4/12/00
Day 21
Cow Camp Gap Shelter
212.2 Miles

Well, let me catch you up to date.  On Saturday, when I left Waynesboro, they were predicting heavy rain, possible thunderstorms, and a drop in temperature for the afternoon.  So I did an easy 5 miles into the Paul C. Wolfe Shelter and arrived around noon.  Thinking that I'd write a letter or two, I settled in, believing that no one else would come along because of the lousy forecast.  By sunset there were 11 people in the shelter (including 2 very young children) and 3 dogs.  Because we were passing the time with conversation I didn't get any writing done.  It got colder and colder, and by morning it was quite a scramble to get packed up so I could start hiking and warm up.  I had a long day ahead of me.  The trail was crunchy underfoot as an inch of hoar frost had risen up from wherever the ground had gotten soaked.  A big series of switchbacks to climb up to Humpback Mount, then more up and down to get to Maupin Field Shelter.  My second 15 mile day!  As if that wasn't enough, I walked an old fire road and along the Blue Ridge Parkway for another 2.5 miles to get to "Rusty's Hard Time Hollow."

I can't remember the euphemism Rubin used in his book to describe Rusty ("The Old Wizard?") but I remembered his impression of the place as being past its former glory.  True, there were a lot of signs spelling out various rules and prohibitions, but many of them were tongue-in-check.  And anybody who has played host to thousands of rowdy visitors over the years has probably encountered problems and annoyances that they'd just as soon not repeat.

What was driving me on to Rusty's was the memory of how cold it had been that morning and the hope that I could find someplace to sleep inside four walls to block the wind, with perhaps a wood stove burning.  When I got there, the other two AT hikers there were Penguin and Bear Charmer.  And since Bucky and Bear Charmer were old friends with Rusty, that gave me an "in" for acceptance.  Quite worn out, I arrived in time for dinner, and got a special treat.  Rusty said he hadn't done any fishing in years, but that afternoon while he and "Phantom" were waiting to pick up Penguin at the Tye River, they had caught a bunch of rainbow trout.  So with a couple of baked fillets and some cole slaw in my belly, I was quite pleased to leave the ramen noodles in my food bag.

You might be wondering what I am eating so far.  Would it surprise you to learn that I have not yet eaten any mac-and-cheese?  I don't like to cook anything that can burn in the pot or be hard to clean up after.  Ideally I like anything that I can pour boiling water into, let sit for five minutes, then begin chomping.  So couscous is a favorite item.  When I can find a health food store in town I buy some TVP (you probably know what that is) [texturized vegetable protein] and throw that into the couscous, or minute rice, or anything else where it won't be distracting.  I've found that a can of chicken mixed into Pepperidge Farms Southwestern Style Cornbread Stuffing is quite satisfying.  I try to make that my first meal after resupplying so I don't have to carry the weight of the can too far.  Rice-a-Roni makes a couple of items using angel hair pasta that only needs to simmer about five minutes.  A little more trouble, but not too bad.  Most of this depends on what chain of supermarket I'm shopping at and what brands they carry.

For breakfast it's always instant milk, mueslix, and banana chips (if I can find them).  Essentially a trail version of what I usually have at home, minus the yogurt and orange juice.  For lunch it's been bagels, with either a piece of cheese or some peanut butter.

I reached a personal milestone yesterday when I finished the last of the gorp I had brought with me from Portland (raisins, dates, walnuts, dried cranberries).  I still have some of the "tropical" gorp I purchased in Front Royal (dried pineapple, almonds, macadamia nuts, banana chips, coconut).  In both cases I committed a grave gorp error.  I bought them because they sounded "healthy," not based on pure taste appeal.  Admittedly, my appetite was not very strong the first week or so.  But from now on my gorp will be judged on caloric wallop only, and will ALWAYS contain chocolate.

I take a multi-vitamin/multi-mineral once a day.  And for my morning break I eat a Balance bar, to get some additional protein, fat, and vitamins into my diet.

I have probably begun to lose some weight, but not so I could notice in the mirror at Waynesboro.  It will be easy enough to tell when I can't pinch flab around my middle anymore.  I started my New Zealand trip weighing 210 and came back at 180, and on that trip I wasn't hiking every day.  Afterwards, a rigorous diet of mixed nuts and Ben & Jerry's Phish Food had brought my weight back up to about 220 before I started this trip.  I look forward eagerly to losing some of this lard.  If I can't lighten my pack any further by discarding items, the only other way to decrease the workload for my feet and legs is to lighten up myself.

As for muscle development, I did notice the other day while sitting on a rock that when I flexed my ankle my calf muscle popped up into view.  It's not massively bulging yet, just defined in a way that it wasn't before.

Anyway, back to the story.

When I left Rusty's, he gave me a ride along the BRP up to the fire road.  5 feet down the road and I realized I had forgotten my hat at his place, so I had to stash my pack and then walk all the way back, roundtrip, to retrieve it.  By the time I got back to the AT at the Maupin Field shelter, it was already 11:00 AM.  I didn't feel strong that day and it was very hard to climb up and then down over Three Ridges Mountain.  I could have stayed at Harpers Creek shelter, but I continued down another couple miles and camped by the Tye river.

The reason I did this was because the next day involved a 3000 foot climb from the Tye up to the peak of a mountain called "The Priest". (Because it brings you to your knees? Because it makes you beg for mercy?).  I camped beside the Tye because I wanted to start that climb with my feet and legs as fresh as possible.

This was my first night using my tent.  It's small, but big enough to sleep in.  It's probably big enough for me to prop up on an elbow do some reading or writing, but I fell right asleep.  It's too small to bring any gear in, so it would be a real bitch trying to keep stuff dry if it was raining while I packed up in the morning.

The climb the next morning was long, but went pretty well.  For the record, it began by going "Up on Cripple Creek" (for you fans of The Band).  Passed a surprising number of people going the other way.  Apparently, some kids are still on their spring break.  On the way up I passed "Mad Max", a woman I had met that crowded night at the Paul C. Wolfe shelter.  She, her dog "Casey", and I shared the Seely-Woodworth shelter last night.

It rained a bit overnight, and morning skies looked grim, but it actually turned out to be an excellent day of hiking.  The sun eventually came out and the Trail was much easier than the last few days.  In the afternoon we crossed a couple of "balds" on Tar Jacket ridge and Cold Mtn. that afforded fine views of the nearby ridges and valleys.

Tonight it looks like Mad Max, Casey, and I will be the only ones at this shelter.  Mad Max is in her 60's and she had previously hiked from Springer to Damascus before she left the Trail last year.  Now she's back and section-hiking Southbound from Rockfish Gap to Damascus.  I may end up seeing her often between here and there, as she's at least as strong a hiker as I am at this point.