5/4/01
I almost forgot to mention yesterday's milestone. Crossing the 500 mile mark felt pretty good, but I'm looking forward to mile 542 which will be one fourth of the trail completed. That should happen Sunday or Monday. I slept in this morning until after 7 a.m., a monumental feat when the birds are singing by 5:30 and everyone is moving around the shelter by 6:15. Nevertheless I was packed and on the trail at 8:30, and was still the first person to leave the shelter. My plan was to do a leisure 13 miles to the Partnership shelter located next to the Mount Rogers National Recreation Area headquarters and visitor's center. As much as I tried to walk slower than normal, I soon was into the regular pace and the miles clicked by fairly easily. When I arrived at the destination by 1;30 it was dilemma time as I studied the data book eyeing the I-81 interchange 11.5 miles farther. With Paula driving up for the weekend, I thought it would be much easier for us to find each other at a major highway exit. So I decided to go for it despite sore feet and a problem with my left boot. I called Paula at work and we figured out the new plan, then I left the visitor's center and started hiking.
Barely half a mile down the trail, I realized I had given Paula the wrong town, so I tried the cell phone and fortunately got a signal to call her back. While getting out the cell phone, I heard distant rumbling of thunder and I peered through the trees to see dark clouds moving toward me. I started thinking that the easy solution would be to turn around and hike back to the visitor's center to miss the storm, stay dry, relax and wait for Paula, but I remembered the "no rain, no pain, no Maine'" quip and decided to press on. Of course, barely another half mile down the trail the thunderstorm hit, so off came the pack and poles and I found a downed tree to sit on in a low gap while the rain pounded me for 30 minutes. Finally the lightning and rain subsided so I resumed hiking despite more threatening weather all around me. I knew I had to cross Locust Mtn. and Glade Mtn. which would both be high ridges so I quickened my pace to warp speed to try and position myself for the next round of storms. As luck would have it, I made it upon Glade Mtn. and hiked the crest with thunderstorms on both sides of the ridge line, but clear skies above me. Two more fast miles and I was off the ridge and safely at Chatfield shelter. I quickly signed the shelter register then resumed warp speed for four and a half more miles to the Village Motel and restaurant at the I-81 interchange near Atkins, VA. I arrived exhausted and with aching feet at 6:30, then sat and waited for Paula who arrived around 7:30. Boy, was I happy to see my spring bride. We ate dinner at the restaurant and Paula shared stories of the heavy lightning storms she had driven through to get to me. I guess I was lucky to dodge them this time, but there's a lot more of those to deal with the next four months. After dinner and a milkshake, we headed south to Abingdon and found a motel room for the night. It was another long hiking day, but the plan worked and it was another great day on the trail with a great ending having quality time with Paula. Today's stats: low 50 degrees, high 80. AM, sunny, PM, thundershowers. Today's mileage: 24.6; cumulative mileage 530.4.
