June 8 – June 14
Miles Hiked: 980.8
Miles to Katahdin: 1204.5
When I woke up on June 8, I went to use the privy. There are
sometimes buckets of wood shavings or leaves (called duff) next to the toilet
that you throw in to help the decomposition process. When I picked up the duff
bucket, there was a cute little mouse living underneath it! We were both
surprised to see each other and neither of us moved. I carefully replaced the
bucket and reported my finding to my fellow campers. Later, one of the hikers
left the mouse a few nuts and some toilet paper so that it could eat and build
a nest.
The night of June 7 was one of the scarier nights on the
trail. A deranged animal ran through our camp weezing “Yeti! Yeti! Yeti!” It
sounded like an escaped mental patient with Tourettes. All of the girls in camp
woke up. None of the guys did. I’m not sure what that says about the genders. I
had to pee but just laid there until the sun came up because I was too scared.
Bluebird decided to just pee in her tent’s vestibule. I still haven’t figured
out what that was. I told someone that if that was a bear, I’m getting off the
trail. Some people think it was a deer calling to her fawn. Whatever it was, it
was pretty terrifying to listen to.
I was trying to beat a storm into camp on June 7 so I
decided to wait to each lunch until 2:00 or 3:00. I’m glad I did because I came
across the most awesome trail magic at a road crossing! They had a pop-up tent,
chairs, and were cooking sloppy joes. They also had all sorts of snacks and
drinks and a box full of bandages, bear line, and just about anything else a
hiker might need. I asked the trail angels what brought them out to the trail
and they said their son was hiking the trail. I asked who their son was and
they said Wiki! I hiked with Wiki for hundreds of miles! What a coincidence! At
the end of lunch Wiki’s dad pulled out a box of mini liquor bottles and let us
each choose one. Best trail angels ever!
I hiked alone most of the day on June 8 and encountered
seven deer at different points standing on or near the trail! Like I said, the
deer in the Shenandoahs don’t fear humans at all. I hope the bears aren’t as
chummy.
I stopped for lunch at another camp store along the trail. Sherpa was
there and said that yesterday was one of his worst days on the trail. He said
some southbounders told him about some amazing trail magic at the next road
crossing. He got there but there was nothing there! He thought maybe they had
the wrong road crossing so he continued to the next road. Still nothing! I
broke the news to him that there had been trail magic, but when Wiki and his
group showed up his parents probably packed up and drove them into town. Poor
Sherpa. At least the mystery is now solved.
Bluebird loves relish and her birthday is coming up, so I
snagged a bunch of relish packets from the camp store to give to her for her
birthday. I left four for anyone else that might want to use it. Muffin Man and
Bluebird showed up shortly thereafter and went into the store. When Muffin Man
came out, he handed Bluebird four relish packets. He said, “They only had four
left.” LOL Oops! I guess Bluebird got ALL the relish. She won’t know about the
stuff I took until next week though.
I walked over a mile each way to take a shower on June 8. I
even had to pay for the shower. That’s when you KNOW you need a shower. It felt
amazing though and I have no regrets! I did have to put on dirty old clothes,
but every little bit of cleanliness helps me feel slightly more normal.
On June 10 we stopped at the Skyland Resort for lunch. I
went into their bathrooms, took one look in the mirror, and stripped off my
shirt to do sink laundry. The sweat stains were just too much. I was standing
there in my sports bra, so luckily the only other person to enter the bathroom
was a fellow thru-hiker. She completely understood. I put back on my wet but
somewhat clean shirt and went outside to dry in the sun. It didn’t take long at
all given how hot and sunny it’s been recently. I had my tent fly spread out on
a rock next to me to dry as well. I felt like a lizard and very much like hiker
trash, but at this point I don’t let things like that bother me much.
The local newspaper was at Skyland photographing some
blueberry icecream pie. The restaurant was closed at the time, so my friends
inquired where they had acquired the dessert. The photographer said she’d be
right back, and when she returned she simply handed the dessert to them. I
walked in just in time to get in on the action. The photographer took photos as
six thru-hikers demolished the pie in under 60 seconds. It never stood a
chance!
June 11 was a fun day! I hiked most of it with just
Bluebird. It was fun to have a “girls’ hike.” We saw deer and even a bear early
on in the day. We also stopped at an overlook called Mary’s Rock so I could
journal and Bluebird could take a catnap. It was clear when we arrived but
covered in fog as we left. It was fun to watch the clouds roll in so quickly.
It stormed that night and many of my friends’ tents got
flooded out or collapsed. I wanted a bit of separation from the group and just
happened to pitch my tent on the high middle ridge of an old gravel road. The
rush of water channeled through the lower tire ruts on either side of me and I
stayed high and dry! I needed to pee before bed and just decided to pee in my
vestibule. The rain water running down the road flushed out the pee. It was
like having indoor plumbing! Sorta.
It was still raining as I packed up and left the morning of
June 12. I hiked with a guy named Owl Bear for a few hours. He’s a super nice
guy from Georgia. We decided we’d try to hitch in to Front Royal, VA together
when we reached the road. My group had a reservation there so that we could
take a zero on Bluebird’s 25th birthday. When we arrived at the
road, Wing It, Owl Bear, and I were able to join on to another group’s hitch in
the back of a pickup. We didn’t have to wait for a ride at all! When the rest
of the group caught up in town, we had a lazy day watching movies in our rooms
and watching live music in one of the local bars.
June 13, Bluebird’s birthday, started with a bang.
Literally. Early in the morning, someone started beating on our door. I let
Bluebird answer it, figuring it was the boys wishing her a happy bday. It was,
but we both went back to sleep after saying hello. Later, we presented her with
our gifts. The guys had passed around a card and had a bunch of thru-hikers
sign it. They also got her vegan-friendly food, made her a vodka-filled
watermelon, and gave her a pouch of margarita. I gave her some relish packets
and a blue titanium spork (she has already broken two plastic sporks) wrapped
in a blue bandana. I managed to find a felt bluebird “card” at the grocery
store that I clipped to the front. She now has it clipped to her backpack.
That afternoon, we walked to the local movie theater and
watched The Fault in Our Stars. It was a good but sad movie about teenagers
living with cancer. That night, we ate some Japanese food and then howled at
the moon at Bluebird’s request. It was Friday the 13th and a full
moon after all! It definitely seemed appropriate.
The next night we stayed at Dicks Dome Shelter. There was
water EVERYWHERE! It was the land of 1,000 streams. We hiked up behind the
privy to an old gravel road and were able to find dry spots to pitch our tents.
Wing It rigged up a stone oven in the fire pit and baked Bluebird and gluten
free cake for her bday. It was ugly but delicious. We used the candles as
eating utensils to scoop it into our mouths. We also lit some fire crackers he
had been carrying for the occasion.