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June
30, 1983 Thursday (1329.8 mtg) From
Gonzo!s Appalachian Trail journal
Judging
by the standards set during the last few days of trail, today's
section was a piece of cake. There were no long up or downhill sections.
The only real problem was tall grass. The problem with tall grass
is interesting. After a rain, and particularly after a heavy morning
dew, tall grass will get your feet more wet than if you had just
been hiking in the rain. Even if it is raining and you walk through
the grass you don't seem to get as wet as the next morning. Whatever
the mechanism, my feet got SOAKED this morning as I passed through
the tall grass covering parts of the trail. I, and possibly Jody,
were the only ones to actually hike the trail today. The rest chose
to follow the parkway to Rockfish Gap. I debated whether I should
take the parkway, but luckily I decided against it and remained
a "purist." Some sections of the trail provided very slippery
rocks that were difficult to navigate due to the rain, but before
I knew it I was at Rockfish Gap wondering which road to take to
find the town of Afton, where my next mail drop was. I had picked
Afton over Waynesboro thinking that Waynesboro would be too big
and spread out to find anything. Afton looked like a small town,
and was just off the trail.
Suddenly a guy in an International Harvester Truck pulled up and
asked if I was a North or South Bounder, and wondered if I needed
a ride down the mountain. I replied that I was in search of the
Afton post office. I looked past the driver and noticed another
hiker sitting in the passenger seat. "What is this all about?"
I thought. He said "hop in and I will take you there"
and that was all I needed to hear. I threw my pack into the back
and crawled into the cab next to the other hiker whose name was
Tom Carmichael. I was taken to the post office where I picked up
my mail, and then driven to the Waynesboro Fire Station. The driver
dropped us off there and said that we were welcome to spend the
night at his place. The driver turned out to be Rusty, the guy who
was trying to set up a new hostle at his residence near the A.T.
around Maupin Field. He told me he would return at around 8.00 pm
and take us to his place. Sounded good to me. Got groceries at Kroger,
called and talked with my mother, and put the snakeskin I was carrying
into some alcohol for preservation. Although I bought supplies for
the week, I packed up all that I would need for two days and asked
the Fire Warden if I could leave the rest at the station for a couple
of days and pick it up on Sunday. I only needed to carry two days
until I was to rendezvous with my parents over the Forth of July
holiday. At 8.00 pm, just as he promised, Rusty showed up and picked
me up. He stopped at Krogers grocery store and picked up some hot
dogs, buns, fresh peaches, and charcoal before driving along the
parkway to pick up Tom. He left me at the ranger's station at the
entrance to the Shenandoah National Park to get my permit so I would
not have to do that the next morning, and went to find Tom. I stayed
at the entry hut with the ranger and talked until Rusty finally
returned with Tom in the truck. By that time the fog had begun to
thicken as we made our way to his home. It was so thick we could
barely see the road. We drove for what seemed many miles before
exiting the good road onto a rough gravel drive that lead to his
place in the hollow. He named the place "Hard Time Hollow."
Rusty was a welder who had developed a passion for hikers and was
trying to establish a haven for hikers to stay. I had read about
the place, but knew very little about Rusty's place. I think Tom
and I were one of the first hikers to stay at the new hostle. He
had no electricity or running water. Refrigeration was provided
by a cool spring near the cabin. We roasted the dogs, and talked
into the night. The meal was topped off with A&W RootBeer, and
fresh peaches. Later, we pulled in a couple of mattresses and went
to sleep full and happy. Saw a wild turkey today.
Gonzo!
Appalachian Trail Journals ©1983
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