Craig and Suzy's 2006 Appalachian Trail Journal

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Day	Date	Start	Finish	Miles	Journal	Photo
78	6/5	Campbell Shelter, VA	Daleville, VA/Howard Johnson Hotel	15.4	Day: 79 Date: 6/5/06 Start: Campbell Shelter, VA Weather: Warm temperature, blue skies Finish: Daleville, VA/Howard Johnson Hotel Miles: 15.4 Cumulative A.T. Miles: 714.3 Clay: Today we started out 6 miles south of the Tinker Cliffs. We knew that we had a big day ahead in order to get into town but we were also glad that we decided to not hike over Dragon's Tooth in the rain and thunder the other day. We tried to keep town talk to a minimum so that we would not feel anxious about getting there. We had about seven or more hours of hiking ahead of us. We started early this day hiking with and then leap frogging with Sarah and Mac. The terrain heading towards the cliffs was steep and short both up and down. Nearing the cliffs, there were the giant, tablelike rock slabs familiar to this area jetting out of the mountain at 45-degree angles like the "teeth" of the top of the mountain. As you can imagine, walking on these we sort of tough and it slowed our pace. Nearing the cliffs even more, we walked between and even under several large boulders--great for rock climbing. Some of the rocks were large slabs and others looked like huge ice cubes. Maybe I was dreaming. When we reached the Tinker Cliffs the views were amazing. The ALDHA Hikers Companion says that Revolutionary War deserters hid here. I can see why. From the half-mile stretch of cliff we could see the ridge we hiked yesterday, the back side of valley we saw yesterday, and neighboring mountain ridges. At one cliff, we walked up to a vulture-looking bird. After assuring it that we were not dead and that it should not eat us, we snapped some photos of it. The remainder of the day was difficult and it brought out a sense of satisfaction after completing certain sections. Sarah and Mac decided to sleep in the woods instead of renting a hotel room. So, we bid them adieu. When we got the conveniently located Howard Johnson Hotel, we removed our sweat-soaked clothing and put of dry, less stinky clothes. We had a big "date" to go on. Across from the hotel was Pizza Hut. When we got there, we ordered $34 worth of pizza (soft drink and tip too). We had been in the woods for 7 days, we had hiked 92 miles, and we rationed our food. We were famished. Branch was so tired and so hungry, I noticed that she was eating with he eyes shut at times! We finished a large pizza in about 10 minutes and we ate half of another medium pizza in another 10 minutes. Knowing we'd be hungry later, we decided to save the remainder for later that night. Instead, after we each took showers, deep comatose-like sleep was inevitable. It was a tough week. While Virginia is easier, it is not easy to us thus far.
78	6/3	Pickle Branch Shelter, VA	Campbell Shelter, VA	17	Day: 78 Date: 6/3/06 Start: Pickle Branch Shelter, VA Weather: *BEAUTIFUL*, blue skies, nice breeze, good temperature Finish: Campbell Shelter, VA Miles: 17.0 Cumulative A.T. Miles: 698.9 Clay: This morning we woke up after a good nights rest. I even read 15 chapters of Job yesterday. We woke up feeling great. We were out of the campsite by 7:05 AM. We had a 17-mile day ahead of us and we were ready for the challenges it would offer us. First on the agenda was Dragon's Tooth (3020'). This mountain offered a very technical hike. The spiney-backed ridge top looked like sheets of rock that had burst out of the mountain at 45-degree angles. For a few miles, we had to crawl all over this rock. We even went down two ladders. It was a nice change in scenery. After Dragons Tooth, we ate lunch at a road crossing, got descent water from the area, and we met Tex (from Australia) and Coal (from Colorado). We played hiker leap frog with them throughout the day. They were fun. We hope to see them again. Tonight, at camp, Beernuts, Mary, MacKenzie, Sarah and Toby, Weatherman, and some weekend hikers are here. It was fun hanging out with the first 4 people I mentioned. They are funny. Sarah seems really smart. We talked about Virginia Wolf and Saul Kripke. We even talked about the Kalam Cosmological argument and the historical bodily resurrection of Christ tonight. How refreshing. Branch: I've been dreaming about thru-hiking since I was in the 7th grade. Since then, when I envisioned thru-hiking, Katahdin did not dominate my dreams. While I've done my fair share of dreaming about Katahdin, its been the small milestones that I've imagined myself walking to and experiencing as a thru-hiker. Today we reached one such milestone that I've been thinking about for several years--McAfee Knob. The view from McAfee Knob is probably one of the top 5 photographed views on the trail. Its a huge rock jutting out from the side of a mountain, offering 270 degree views of the valley below. It truly is breathtaking. Today was the second time that we've seen the rock on top of McAfee's Knob. It was the first we've seen the view. About 10 months into our marriage, we decided that we wanted to get a picture of us at McAfee's Knob for a brochure we were printing. So, we took a bit of a vacation to come up. Clay got off work and we drove 13 hours from our apartment in Alabama to the road crossing before the mountain. At first light we began the climb. As we climbed, a rain front was coming in from the west. It was truly a race against the weather. As we got to the top, fog began to overcome the mountain. Despondent, we thought it necessary for us to get at least one picture of ourselves from the fogged-in overlook. However, as Clay pulled out the camera, rain began to fall in buckets from the sky. He managed to take one, peopleless shot as we clambered away from the rock. Depressed, we trudged back to the truck and got a room at Holiday Inn to dry out. That was three years ago. This time could not have been more different. The skies were blue, the clouds were puffy, and the air was crisp making the view spectacular. I felt like a victorious thru-hiker having hiked almost 700 miles to earn this view. I felt at peace watching birds ride air streams below us, looking at farms in the world far below, and basking in the loving Creator's magnificent Creation. Looking back, I'm glad that God caused the view to be obscured from us the first time we visited here. It was much more meaningful to earn it and view it today for the first time.
79	6/4	Campbell Shelter, VA	Daleville, VA/Howard Johnson Hotel	15.4	Day: 79 Date: 6/5/06 Start: Campbell Shelter, VA Weather: Warm temperature, blue skies Finish: Daleville, VA/Howard Johnson Hotel Miles: 15.4 Cumulative A.T. Miles: 714.3 Clay: Today we started out 6 miles south of the Tinker Cliffs. We knew that we had a big day ahead in order to get into town but we were also glad that we decided to not hike over Dragon's Tooth in the rain and thunder the other day. We tried to keep town talk to a minimum so that we would not feel anxious about getting there. We had about seven or more hours of hiking ahead of us. We started early this day hiking with and then leap frogging with Sarah and Mac. The terrain heading towards the cliffs was steep and short both up and down. Nearing the cliffs, there were the giant, tablelike rock slabs familiar to this area jetting out of the mountain at 45-degree angles like the "teeth" of the top of the mountain. As you can imagine, walking on these we sort of tough and it slowed our pace. Nearing the cliffs even more, we walked between and even under several large boulders--great for rock climbing. Some of the rocks were large slabs and others looked like huge ice cubes. Maybe I was dreaming. When we reached the Tinker Cliffs the views were amazing. The ALDHA Hikers Companion says that Revolutionary War deserters hid here. I can see why. From the half-mile stretch of cliff we could see the ridge we hiked yesterday, the back side of valley we saw yesterday, and neighboring mountain ridges. At one cliff, we walked up to a vulture-looking bird. After assuring it that we were not dead and that it should not eat us, we snapped some photos of it. The remainder of the day was difficult and it brought out a sense of satisfaction after completing certain sections. Sarah and Mac decided to sleep in the woods instead of renting a hotel room. So, we bid them adieu. When we got the conveniently located Howard Johnson Hotel, we removed our sweat-soaked clothing and put of dry, less stinky clothes. We had a big "date" to go on. Across from the hotel was Pizza Hut. When we got there, we ordered $34 worth of pizza (soft drink and tip too). We had been in the woods for 7 days, we had hiked 92 miles, and we rationed our food. We were famished. Branch was so tired and so hungry, I noticed that she was eating with he eyes shut at times! We finished a large pizza in about 10 minutes and we ate half of another medium pizza in another 10 minutes. Knowing we'd be hungary later, we decided to save the remainder for later that night. Instead, after we each took showers, deep comatose-like sleep was inevitable. It was a tough week. While Virginia is easier, it is not easy to us thus far.
81	6/6	Fullhardt Knob Shelter, VA	Cove Mountain Shelter, VA	19.9	Day: 81 Date: 8/6/06 Start: Fullhardt Knob Shelter, VA Weather: breezy, blue skies, perfect Finish: Cove Mountain Shelter, VA Miles: 19.9 Cumulative A.T. Miles: 739.2 Branch: Today was our biggest day yet. Yeah! Even though the miles only say 19.9, I'm calling it a 20-miler. I know we walked more than 20 miles today if you count mileages to shelters and to water. Even better than our first 20 mile day, today we reached the 1/3 point on the trail! Praise God for getting us this far. This morning was most likely the last time in a while that we'll see the group of younger people that we've been hanging out with. They were up pretty late last night sharing 5 liters of wine and dancing on the roof of the shelter. So, I don't believe that they will get very far today. Sara and her dog, Toby plan to get off the trail on Friday. We will definitely miss her. The wildlife sightings were pretty cool today. We saw several deer throughout the day. Some stared at us inquisitively while others bolted as soon as they heard us coming. Countless chipmonks and squirrels ran around the trail today. We even saw a huge turkey. I felt like Snow White on the the Disney version of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs as she wandered through the woods surrounded by nice, happy little creatures. While the miles were quite easy today, by the time we got to the shelter my feet felt like two balls of angry nerves at the end of my legs. I got some new shoes yesterday, so it will probably take some time to get them broken in. So, by the time we got to the shelter, we were both exhausted. We pulled in, Clay set up the tent and hung the bear bag while I cooked some tortalini and mashed potatoes for dinner (by the way, tortalini is a winner on the trail!). There was no energy for socializing with the very nice section hikers in the shelter (There were no other thru-hikers than us at this waterless shelter tonight. Clay carried in an extra 2-liters of water.). After dinner, we immediately went to the tent and Clay has been taking great care of my ailing feet. I'm sure we'll sleep well tonight. Clay: After Trail Days a lot of people dropped off the trail and, as we go north, even more people are dropping off the trail. People are cetainly segregating into "tribes". It is sort of like being on a live version of the reality television show Survivor. Right now we are loosely a part of a young group in ther twenties and we are loosely part of a group in their sixties. These two groups are separated by about a day. So, any time that we want to visit the younger or old tribe, we either speed up or slow down. We are welcome in both. The older tribe was recentluy formed and is composed of Bigfoot, Grey Goose, Handlebar (because of his mustache), and Veto (because he saus "no" to a lot of opportunites). Handlebar is sort of the leader of the group. Since he has been leading the group, they have been very consistent in doing their daily miles. They eat at 5:30 PM, look at their maps until around 7 PM, they go to bed around 8 PM and they get up around 5:30 AM. Since this group formed, while they accept us, they are not as open and fun as they used to be prior to this groups recent formation. Maybe they are just more serious about their hike nowadays. We are trying to catch and surpass the older group this week. Tonight they are three miles north of us. They are camping next to a stream. In order to catch them we will have to hike 17, primarily uphill miles tomorrow over Apple Orchard Mountain (4200') and under the famous Guillotine (a boulder we will have to walk under). The younger group that we temporarily left this morning is much different. They sometimes go to bed around 11 PM and get up later. On other days they will go to bed early and get up early. They are a fun group composed of Sarah (and her dog Toby), Mary, MacEnzie (or Mac), Beernuts (or Jedadiah), and Dan (he's an Eagle Scout). The drama in this group is interresting. Beernuts likes Mary but Mary is a little coy. Sarah is leaving the trail soon because she's joined the Peace Corps. If Beernuts and Mary become an item, then who will Mac and Dan hike with? They are a very fun group and we love being around them. We wished that we could have told Sarah goodbye this morning but we did not want to wake her. We hope the best for her. We will probably see the rest of this group in the Shanadoahs or soon after. If we continue to push another day north past the older fellows, we will catch a druggie group--the "First in Flights". They smoke marijuana during the day and at night. Although the members of this group are nice, it's difficult to hold conversations with someone that is stoned. A day past these guys is Model T (69 year old, 3-time thru-hiker who has written 2 books) and Ranger Dawg (Retired Army Special Forces). We feel like we are loosely a part of their group too. I absolutely love Ranger Dawg. These guys hike 15-17 miles a day, they rarely take a zero, and they are our gauge showing our progess. If we get too far behind them, we get worried. We never get too far ahead of these guys. After tomorrow, they will be 1.5 days ahead of us. We hope to catch them. Their schedule is our schedule. So, in summary, the group that is most south is the young people, then the older guys, then the druggies, and Model T is most north in our range of groups we are hanging out with.
82	6/7	Cove Mountain Shelter, VA	Thunder Hill Shelter, VA	17.2	Day: 82 Date: 6/7/06 Start: Cove Mountain Shelter, VA Weather: blue skies in the morning, rain and wind in the afternoon, clear and windy evening Finish: Thunder Hill Shelter, VA Miles: 17.2 Cumulative A.T. Miles: 756.4 Branch: Today was a day of long, uphill climbing. Oddly though, we were actually thankful for the uphill. Downhills are much more pounding to the feet, joints, and body and we always find ourselves more tired at the bottom than at the top. I guess the highlight of the day was running into the trail crew keeping working on the trail. We had just finished our lunch and had began walking up the mountain when we heard a chainsaw in the distance. Thinking that we might be near someone's home we thought nothing of it and kept going. As we walked we got closer to the sound until we turned a corner and saw 5 or 6 people from the Natural Bridge ATC each working extremely hard to keep the trail clean. Clay had I had just been talking about how wonderful the trail has been since we got into their section. We spent some time talking with the very nice individuals before trotting North on some super well maintained trail. Tonight we caught back up with Big Foot, Grey Goose, Handlebar, and Veto. It was nice to see familiar faces when we got to the shelter. Clay has already passed out fast asleep. I think that I will join him in dream land. The sun sure does come up fast and I love to sleep. Clay: We began hiking this morning around 8 AM and we finished hiking around 7 PM. One of our friends back home alluded that we must have a lot of time to read and a lot of time to write on the trail (I am writing this at 5:30 AM). I have certainly not found this to be the case. To me, trail life can be summarized by the phrase, "perpetual motion and perpetual recovery". After we hike, we make time for everything else according to priority. Today was a fun, yet difficult, uphill day. The uphill started at Jenning's Creek (951'). The trail was some of the most well kept yet! The highlight for me was crossing over Apple Orchard Mountain (4225') and going under the famous Guillotine boulder (4090'). When we got to Thunder Hill Shelter (3960'), the older group consigned us to tent behind the shelter. They even "helped us" to find a space. I can surely understand these four men wanting space in a six-person shelter. They were certainly very kind to give us water. We did not have to go to the spring. Since we arrived at 7 PM and had to do chores, conversation was minimal because they go to bed around 8 PM. One fellow mentioned that he saw "The DaVinci Code" and another had read the book. I was glad to hear that they believed that the book was fictional and entertaining. So, I did not feel the need to enter the conversation.
83	6/8	Thunder Hill Shelter, VA	John's Hollow Shelter, VA	16.3	Day: 83 Date: 6/8/06 Start: Thunder Hill Shelter, VA Weather: blue skies in the morning, thunderstorms and rain in the afternoon Finish: John's Hollow Shelter, VA Miles: 16.3 Cumulative A.T. Miles: 772.7 Branch: Usually, when the sun comes up and the birds start to sing, I start waking up and getting ready to hike. This morning, however when the birds started their song, I groaned, put my jacket over my face, and went back to sleep. Once we got going this morning, the miles were very nice. After all the climbing of yesterday, we were paid back with an equal amount of downhill today. The scenery was very nice today we went by and crossed some very nice streams. For lunch, we stopped at Matt's Creek Shelter and I sat by the fairly deep creek watching the 3-4 inch long fish swim about. After lunch, we crossed over the James River Foot Bridge--the longest foot bridge on the A.T.--635 feet. I could tell that Mr. Foot, the man who worked to make the bridge possible, had put countless thankless hours into the endeavor. Clay: As we were hiking down the long, steep descent today (from 3960' to 678'), we met a young college student named Sarah from Liberty Christian University running up the steep ridge. As she passed by us she offered us a ride to town when we all got back to the parking lot. We politely refused the nice offer and we continued on our separate ways knowing that we'd see her again. We caught up to the early-rising retired guy group at Matt's Creek Shelter where we saw the chipper Christian woman again. After introducing herself to the A.A.R.P. crowd, she also offered to take them into town, take them to dinner, and bring them back to the trail! These 'grumpy old men' (I can say this because they are my friends, I care for them, and I'm ribbing them), weary from days of hard hiking, began to become chipper. They must have had a great time. By the time they reached John's Hollow Shelter in the rain that night, they were lively and fun! What happened? These guys were in a great mood because of the kind deed that this nice Christian college student did for them. The conversation this night at the shelter was light-hearted and fun. Thanks Sarah!
84	6/9	Johns Hollow Shelter, VA	U.S. 60/Buena Vista, VA	20.1	Day: Day 84 Date: 6/9/06 Start: Johns Hollow Shelter, VA Weather: Clear, blue skies, and warm (low-80s) Finish: U.S. 60/Buena Vista, VA Miles: 20.1 Cumulative A.T. Miles: 792.8 Clay: Job 19.17 says, "My breath is offensive to my wife." Today I would like to talk about cleanliness, or lack of it, on the trail. Since we are on foot, it is difficult to get around town to do chores, and we stay dirty every day on the trail, we don't shower, brush our teeth, or wash our clothes at every possible opportunity. We don't wear deodorant because it does not work out here. We brush our teeth about once or twice per week. We wash our outer clothes when convenient--every hundred or so miles. In one long stretch, we did not wash our outer clothes (i.e. shorts, shirts) from Hampton, TN until Pearisburg, VA. Our under clothes (i.e. socks and underwear), we wash as frequently as possible. Sometimes we wash our undergarments in sinks, tubs, streams, or we will put water and biodegradable camp soap in Ziploc bags and wash them there. We constantly try to keep our hands, face, undercarriage, and feet clean. We use baby wipes or Purell waterless cleanser for these daily cleanings. As soon as we get to town and we rent a hotel room, we desire a shower. You would not believe the amount of dirt and salt that comes off of us. One of our friends said that she is not going to shower for about two weeks. Hikers do not smell each other but we do smell town folks either on the trail or while in town. They smell like chemicals--harsh soaps or perfumes. Since our senses are heightened from being in the woods, we tend to not like these smells. We prefer the smells of natural scents--like flowers or sweet shrub. I can see why hikers are so odd to town folks. We stink and we don't care so much while we are on the trail trying to achieve our goals. In order to achieve our goals certain sacrifices have to be made. What is valued quite basic out here--safety, shelter, water, food, and good companionship with God and people. When we get back to the "real" world, we plan on focusing on the basics in life. Christ talked about cups being clean on the inside and dirty on the outside in reference to our bodies and souls. Although we are dirty in our external appearance, we are attempting to keep our souls sparkling clean by reading the Bible, praying, confessing our sins, and asking the Holy Spirit to empower us moment-by-moment.

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