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July
7, 1981 Tuesday From Gonzo!s Appalachian
Trail journal
Prepared blueberry pancakes for breakfast this morning! Pretty
good with those fresh ripe blueberries I picked yesterday. Topped
that off with Pop-Tarts. Peter started hiking first, but I caught
up with him in a few miles and walked behind him for a while. He took
a break and I pushed on. Ate a little snack at 10 a.m. where the trail
met Trout Creek, but pushed on soon after, hoping to make it four
miles to the Dragon's Tooth rock by lunch. The trail was rough and
rocky and I ate lunch unknowingly about 15 minutes or more from the
Dragons’ Tooth. Took some pictures (end of roll 7). On the way
down the mountain, I ran into some guys from Roanoke who were very
interesting, and knowledgeable of the trail. Hiked down the 3 miles
to VA 311 fairly quickly, and hit the Catawba Inn (gas and groceries)
and immediately purchased a half gallon of Butter Pecan ice cream.
In my mind, I joined the 7/16 gallon club that day – could have
finished it, but I know I would have felt bad. Later on I had several
sodas. I had arrived at the store at 2:30. Peter at 3 or after, and
Bob around 5. Peter pushed on while I called the locker and talked
with Dad. He will talk with Mom and I will call later to find out
their vacation plans. While sitting around, I had a can of tuna and
granola bars for supper. This evening, I called home and got set
to be picked up, and return home this weekend. (Although I am
having fun in general, trouble with infected, smelly blisters, and
nightly back pains don’t seem to be going away. My feet don’t
ever seem to be dry, which is a problem for the blister healing, and
I figured that even if I continued on, I had skipped so many sections
when I was hiking with others that I would not have actually completed
the trail in total - even if I made it to Maine.) Mom and Dad will
leave Friday at 3:00 am and pick me up in Cloverdale, Virginia. Tonight
I will sleep on the pavement in front of the Catawba Inn tonight,
even though the owner has given us permission to stay in “Bob’s
Big Time Barn” just to the left of the store. This little hog
barn was a bit run down, but the biggest problem was the fact that
to get to it you had to walk through knee deep grass infested with
ticks. I made one attempt to reach the place and came back after just
a few steps and had to spend a few minutes removing ticks. But thanks
anyway Bob! I discovered that evening, at dusk, that the pond on the
right of the grocery store supported a healthy population of Bullfrogs.
I made a mental note for a future trip where food could be found.
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