“My Journey Is My Destination...” Day 97

Day 97 10.1miles Blackburn Center

I had rolled my ankle on the way up the last bit of trail last night, didn't hurt too bad last night, but it was sore this morning. I was tired and dragging. When I got to the center I saw 'Princess Brat's' pack, then I heard her yell, "Farsang!" She came running, bear hugged me. She didn't think she would see me for a while.

She had a bad spider bite on her Achilles tendon. It was swollen badly. I met 'Redwing,' and 'Hopeful,' her caretakers, who had also thru hiked. We all pitched in and made a big salad, a pot of spaghetti, and brownies. I had not eaten that good in a while. 'Alpine' and I sat outside on the porch, talked, it was good having them back around.

Day 98 7.9miles Bear's Den Hostel

I had been waiting to stop at the Bear's Den since I heard about it in ME. It's a beautiful rock structure, once owned by a physician, now by the Appalachian Trail Conservancy. I walked with a new southbounder, 'Jack and the Beanstalk,' to the den. When we arrived I noticed two cars with Washington County, TN plates. I later found out they belonged to Howard and Faye of Jonesborough. They had been with Bruce Darby and Tomco in NH. The world gets smaller. At the Bear's Den Hostel I met a man named Dave Apel from Wisconsin. He has been volunteering there for 10 years. He is 83 and loves the place, and the Den loves him. I purposely did not take a picture of him. He is remarkably featured and easy to remember.

Earlier in the day I was sitting outside and saw 'Alpine' running up without his pack. I knew something was wrong. 'Princess Brat' had walked as far as she could. Her joints started aching. Her breathing was tight. We hopped in Dave's van, off to the rescue. We laid her in the van and took her to the Den. 'Alpine' is an EMT and felt that if he lanced the boil to relieve the pressure she may be ok. I held her hand and reminded her of all the good hiking times while he lanced it. Nothing came out. This is bad. The white we are seeing is just dead skin. Brown recluse, we all thought. 'Princess' was very hesitant about going to the doctor, her mom told her otherwise.

Day 99 0 day Bear's Den

'Princess Brat' went to the urgent care and was given oral antibiotics and some other medication. They wanted her to go to the hospital, but she was not having that.

I was going to hike out today, but 'Puck,' 'Cat,' and 'Appleseed' showed up. I spent the day driving around with 'Wisconsin Dave.' He told me he was a logger and two years ago was cutting an "easy tree" when the tree shifted back and fell 14 feet, he was standing at 10 feet. That one instant put him in the hospital three months. I observed how strong he is now and how easily he gets along.

Dave and 'Alpine' had spent the morning splitting logs, lucky Alpine. All the hikers went down to the Bear's Den Cliffs and watched the sunset. When we got back 'Queen Diva,' the manager had made chili for us. We ate our fill. Later Mary Sue played music on her guitar she had written. Some songs really hit close to home. After the music we went down to the cliffs and climbed on the rocks and through the tunnels. We commented on how many hikers had been there but had not realized the labyrinth. Today was a good zero to make new friends.

Day 100 2.8 miles Tent Site at 1,188.2

Couldn't get moving this morning. 'Appleseed,' 'Puck,' and 'Cat' hiked out. 'Alpine' and 'Brat' decided to go back to GA for her to recover. We all went down to the cliffs to say goodbye. We started talking about Mexican food and that sounded good. I had obviously worn out my welcome with Queen Diva, so they picked me up down the road and we headed for Mexican. After eating we headed back down to the cliffs for a real goodbye. I know I'll see them again, but for now I will miss them. They say they will be back Nov. 1st. It was 4:30 pm. Not much time to hike. A storm was coming, so I set up my tent and slept peacefully through the lightning and the thunder.

With all the great people I have met on this journey, I have adopted a few thoughts. One is; the trail is not about the views or the mountains, they will always be here and the trail is my mode of travel, but the people are truly what make this trail. Oh yeah, my other thought; No Hurry, No Worry.

Day 101 17.1 miles Camp at 1,205.3

Slow start. It rained all night. A cold front moved through. I put in my earplugs and hat over my eyes and slept like a baby.

Day 102 23.5 miles Camp at Hogwallow Spring 1,128.8

Spent the day cruising along. I entered Shenandoah National Park. I filled out my official SNP backcountry permit. I was weary of signing it. I didn’t know what rights I was giving up. I also walked by the zoological center that was closed. It housed about 1,000 acres. It was grown up and looked like it had been closed since Bush took office, No Joke!

I felt good on my feet; I even did some real climbing. I was up to 2,950 feet. I haven’t been up here since MA. I was looking for a campsite when I saw a bear move to my right. He saw me and lay down. I walked another 400 feet and saw a mom and 2 cubs. They took off. Then I saw a perfect spot to set camp, maybe not the smartest move, but I camped. It’s good to be in SNP, I’ve heard about it all my life.