clothes and backpack Sat when I arrived.

Nova wins national title.

[lotushiker]

Mon Day 49 4/2 Clinic

I got up at 6 am. I got a shower and was getting ready to eat a Subway when there was a knock on the door. It was Bubba here to take me to the clinic an hour before it opened. We had talked about a loose plan but had not confirmed. Bubba was t shuttling six congressmen hiking and it was going to take the most of the morning. So I talked about getting to the clinic an hour or two before it opened. Then I'd be able to go to the Post Office. No need to confirm. Bubba showed up. I was dressed and ready all by the grace of my higher power. I grabbed my boxes that I had pre-packed to mail, my Subway. Off I went. Everyone was still laying down in the dark when I took off. Hung out at the clinic, ate half my giant Subway until they opened. Realized one of my brighter moments was I didn't bring my medical insurance card. Saw a very nice older Country Doctor. He said "I'm going to point a shotgun at this rash. Don't want to have this knock u off the trail." He was very interested an envious of my journey. He gave me an antibiotic to ward off any possible infection as well as almost the same cream that I had bought over the counter at Walmart. I'd also come across a steroid booster cream from the fellow who owned the motel. I was working on trying to get my medical information insurance information. My CVS Pharmacy was able to give me my prescription information which allowed me to pay for the prescription he wrote. In terms of paying for the doctor visit they gave me a one-time $20 experience. I got to the post office at 11. I thought it closed at 12 but it was really 11:30. The female postmaster couldn't be nicer or more gracious. I mailed my boots, Burton mittens, and bag home and my tent onto Daleville, Virginia. After Bubba dropped me off I was extremely tired. Sleepiness just rolled up over me. I took a 2-hour nap. I slept lije the dead. Luke hooked me up with my the insurance phone number. I have my insurance information now entered into my phone. I also ordered a new insurance card. I continue to struggle with the internet trying to post my blog. Things don't post well here. Getting organized for a 4:45 departure in the morning. Waiting for the game at 9 p.m. tonight. Talked to Curtis. Things are looking good for his arrival sometime in mid-April. Sprayed my new bag with Permethrin to ward off ticks and mosquitoes. I sprayed all my clothes and backpack Sat when I arrived.

Nova wins national title.