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June
17, 1983 Friday (1571.4 mtg) From
Gonzo!s Appalachian Trail journal
The
local post office in Bland opened in the morning at 7:30 am, so
there was no need to get up too early this morning. We woke up at
6:45, ate breakfast and headed to the post office. I received a
package, and letter containing $5.00 from Grandma. We returned to
the store to purchase a few items for the road including fresh bread,
peanut butter and jelly, and three nectarines. While standing around
outside the store, we cornered the bread deliveryman into giving
us a ride back to the trail junction. He really was not supposed
to be giving rides to hikers, and I began to wonder where he was
taking us as he wound around here and there, not following the road
that we had come in from at all. However, he assured us that he
would get us back to where we wanted to go. Suddenly we were there,
but my senses were turned around as a result of the alternate route.
Jim and I argued about which way was north toward our goal. I started
hiking up a hill across the overpass, but then realized I was heading
south. I turned around and resumed my hike in the proper direction
rationalizing that I had actually not been on that very small portion
of the trail anyway, so no harm done.
Shortly
after resuming our hike, we crossed Kimberling Creek on an interesting
log bridge. On the other side of the creek was a very nice camping
spot that could have been our lodgings last night, but we had to
go into town for mail. I made a mental note of the spot for future
use.
Continuing on, we encountered Brushy Mountain again! We must have
gone up to the ridge and crested out four or five times in the last
thirty miles, but finally after ten miles of hiking this morning,
the guide book indicated that we had actually reached the summit
of Brushy Mountain! To celebrate, we ate lunch there and took a
break. Here in Virginia, some of the mountains run for miles and
miles parallel to other mountains also running for miles and miles.
It began to sprinkle just after lunch, and then increased in intensity
a few miles farther down the trail in Lickskillet Hollow. A great
uphill section brought us up Brushy Mountain again, and then down
the other side toward Dismal Creek Falls.
Dismal Creek Falls is a nice area with the possibility of swimming,
although I am not much of a fan of swimming. Besides, I was already
wet from the continuing rain. We waited to put up the tent as
the rain fell. During that time I just enjoyed the view of the falls
from as many different angles as I could secure access to, and just
took in the beauty and serenity provided as the waters flowed over
the rock ledges. We pitched our tent at about six-thirty while there
was a lull in the rain, and threw everything inside before it got
any wetter. Nothing to do for the remainder of the evening other
than lay around. Most people would be happy to just lay around,
but I always felt like I needed to be on the move. Even though there
were at least two shelters between our present location and the
next resupply point and trail town, Pearisburg, Virginia, I thought
that tomorrow I was going to blast to Pearisburg unless it quit
raining. It is 22 miles to Pearisburg from Dismal Creek Falls. Tomorrow
is Saturday, if we don't get there by the time the post office closes,
we will be stuck in P'burg until Monday. If we take our time to
get there, we still won't leave P'burg until Monday. What a dilemma.
As I lay in the tent the rain subsided. Since there was still light,
I emerged from my chrysalis to explore the falls once again, this
time with a camera. I walked barefoot over the falls to reach a
point where the magnitude of the falls could really be appreciated.
After having taken in the beauty of the falls once again, there
seemed to be nothing else to do, so I fixed supper, ate, and went
to bed.
Gonzo!
Appalachian Trail Journals ©1983
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