Beef Gone, Hiking On

Post date: Jun 19, 2016 12:33:7 AM

Keith arrived Wednesday as scheduled and we got busy preparing for the hike the next day. We arranged with the local police to leave the car in a special lot that they monitor, stocked up on food at Kroger, arranged a ride to the trail with one of the many volunteers in Waynesboro who shuttle hikers around for free. And love to do it. And won't take any money if offered. We then packed up Keith's backpack and slept.

Our volunteer was John Lowdermilk who arrived in a big red Toyota Tundra. Nice guy. He said he has seen three basic groups of hikers: first, those young in their 20's not really knowing what they want to do next in their lives after school, second, and least common, those midlife who are going through some sort of crisis like loss of a job or a divorce and just want to be away from their life of stress, and third, those later in life who are more or less set financially and have raised a family and whose kids are now on their own and so there is an element of freedom that did not exist before. He guessed that we were in group three. He brought us to the trail at Rockfish Gap onThursday morning 6/16 mile 862.

We entered Shenandoah National Park in less than a mile and did an easy 8 mile hike over mostly flat terrain. Midway, we met Gretchen at a road stop who was traveling with her Irish Setter and stopped to walk a short distance on the AT. She offered us water that she had in her car which was nice. On we went to our destination Calf Mountain Shelter. The forecast was for heavy rain and wind that night, so we were happy we had space in the shelter being the first to arrive in early afternoon. Over the afternoon and early evening more and more hikers showed up filling the shelter and forcing many to set up tents despite the forecast. There were section hikers Chuck, a 64 year old soon to do his 100th marathon, and Tony, an ultra distance runner who had done several 100 mile races. Then two guys named Cruiser and Dozer, both thru hikers. Next a guy I had met in the Smokies in April, Kodak, so named for the two cameras he carried, and hiking partner Fire Catcher. Others were a guy with a dog that he inherited on the trail as a stray, Icy who chose to tent even when there was space in the shelter, The Dawn another tenter, two women on the trail for the first day with hammocks they had no idea how to put up correctly, and two guys who arrived late and put up a very large tent while it was raining hard and very windy.

The heavy rain and wind as well as the inevitable snorer made sleeping difficult but the night passed by. The next morning, however, bad news struck. Keith, now known as Beef on the trail, had gotten up in the middle of the night to pee and slipped on a slippery rock injuring his Achilles tendon. What a freak accident!! The next day he could barely walk so it was off the trail for him, back to the car via shuttle, and then starting back to St Louis that same day. Holy Buckets!! The wrath of the trail rears its head again. Will miss brother Keith.

So, I'm on my own again. I did 20 miles Friday, camped at Loft Mountain Campground with a guy named Hamfist from Boston, then 19 today to put me at 907 miles. Today during a stop at mile 904 at the High Top Hut (they are "huts" in the Shenandoah Park instead of shelters) I met a very nice lady named Trooper Dot from Zimbabwe hiking another of many sections of the AT which she has been doing since 1998. She had done a total of just over 1000 miles and said this was likely her last, because she was having some ankle problems this time at her age which I conservatively guess is the mid seventies! She made me think of Grandma Gatewood.

At 907, I saw a hiker in dreadlocks named Pine Cone who I recognized from the first week or two of my hike. He was getting back on the trail after a few days off in his hometown Elkton which was just down the road. So, his Dad, who was dropping him off, gave me a ride a few miles to where I am presently staying- the Country View Motel.

Tomorrow it's on to 928, Rock Spring Hut, if all goes well.