Go To Journal for March/April 1999
Date:
June 1, 1999Travel From:
Bear Wallow GapTo:
Peaks of OtterNumber of Miles Hiked On Appalachian Trail:
0 milesAdditional Miles:
6 milesAM Weather:
60'sPM Weather:
80'sCondition of Trail:
Walked Blue Ridge ParkwayBreakfast:
AYCE at Peaks of OtterLunch:
skipped it, still working off breakfastDinner:
hot dogs, beans, potato salad and sodaSnacks:
sodaPeople I Met:
Van Go & Abby, Scotty, March Hare, Snow Bear, White Pine, Yellow BlazeAnimals:
Notes of the Day:
Up at 5:30 and hiked 6 miles on Blue Ridge Parkway before AYCE breakfast at Peaks of Otter. It was a good belly busting meal to be sure:) Called and talked to Barbara, Nana and Trey this morning at Nana's. It was real good talking with Barbara, Nana and Trey. Got homesick during phone call. Decided to catch up on personal business today and make it a low mileage day. A good day to just relax and catch up on things. It was different driving with Van Go today in his camper. Accomplished all that I wanted to and enjoyed good conversation and laughter with Van Go and the rest of the crew. We stayed at Wildwood Campground just outside Glasgow, VA. They are very friendly and supportive of hikers. Set-up Nomad as we are supposed to have rain during the night. Hitting the hay early. Nite AllMain Concern of the Day:
All is good today.Date:
June 2, 1999Travel From:
Petites Gap Blue Ridge ParkwayTo:
Highway 501Number of Miles Hiked On Appalachian Trail:
0 milesAdditional Miles:
10 milesAM Weather:
60's partially cloudyPM Weather:
80's cloudy, 4-6 pm thunderstormCondition of Trail:
Walked on Blue Ridge ParkwayBreakfast:
turkey bacon, toast and coffeeLunch:
pop tarts and sodaDinner:
pepperoni, cheese, crackers, sodaSnacks:
snickers, pop tarts & sodaPeople I Met:
Van Go & Gang, Ken (Trail Angel), Pace, To Hot To Handle, Williams Family Trail Angel, Towhoo, Dog Bone, Waterfall, Tagalong, Walking Home, Peach Fuzz, AngusAnimals:
Notes of the Day:
Walked on the Blue Ridge Parkway (BRP) again today. I walked the AT when I as traveling southbound. I decided it would be different and give me a different perspective to the area. Walking the BRP does afford you a much different scenic view of the area. Of course it's a much easier walk than hiking the trail. An enjoyable change of pace. I'm enjoying the company of Van Go & Gang. After giving serious thought I've decided to change course and head south again to Springer Mountain. I would have enjoyed staying with Van Go & Gang all the way to Canada. First I'll finish the AT and then consider other trails to hike. I'll hang with Van Go & Gang while they stay at Rusty's and then make arrangements to get south to Catawba and continue my hike south. It's been fun running into hikers I passed earlier when I was hiking south and they see me going north now. I just explain to them that I'm directional impaired and can't decide which way I want to hike:)I met up with Van Go at the AT trailhead after walking on the BRP and a group of hikers started to appear from the trail. We ferried a 2 groups into Glasgow for resupply and stay at motel. Tagalong, Waterfall and their dog were part of group 1. It was good to see them as it reminded me of the GREAT POUND CAKE I received from Tagalongs Mom & Dad. That was GREAT POUND CAKE for sure:)
After the day's hike we went to Buena Vista to stay at a campground. They didn't have enough tent sites so we decided to stay at motel. We hadn't been at the motel 1/2 hour and some heavy thunderstorms arrived with heavy rains. Had some din din and hit the sack.
Main Concern of the Day:
No, it was an enjoyable dayDate:
June 3, 1999Travel From:
Blue Ridge Parkway mile marker 40To:
Blue Ridge Parkway mile marker 30Number of Miles Hiked On Appalachian Trail:
0 milesAdditional Miles:
10 milesAM Weather:
50's, partly cloudyPM Weather:
70's, partly cloudyCondition of Trail:
hardly saw a car during walk on BRP todayBreakfast:
coffee & bacon sandwichesLunch:
pop tarts & sodaDinner:
sloppy joe's, steak, mashed potatoes, peas, coffeeSnacks:
snickers & sodaPeople I Met:
Van Go & Gang, Rusty, One, Last Exit, Pale Rider, SY, Thirsty Boots, Grey Lox, Low Rider, Pirate, Semper Fi, MagnoliaAnimals:
Notes of the Day:
Well, today we go to Rusty's. No traffic to speak of on the BRP. Got caught up on paper work after short hike. This early in season the BRP is void of traffic. Arrived at Rusty's around 2pm. Walked down his driveway and read every sign posted. They are hilarious and serious all along the way. His place is in a hollow just off the BRP. Its 19 acres with planted fields, goats chickens, guinea hens, dogs, hot tub, sauna, fire ring, several bunk areas, tent area, thousands of photos of previous & current hikers, spring room, no electricity, gas lamps and wood burning stove. Rusty's is a unique place to say the least. Over 10,000 hikers have visited Rusty's since 1982. He sells his own tee shirts and asks for donations to defray costs. Rusty himself is a very religious and caring individual. He has a special likeness for hikers that has developed over the years. Some hikers stay a day and others never seem to leave. All hikers are welcome and I recommend you visit Rusty's when hiking in the area. We'll be staying here till Monday am. Sunday we'll be going to church with him. I'm trying to arrange a shuttle from Rusty's to Catawba for Monday am. I'm enjoying the visit to Rusty's and the conversations that are taking place are informative and enjoyable. March Hare, White Pine and Snow Bear opted to stay at Comfort Inn in Waynesboro instead of Rusty's.Well it's time to hit the hay. Nite All
Main Concern of the Day:
Nope:)Date:
June 5, 1999Travel From:
Rusty'sTo:
Rusty'sNumber of Miles Hiked On Appalachian Trail:
0 milesAdditional Miles:
0 milesAM Weather:
60'sPM Weather:
70'sCondition of Trail:
Breakfast:
coffee & cerealLunch:
hamburgers & sodaDinner:
hot dogs & sodaSnacks:
candy, soda & pretzelsPeople I Met:
Grey Lok, Van Go Gang except March Hare, and a host of others at Rusty'sAnimals:
Notes of the Day:
A good night's sleep last night. No drugs or alcohol are permitted at Rusty's and it still has that party atmosphere. It's great to see folks having a great fun time without drugs & alcohol involved.Up early again and had time to talk with Grey Lok who I've emailed over the last year. He's from Israel and we had a great conversation for a good while this morning. He'll be going into Waynesboro today and head out for trail Sunday. It's nice to meet people you've communicated with but never met before. It was just an enjoyable day spent at Rusty's. Always remember never use any electronic devices at Rusty's such as computer, video camera, tv or vcr. He doesn't like any of these types of devices and won't allow them to be used on his property.
That's about all for now.
Main Concern of the Day:
Not reallyDate:
June 6, 1999Travel From:
Rusty'sTo:
Rusty'sNumber of Miles Hiked On Appalachian Trail:
0 milesAdditional Miles:
0 milesAM Weather:
70's sunnyPM Weather:
80's sunnyCondition of Trail:
Breakfast:
coffee, Rusty's pancakes & cerealLunch:
peanut butter & jellyDinner:
beans & hotdogsSnacks:
candy & sodaPeople I Met:
Van Go & Gang except March Hare, Rusty, Low Rider, Pirate, Woody, Farley, Woodpacker, Semper Fi Drew, Magnolia, Quik & No Time (Tampon), Maza, Maui Matt, Vertigo, Peach Buzz, Night Crawler, Second Wind, To Hot To Handle, Bronco & I missed some names.Animals:
Notes of the Day:
Sunday is go to Rusty's church day. He attends a Baptist church in a black section of Waynsboro. He took 22 hikers in his pick-up and I went with Van Go & Scotty. Having never been to a black Baptist service it was very interesting indeed. Dancing, chanting, live music and good fellowship was the program. Ran some errands after church and then back to Rusty's. Van Go & Scotty headed out to spend night in Waynesboro. I enjoyed the time spent with them and will miss them. I may pass them as they head north and I flip-flop?Some of the campers were playing instruments tonight and the sounds were good.
Just enjoyed the conversations and off to bed. I'm sleeping on back porch on one of the bunks set up there. Time to hit the hay. Nite All
Main Concern of the Day:
Another good day enjoyed at Rusty'sDate:
June 7, 1999Travel From:
Rusty'sTo:
Rusty'sNumber of Miles Hiked On Appalachian Trail:
0 milesAdditional Miles:
0 milesAM Weather:
80'sPM Weather:
90'sCondition of Trail:
Breakfast:
cereal and coffeeLunch:
hamburgers & sodaDinner:
noodles & sauceSnacks:
candy & sodaPeople I Met:
Sir-P-Aiot, Redneck, Hyper, Maui Matt Vertigo, Peach Buzz, Nightcrawler, To Hot To Handle, Second Wind, Bronco, By the Numbers, Michael, Cracker, Grim, Spicoli, Frog, Iceman, Wandering Taoist, Bluegrass & Darcie, Dobro, Thirsty Boots, Grey Lox, Sy, Pale Rider, Last Exit, Rusty, Pirate, Low Rider, Timothy mouse, Long Haul, Yahtzee, Hyper, Scott, Billy, Mark, Stiches, Loren, Grim, Barefoot & Captain.Animals:
Notes of the Day:
I'm an early riser, as is Pirate & Rusty; the rest of the gang sleep in. Beautiful day again and it got plenty hot today for sure. Went through my gear and boxed up items to be sent home.I'll send home 1 pair of socks (I'll just ring them out when wet. I've been wearing 1 pair of socks and washing them as needed. The other pair have been saved for town) , 1 capilene silkweight long johns shirt, 1 baseball hat (too hot to wear, in rain I'll hike without my glasses or they'll get wet), Tevas ( I'll be wearing my sneakers New Balance 802 instead of Tevas. I bought them in Roanoke). My left arch is very tender and wearing sneakers offers more support than Tevas. Using hard rubber ball to massage feet helps but this arch is bruised too badly to heal right now.), 1 pair Railrider pants (I haven't worn them enough to warrant keeping them. If bugs are annoying I'll use DEET), silk sleeping bag liner (even though it keeps my sleeping bag clean I'll save weight by sending home) and that's all folks. I didn't weigh it,so I don't know the exact weight but estimate it at 62 ozs. So including adding sneakers to replace Tevas leaves about 40 ozs less in pack. I kept Zephr jacket for now, any how.
I sent home my Journey pack and replaced it with a Mountainlight 3500. I have a lump on my spine from a fracture in 1979. In this hot weather the rubbing of the back of the pack irritates the lump. The Mountainlight 3500 has a chimney back system and nothing touches the lump on my spine. 3500 is more than ample room for my needs. I store my Ridgerest in the pack just to take up room in pack. It's a nice feeling to say 3500 ci pack more than meets my needs. Just a few short years ago I used a 6000+ pack and had gear attached to the outside for weekend hikes.
The heat was intense today. Around 8pm it started to get comfortable. The local musicians were playing again and as before sounded good. Tentative schedule is I leave for Catawba around mid-day? A relaxing chilling out day at Rusty's. Nite Folks
Main Concern of the Day:
A good day.Date:
June 8, 1999Travel From:
Rusty'sTo:
Rusty'sNumber of Miles Hiked On Appalachian Trail:
0 milesAdditional Miles:
0 milesAM Weather:
80's sunnyPM Weather:
90's sunnyCondition of Trail:
Breakfast:
coffee & cerealLunch:
peanut butter & jellyDinner:
Snacks:
soda & candyPeople I Met:
Rusty, Low Rider Pirate, Timothy Mouse, Stitches, Loren, Long Haul, Yahtzee, Sir-P-ait, Barefoot, Grim, Captain, Darcie & Bluegrass plus dog Dobro, Wandering Taoist, Chile, Husky & dog Cyrus, Sun Hound, Garry & Patty, Zorro, Bearchest, Dirty Bird, Tarheel, MilesAnimals:
Notes of the Day:
Spoke with Timothy Mouse about the fleece liners he makes. I ordered a liner that will suffice in the summer weather and he'll be mailing it later this week. He charges $45 plus postage. I tried one and it should suit my needs. Mine is going to be a left side snap with flap cover and weight is 22 ozs or 3ozs less than my 40 degree down bag. My down bag has developed small punctures that will be attended to when I go home after GA. He'll make the liners to your specifications and has a large assortment of other items he makes from different types of fleece. Anybody interested here is his address:Ryan Williamson AKA Timothy Mouse
5623 Sugar Ridge Road
Crozet, VA 22932
To give you an idea what there is to do at Rusty's: target shooting, work shop to repair just about all your needs, basketball court, hammock, picnic area, extensive reading material, games, cards, goats, chickens, guinea hens, 2 dogs, horse shoes, fire pit, hot tub, cold tub, solar shower, garden, day trips to Waynesboro, day trips to nearby lake, bicycles, thousands of photos each with a special story attached and countless other activities that may interest you while here. It has a relaxed atmosphere that has brought former visitors back for almost 2 decades. I believe there is another visit to Rusty's in my future:)
Did some clean up in kitchen this morning. He has a wood burning and a 2 LP gas burner stove. No electricity on property; he uses kerosene lamps and LP gas lamps for lighting. He's in the process of adding solar panels for the well water system. He uses a 12-volt car battery for radio and tape deck on the back porch. He has 4'x8' sheets of plywood with each year's pictures of thru hikers all over the house and out buildings affixed to ceilings and walls. He has 3 areas that can sleep around 30 hikers. Plus numerous personal signs covering different things one can and can't do at the Hollow. It's a trip and a half in my eyes:)
No transportation to Catawba today. Tomorrow looks like the day to move on. Supposed to be mid 90's next couple of days. I guess summer is here. Some of the hikers hooked up a sound system in backyard and there was dancing in the streets all night long. I slept in the bunkhouse to rear of main house last night. They have a bunkroom & ping pong table on second floor of storage building.
Nite All
Main Concern of the Day:
Not reallyDate:
June 9, 1999Travel From:
Rusty'sTo:
Rusty'sNumber of Miles Hiked On Appalachian Trail:
0 milesAdditional Miles:
5 milesAM Weather:
80's sunnyPM Weather:
101 sunnyCondition of Trail:
Breakfast:
coffee, cereal & blueberry pancakesLunch:
pop tartsDinner:
pizza & sodaSnacks:
snickers & sodaPeople I Met:
Tennessee Walker, Drifter & ShurpanAnimals:
Notes of the Day:
Got ride from Rusty to Troutville around 11 am. Motels in the area are full of hikers. It seems they ALL caught something and are sick as dogs. Vomiting and runs are the order of the day. All are northbounders. The only thing common between them all is Home Place and deli in Catawba next to PO. All ate at Home Place and used backyard outside faucet at deli. Apparently they have symptoms for 24-48 hours. In talking with hikers they say people are dropping like flies all over the trail.I've decided to skip the Home Place & deli this time. No sense in pushing my luck.
Trying to arrange transportation to Catawba from here.
Glad I'm not on trail it reached 102 today. Thursday it's supposed to be more of the same. I see another 0-mile day approaching.
Running errands see you later.
Main Concern of the Day:
NoneDate:
June 10, 1999Travel From:
Rusty'sTo:
TroutvilleNumber of Miles Hiked On Appalachian Trail:
0 milesAdditional Miles:
8 milesAM Weather:
80's sunnyPM Weather:
97 sunnyCondition of Trail:
Breakfast:
coffee & donutsLunch:
poptartsDinner:
fried chickenSnacks:
candy & sodaPeople I Met:
KC & AmazonAnimals:
Notes of the Day:
I spoke to Debbie & Barbara early today. That is always a nice way to start the day. I had heard KC was in town and I ran into her and her friend Amazon near motel. Both are recovering from hiker sickness. It was good once again to meet someone I've been communicating with for a year or so and never met. We caught up with what all are doing and whose where and such. She said this hiker sickness really hit hard and no one escaped it at all. She said a lot of hikers are dropping out lately and going home. I guess the Virginia Blues is taking it toll? They will be heading north in the am and hopefully I'll run into them again on my trip south from ME. Walked to Southern States Store and picked up straw hat for protection. They seem to ventilate better than baseball caps and offer better protection from sun. Before I started this hike I wouldn't have even considered walking 3 miles one way to buy a $4.99 straw hat. On the walk back it was more comfortable wearing straw hat. The hat was made in Australia.Re-sorted my gear and repacked trying to find the best way to store gear and properly distributing weight. Everything fits inside the pack including Ridgerest, 5 days of food, and 1 liter of water with room to spare. I never thought I would say that a 3500ci pack would be more than enough to handle all my gear including 5 days worth of food and water. The joys of lightweight backpacking are worth the time and effort needed to attain lightweight status in my eyes.
I'll be sewing a pair of nylon socks onto my sneakers as gaiters. I saw another hiker do it and it seemed to work quite well. I'll cut the heel to toe section off and just sew the upper section to top of sneakers. Oh, I tied a shoelace to straw hat as a chin strap for winding conditions. That's all for now.
Main Concern of the Day:
Not todayJohn returned home on June 13 for a visit of a couple of weeks with his family. He'll be hitting the trail again soon!