.November 11, 2006
Today was an absolutely wonderful day on the trail. The weather was gorgeous, there were tremendous views, and I had some company for a change. Lynn is great company of course but where she is crewing me, I usually only get to see her for the beginning and end of my hike. But today, Sue (Runtrails) will be guiding me along this section of trail. When I was in Virginia back in September, I jumped further south so I could hike with her as she guided me up to McAfee Knob. This left a 10 mile section that I had completed that was disconnected from everything else I had done in Virginia. After today everything that I have completed in Virginia will be connected (at least for now). We left the Pizza Hut parking lot a little after 8 and crossed busy US 220. Here's a look up to Tinker Mountain and the ridge we will be hiking today.
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After about 15 minutes we reached Tinker Creek where Lynn and Madison headed back. Sue and I continued on and came to a register where I signed in. Sue made a comment that it was Veterans Day, and I added that Veterans Day was also my birthday so she wished me a happy birthday! Next was our first big climb which brought us up about 700 feet over a mile or so. So far my knee seemed to be holding up. After how sore it was yesterday I was worried about how it would do today. To help with the swelling and pain, Sue and Jim gave me some ibuprofin (or 'Vitamin I' as they call it). Sue also let me borrow her knee brace. I rested my knee last night and put an ice pack on it. I knew these ultrarunners would have some tips. My own ideas to help my knee today where to use both my hiking poles opposed to my usual one and I switched from my trail shoes to my trail boots which have a thicker sole to absorb some of the shock.
After a few more smaller ups and down we came to Hay Rock Overlook which provided a great view of Carvin Cove Reservoir.
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What a gorgeous spot! I think this is my favorite spot in Virginia, at least so far. This may change, I am looking forward to another trip when I will reach Mount Rogers and the wild ponies. With such a great view Sue and I decided to take each other's picture.
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This is where it is shows that Sue is clearly a better photographer than I am. In the picture I took, I didn't have her stand close enough to the cove and she came out real small. By the time I cropped the picture I missed the cove completely. Sorry about that Sue.
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Here's a view to the east and slightly south to Fullhardt Knob that I descended yesterday.
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~ ~ There were lots and lots of great views today.
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Sue and I had a great time talking about the AT although with the constant rustle of the leaves our conversation was filled with a lot of "What was that?". It was so great to have someone on the trail with me, great company and great to have a guide since she has done this section many times. And of course it is always nice to have someone in your pictures to give things some scale like this large rock. Thanks Sue.
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~ ~ We came to a very steep spot and I wasn't sure how I was going to get down with me sore knee. Sue suggested I sit on my rear and slide down. I was sliding down when I heard Sue say ,"Wait, wait, wait." Then I realized she was setting me up for a picture.
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~ ~ Beautiful Virginia countryside
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Sue had me go ahead of her a couple of times although I think she may have been setting me up for another picture.
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This was odd. We came to some old boots hanging from a tree. Where did this hiker go? Since hiking barefoot would hurt, isn't it kind of difficult to forget your boots?
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Lynn says the above picture reminds her of Enoch in the Bible.
"And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him." Gen. 5:24 A little Bible trivia, have you heard the expression 'as old as Methuselah'? Methuselah was the oldest man recorded in the Bible at 969 years of age. Well, Enoch was his father. Considering the age of Methuselah I am assuming Enoch taught his son to eat his veggies.
We met two hikers today. Lynn had met them yesterday at the Daleville trailhead. There was a man and woman. The man completed the AT in 2003 and the woman has 800 miles left. Sue completed it in 2005 so that left me in last place with about 950 miles completed. But hey at least I am getting close to the 1,000 mile mark.
The views just keep coming.
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We dropped down in elevation a little to Sawmill Brook....
... crossed a bridge ...
...and headed up to Lamberts Meadow Shelter.
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At the shelter I sat at the table to enjoy a piece of fruit. I heard a noise in the bushes. I looked up to see a deer walking right toward me. I am so used to deer just running off. The only other time I saw deer like this was at Shenandoah National Park.
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Next I checked out the privy. Sue and Jim volunteer with the Roanoke Appalachian Trail Club and helped build this one. For more on that visit her link for Prep #18 Trail Maintenance. Notice there is no door. Sue and Jim joke that it is a bathroom with a view.
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We made the final push up to Scorched Earth Gap. This looks familiar. I was here with Sue about two months ago when she guided me up to McAfee Knob.
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We began the bonus miles down the Andy Layne Trail when Lynn called.
"How's your knee holding up?" she asked.
"Wonderful" I said and then added "Sue's carrying me."
We all got a good laugh. The trail down was steep in places and bothered my knee some, but not like yesterday. We made the climb down and crossed a stream.
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Just after this we met Lynn and Madison coming the other way. We made another climb up yet another hill and made our way back to the car. Sue said she wasn't in the shape she was a couple of months ago while hiking the Colorado Trail. I'm kind of glad she wasn't. She sets a quick pace. She and Jim are in such good shape. I want to be like them when I grow up.
On the way back to their house we stopped for dinner at a fundraiser for Jim's volunteer fire and rescue squad. They served a great meal of chicken, green beans, cole slow, rolls, mashed potatoes with gravy, and various desserts. A great deal all for only six bucks. That night Lynn put together a birthday platter of goodies for me. She gave me some wonderful hiking socks. Normally you think socks are just socks, but these were really, really nice. Sue put together a birthday card for me and printed off some of the pictures from today's hike. The photos were so professional. She either has a really nice photo printer or a darkroom hidden in her house. The pictures looked like they came straight from the photo lab. This was such a great birthday spending it with Lynn, Sue, and Jim, doing what I love most, hiking.
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