June 12-13 in Northern VA

June 12, 2005 | Day 77 | Miles: 15.1 | Total Miles: 970.2
End: Dick's Dome Shelter, Tent
Danielle:
Hot and humid again
The good and bad of the day...
The good: We had a great visit with Corie and Rob! We had mexican food and soft serve ice cream last night--yum! Then a good breakfast in the morning and they walked with us for an hour or so on the trail. Not the most exciting stretch, but it was good to have a bit more time to chat with them. Thanks for coming out to visit with us, guys! Lots of fun :-)
The bad: The PATC (Patomic AT Club) did a bad, bad job of maintaining some of this stretch. We went through not only lots of poison ivy, but even worse, a huge 0.5m stretch of 6 foot tall grass. The trail was about 8 inches wide and essentially overcome by the grasses. We were blazing through it, with it hitting our legs, arms and head. UGH. And almost immediately my legs were covered with angry red welts. It was really painful and itchy and truly discouraging to feel that the trail was so overgrown and forgotten. Really frustrating. After a mile or so we got down near a road and there was a stream, so we took off our shoes and washed our arms and legs with soap--a big no-no, but I had to do something. I was feeling really low, and luckily, the washing, and a lunch break, helped a bit and my spirits were lifted slightly. Still, I plan to write to the PATC to express my displeasure about that section. It is not maintenance if the grass is 6 feet high and blocking the trail for a half mile! Sheesh...

Ryan:
three h's
corie and rob rock. they brought me new shoes. the pair i picked up only about 200 miles ago did not get it done. trashed. they couldn't stand up to the day to day pounding. oh well. luckily, my feet felt better today in the new shoes. still sore, but better. so, picture a field with 6 foot high grass and poison ivy at your feet...now walk through it. that's what we did for a 1/2 mile today. misery. the potomac appalachian trail club will be receiving a nasty letter from my wife. look out!
today's song - fight the power, public enemy

June 13, 2005 | Day 78 | Miles: 18.9 | Total Miles: 989.3
End: Bears Den Hostel, Bluemont, VA
Danielle:
Hot and humid, with thunder and showers in the afternoon
Ahhh, another hot and humid day. The first 9m were pretty mellow but after that we entered the "rollercoaster," which is a 17-mile section with 13 or 14 500-ft. climbs and descents in a row. Doesn't sound that bad, but it was a rough 9.9m with all those bumps, especially in the heat. Plus the last mile we were attempting to outrun a thunderstorm--and we lost. Got a bit wet. But then again it didn't much matter as we had been soaked all day from sweat. It's really gross when everything is soaked and sweat is running down your arms and legs. Ugh. Humidity, go away! But yeah, then we arrived here about 5:30pm and jumped right in the shower, put clothes in the wash and are waiting for the mexican dinner to be served. Yum! Awesome. Nick, Dave, Hopeful and Redwing are here, so it's a good crew in for the night. :-) And a wonderful spot. A cool old house turned into a hostel and run by a really nice woman. A very friendly place to spend the night.

Ryan:
three h's, pm thunderstorm
really, today was relatively uneventful...just hard. we started the "roller coaster" today, which is a 13 mile section with 13 500 foot climbs and descents. it's hard, and it was hot. needless to say, we were very happy to arrive at the hostel. it rained on us at the end of the day, but i don't think it really made us any wetter. that's how humid it was. my fingers were all pruney from the sweat..yuk. but, a great dinner and a pint of b&j's later, and it's all good. not to mention the shower...ahhhhh. oh yeah, i almost forgot...we saw a guy on the trail with two suitcases with wheels and a "backpacking tent" still in the cardboard box and plastic wrap. that's pretty much the strangest thing ever.
today's song - burning heart, survivor (we were talking about rocky to get us through the day.)