5/13/01
Sunday morning we ate another late breakfast after checking out of the motel (Plaza Motel in Pearisburg). We decided to drive up to Wood's Hole Hostel. It was a beautiful drive up the valley and we finally arrived. Tillie and High Pocket had left a note on the front door saying that they had gone to town. River Wizard emerged from the bunkhouse. Paula, Jim, and Jennie got the grand tour of the bunkhouse and solar shower. They also checked to see how well I had mowed Tillie's lawn. After some family photos we headed back to Pearisburg for gas, a snack, and a sad goodbye. Jim had to perform one last shuttle before heading home, so he gave Moonshine and Phone Home a ride from where the trail crosses the outskirts of town to the Catholic hostel.
Meanwhile, I began my afternoon hike in the high weeds and poison ivy until I finally escaped the low elevation around town. After crossing the New River, the trail ascended 1500' to the top of Peter's Mountain. After a few more miles I found myself in an open meadow atop the ridgeline with an outstanding view of the valley and mountains to the west in West Virginia. The Star Haven shelter (formerly named Rice Field shelter) was tucked in the edge of the forest overlooking the meadow. It would have been a great shelter to spend the night except that it was unseasonably cold and the wind was blowing steadily into the shelter. I was alone leaving Pearisburg and was aware of only two other thru-hikers leaving town (Fiddler and Joe). I decided to eat dinner but wait to unpack as I really didn't want to stay in the shelter with such a cold night forecasted. Sometime after 7:30 Fiddler and Joe arrived. We all decided that the campsite a mile and a half farther down the trail would offer better protection from the wind, so we decided to tent camp there. Joe and Fiddler prepared their dinner at the shelter while I waited for the sunset to take some photos and enjoy the beauty of the scene. We left the shelter at 8:30 p.m. and hiked into darkness. Along the way, I saw several deer and flushed a couple of turkeys who were settling down for the night. We set up in the dark and hung our bear bags. I finally got in bed around 10:00 p.m., too tired to journal and too cold. Todays stats; low 45 degrees, high 63. Sunny. Todays mileage; 8.2; cumulative 626.1.
