Day #79 - 85

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 25^th 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 13^th 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.