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June
25, 1983 Saturday (1433.9 mtg) From
Gonzo!s Appalachian Trail journal
Decided
last night to allow myself to enjoy the novelty of the motel bed
a little longer this morning since it was comfortable, and I was
paying for it. I also did not want to force George to get up any
earlier than he wanted to. I woke up at 6:30 am and ate the raspberries
I had picked yesterday along with a jelly sandwich for breakfast.
Brushed my teeth, got things packed back into my backpack, said
"see ya later at Bobbletts Gap Lean-to", and headed down
to the Greenway for one last stop to pick up a couple of those 15
cent ice cream bars that they carried in the freezer. The bars went
down good as I walked and ate. A short distance after the turnoff
leading to the post office, I started hitching and secured a ride
to the trail intersection. Must have started walking between 7:30
and 8:00 am and the heat was already becoming intense. My boots
stuck to the black tar road as I walked the road out of the area.
Bootprints could be seen as I pulled each step away from the pavement
with some effort. Along the way I noticed a 1
½ foot long rattlesnake that was more than just stuck to
the tar, but had been embedded by couple of passing tires. Apparently
someone must have stopped to check it out and removed the rattles,
there were none. I looked out over a cornfield alongside of the
road and noticed that the peaks of only two mountains could be seen
rising above the cornstalks. The only thing I could think of was
how much it reminded me of a pair of breasts - as if a giant woman
were laying somewhere beyond the cornfield. The heat was that intense!
I was glad when the roadwalk ended.
It was a nice, sweaty, graded climb up Fulhard's Knob to the shelter
located there. I stopped at the shelter for a slight break. While
at Fulhard's Knob Shelter, John, Mr. Machismo came strolling in
from the north. Apparently, he had lost his motivation and the twenty-five
miles per day were just too much for him. He was thinking about
calling it quits. I ate a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, my most
common trail lunch, and split. The area traversed in the last few
days is one of the toughtest to overcome as far as mental conditioning
is concerned. If you can make it past this hurdle, your chances
of becoming one of the few to complete the whole trail are pretty
good.
I continued on along a ridgecrest after my break. For five or six
miles the trail was mostly on the ridge, dropping down to Wilson
Creek before a steady climb back toward the ridge at Blackhorse
Gap. A mile or so past the gap I saw the road crossing at Taylor's
Mountain overlook. In hopes of trading stories for food, I talked
some folks who had driven to the overlook to check out the view.
We talked for a little while before moving on to the next overlook.
It is customary around this area, all through the area that the
trail parallels skyline drive and all of it's overlooks, to take
on the persona of "Yogi the Bear" and see what you can
scavenge from the public. My first attempt was unsuccessful. I soon
emerged from the woods at Montvail Overlook to find a family eating
a picnic there. I put on the charm and was offered a piece of fried
chicken and an ice cold coke! Such a deal! From there it was only
a couple of miles to Bobbletts Gap Lean-to where I met Scott, a
southbound hiker, eating lunch. We swapped info about what was in
store for each other in their prospective directions. He almost
had me convinced to move on today for another six miles to Cove
Mountain Lean-to. It was only three-thirty. I could have made it
easy, but I had told George I would meet him at Bobletts Gap Shelter.
Much later he finally arrived and I was glad to have the company.
Seventeen miles was enough today.
Success rate today for my "yogi-ing" skill - 50%.
Gonzo!
Appalachian Trail Journals ©1983
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