Stephanie's Trail Journal

July 12th

Beginning Point: Bearfence Hut
Ending Point: Rockspring Hut
Daily Mileage: 11.5 Miles
Total Miles: 912.9 Miles
Weather: Hot and humid and afternoon thunderstorms

We had a very interesting night last night... We had just fallen asleep when something loud hit my side of the tent near our heads. Hmmm, what was that? we wondered, but sleep is something that messes with your senses. No "spidey-sense" kicked in to tell us to investigate further. A few moments later, Tippy and Deeds wandered by looking for the shelter so we said Hi and told them where it was. Then some rain began to fall, then the lightning and thunder joined in. An hour later I awoke to cold raindrops splashing my face. I woke Stephan and we briefly "discussed" the possibility/impossibility of rain inside the tent. Then I turned on my light and noticed the gaping hole in the tent wall next to my head! We think it was the deer we were watching around the tent at dusk and it (probably) kicked the tent wall. I guess I'm lucky that it didn't step on my head.

So, there was water in the tent in the morning and it was still raining and I didn't want to get out of bed despite the coffee that Stephan brewed up for me. We eventually left camp and weren't a few minutes down the trail when we ran into Seraphin, a thru-hiker who was ahead of us but had to get off the trail to earn some money to continue her hike. Today she was acting as Trail Angel - she told us about some beer she left in a spring at one of the Huts. Good deal.

A mile down the trail we saw a doe munching on trailside vegetation... she didn't seem alarmed at our presence. We took a bunch of pictures and watched her eat for a while. She seemed to like the duff layer - maybe the grubs taste good.

We hiked 7 miles to Big Meadows Wayside where we feasted on burgers and fries and unlimited pepsi. This was one of my best lunches on the trail. While we were eating, a 2003 thruhiker named Cheddar came over and offered us some cokes. He chatted with us for a bit and gave us a pep talk for the upcoming miles. He said once we leave VA the states start melting away. Thanks, Cheddar! I'm looking forward to Harpers Ferry.

The skies turned black and rumbly by 4:00 pm and we had just arrived at the Blackrock Hut. We wisely chose to abandon the plan to make Skyland Lodge and ride out the storm where we were. The folks we've been sheltering with these past few nights got stuck in the storm and soaked their packs.

Lots of folks at the shelter tonight... Tippy, Deeds, Rob, Bryan and Lunchpak, Q-Tip and Heidi, Tony, and Jorma (a fella Stephan and I met while staying at Neels Gap on day 5!). Sleep might be difficult tonight, but spirits are high.

Steph

Posted by steph at July 17, 2004 02:52 PM