A Thousand and One Appalachian Tales
part ten
Pudding Out
©Copyright 02002. Fresh Ink. All rights reserved.
June 11th: In the morning, a final visit atop the rocky monolith of Dragon's Tooth brought forth darling visions of Catawba Valley, McAfee Knob and Big Tinker Mountain. Far off to the east were visible the Peaks of Otter. There was not a hint of humidity in the air.
Climbing down from the tooth, The Agnostic Monk began a steep descent into Catawba valley. After crossing a narrow ledge, then through a sag known as Lost Spectacles Gap, he ascended a short spur which brought him to a rocky outlook known as Devils Seat. From there he passed Viewpoint Rock to the scenic Rawies Rest, a narrow knife-edged rock rim. He continued a short mile more to Va 624.
A half mile later, he was climbing over the first stile of the day when he caught back up with Mr. Rogers and Strider. This was not a replacement Strider for the one left behind in Hot Springs but a whole new incarnation. This Strider had long skinny legs and big feet. He looked like he could put a full day's travel into a single step.
The three of them waited for the rest of the group, Zero, Noel, Pablo and Mom, who arrived shortly. After a few minutes to snack and enjoy the fresh air, they continued north together. They were following the white blazes when, suddenly, they were shocked to discover someone had placed a severed deer's head directly on the Trail! Everyone was a more than a little freaked out by this. Maybe it was a hunter and they just didn't want to carry everything out, Noel politely suggested. But Mr. Rogers, with ever an eye for detail, noticed the absence of blood and entrails. No, he deduced, the deer's head had been purposely left there to scare them. Everyone thanked Mr. Rogers for his splendid powers of observation, then sought to put some distance between themselves and the decapitated head.
Mr. Rogers stayed behind briefly to dispose of the head, so as not to upset other northbounders behind them. They crossed a stream, a stile, another stile, Va 785, then another stile. Everyone was getting more than a little tired of all these stiles. When they reached Catawba Creek, it was as if someone had said, that was it. They had had enough. It was still early afternoon but some folks found a nice area on the side of the creek and decided to pitched a tent. The vortex was inescapable. Near evening, Buddy Bear and Bare Bait happened by and were duly ensnared.
They were fortunate not to have seen the deer's head. But the group discussed it long into the evening. Many took it as a threat. The issue of Immanent Domain, naturally arose. Many, including The Monk, had never heard of this before. Apparently, Immanent Domain was a legal term used when the Government wanted to take your land. The term implied that when it is better for the collective good, the needs of the many out weigh the needs of the one. However, included in the concept was at least a rudimentary sense of fairness in that the Government provided a fair market value, or some semblance there of. The problem was, what was fair market then, is not what is fair market today, or tomorrow. Many people buy land as an investment and some it seemed did not feel that Immanent Domain provided a fair return for that investment. If the deer's head was any indication, perhaps a few felt they lost money as a result.
Much of the Appalachian Trail was purchased as a means of ending the Great Depression. It was part of FDR's New Deal. Many of the unemployed were put to work building the Trail and this too helped bring the recession to an end. The problem was, the New Deal could not purchase the entire Trail out right. So the Trail was assembled a piece at a time, over many years. This work still goes on today. The grand ambition is to remove all the road walks. In 01988, there was a 26 mile road walk. This no longer appears to be the case thanks to the dedicated efforts of those working to carry on the dream.
Alas, one sorrowful aspect of this is that the road walk went by the Ice Cream Lady. She made it a point to stop and give all the thru-hikers ice cream as they walked by. While The Monk did not get a chance to meet the Ice Cram Lady, many others who hiked the Trail that year did.
Over the years many road walks were removed and parts of the land which had not yet become part the Appalachian Trail were purchased. However, some parts remained on private property and legal proceedings were begun to acquire those lands. The legal right to do this was called the Rule of Immanent Domain.
The Appalachian Trail, it turns out was sometimes purchased using Immanent Domain. There were some land owners who were not please with this, to say the least. Some, it seemed, were down right disparaged. There was one part up ahead they were warned about way back in Georgia. If it looked like the Trail could go right or left and the sign said left, go left; word was you could get shot at if you didn't. Another warning was that some of the locals grew marijuana. If you happened to spot a crop, stay away; it could be booby-trapped!
The next morning, after three more stiles, the intrepid northbounders stumbled onto the parking area at Va 311. Visions of Snickers Bars and Pop-Tarts tempted The Monk 1 mile west in Catawba, Va. However, since his next food drop wasn't until Troutville, he deftly avoided the temptation to detour. He followed an old woods road to a rocky ridge crest before descending to a metal Boy Scout Shelter. It looked like something out of Cool Hand Luke. Nasty.
"After leaving Catawba Road, first come to old Boy Scout shelter, then Catawba Shelter mile or so further up. //McAfee Knob Relo: The best on A.T. in '87. Brings A.T. back to it's old awesome route over spectacular McAfee Knob and Tinker Cliffs. Note the care and effort put into the footpath. For the past decade, property owner conflicts had driven the A.T. onto dull, dry North Mountain. This relo of return is a testament to the miracles the clubs, ATC, and the Park Service can perform."It was another mile to Catawba Shelter for a light snack and quick read. The faster folks were getting farther ahead, the slower folks were getting farther behind. Maineak was doing the Trail three times at once, or so at least it seemed.from, The Philosopher's Guide, pg.25
Snack time over, a quick half mile brought The Monk to McAfee Knob where he was duly ensnared for a spell by the rapturous sights and sounds. Pablo and Mom were there as were Mr. Rogers and Strider and together they partook in the breathtaking vista unveiled before them.
Then, they descended into Devil's Kitchen. The Monk made a mental note of the penchant for names tilting toward the dark and scary ever since he left Pearisburg. This was a rocky section where the rocks had names. He passed Snack Bar Rock, Rock Haven and a rock outcropping with excellent views of Tinker Mountain, Peaks of Otter, and Apple Orchard Mountain. From there it was a cakewalk to Tinker Cliffs with excellent views of Dragon's Tooth and McAfee Knob. There wasn't any reason to rush. Two hours and a mile and a half later, he reached Lamberts Meadow Shelter for the evening. He passed Lunch Box Rock along the way.
June 14th started off with the long, winding Tinker Ridge followed by more rocks with names. There were the Chimney Rocks, Balanced Rock, then Hay Rock. This was a massive chunk of sandstone jutting up from the backbone of Tinker Ridge. Four miles later, a quick half mile road walk brought him to the Troutville, VA, PO where two boxes awaited him. One box, he had mailed to himself from Texas, the other was from his family. They sent some extra film and food. He was constantly running out of film.
He mailed home his exposed rolls then stopped at the local store. Instant Pudding was growing popular as an after dinner snack so he thought he'd give it a try. Along with pudding, he picked up snickers bars and Pop-Tarts, a loaf of bread, jar of peanut butter and a bottle of liquid margarine. Then he headed back to the Trail. All in all he only lost about 90-100 minutes. He was amazed at how easy that had been. Five miles later he reached Fullhardt Knob Shelter for the evening. The Bushpigs all were there.
It was quickly warming up to be the hottest day so far so The Monk skipped breakfast for an early start. He blew past Wilson Creek Shelter then continued on to the Blue Ridge Parkway at Black Horse Gap. He made it to Harvey's Knob before the noon time heat enforced a new two hour siesta rule. He found a shady spot and took a nap. Later in the afternoon, the Trail followed the parkway pretty much all they way to Bearwallow Gap.
The Monk was not entirely please with the Blue Ridge Parkway. It seemed to him extravagant and wasteful. It intruded upon the scenic beauty in a way that could not be ignored. All the way through Georgia he had listened to Zero talk about his plans to pave the Trail. There in Virginia, it looked like Zero had gotten his wish.
That night, after dinner, everyone was making their pudding for desert. The Monk had brought a package along as well and made up a batch of chocolate pudding. This turned out to be a big mistake.
That night, he began to feel ill. Then, around 2 am, up it all came. A little before dawn, up it all came again. He was compelled to conclude, he and Instant Pudding did not mix. Later that morning, feverish and severely depleted, he awoke. He knew he could not remain at Bearwallow Gap. Everyone else had broken camp and left and he was without more than a quart of fresh water. Weak and wobbly, he packed up and pushed on. He reached Cove Mountain Shelter but there was no water there so he did not stop. He would need to rest and recover but he also knew he would need plenty of water to do it. By the time he reached Va 614 he was light headed and delirious. He knew folks were heading in to Jellystone Park so he stayed on 614. It was all he could do just to follow the road. He was unaware of just how serious his condition was.
When he reached Jellystone, he found the group stretched out in the shade by a group of picnic tables. He stumbled over and dropped his pack. Pablo told him he looked whiter than a ghost. The Monk explained his situation and Pablo quickly diagnosed he needed liquids and fast. Pablo gave him some change to go get a can of soda at the store and he began his long walk across the street.
As he crossed, tiny white pin pricks of light formed across his vision. With each step they grew until there were only tiny pin pricks of color where the world used to be. In the last few moments he saw a bench a few feet ahead and in the total white out stumbled forward to find the bench and sit down. He had never had anything like that happen to him before. After a few minutes his vision returned and he walked into the store for a can of Mountain Dew. He grabbed a can from the cooler and went to the counter but the lady behind it was talking on the phone with her back to him. He stood their waiting to pay her.
The next thing he knew he was on the floor and the lady and another person were standing over him. The lady was asking him if he was alright. As if no time had elapsed he said, "I would like to pay for this now." To him, there had been no passage of time but to the lady, he had been out for a couple of minutes. Immediately, the Mountain Dew refreshed him and he began to see the severity of his situation. He returned to his pack and grabbed his water bottle. The rest of the day he spent cameling up like he had never cameled before.
In the afternoon, The Insufferable Drunken Hog From Hell arrived as did Buddy Bear and Bare Bait. Meanwhile Pablo and Mom, Zero and the rest had moved on. Buddy Bear took a ride with Yogi Bear and became good friends. But not good enough for Yogi to let them spend the night. Late in the afternoon the foursome left, following the road towards Va 714 instead of Va 614. This was a cardinal sin in the eyes of Purists but The Monk was too wiped out from his ordeal to care. He felt prudence dictate he should take it easy so that is what he did. The four followed Va 714 back to the Trail and found a spring and campsite waiting for them. They set up camp for the evening.
Buena Vista Baby
The next morning The Monk was feeling much better. Just in case, he decided, that was it for Instant Pudding on the Trail. He made sure to drink a couple of quarts of water before leaving. Water was becoming scarce as summer progressed so he wanted to break camp with a full bottle. He was still using the soda bottle he had fashioned in Hot Springs so he left with a full two liters. He carried a small bottle of aqua-pure, small iodine tablets used for treating water, but he only used them once in Maine. He felt if he had to use them, he probably didn't want to drink the water anyway. He had long ago discussed such matters with the original Strider. Strider had vouchsafed the purity of all the springs to Maine and that was good enough for him.
After a pleasant ascent up Bryant Ridge, The Monk was already finding it moving past warm and into hot. By the time he reached the summit of Floyd Mountain he was in full sweat mode. He could not wipe the perspiration from his eyes fast enough. After cameling up at the spring near Cornelius Creek, he stumbled out into the sweltering sun then stumbled right back into the shade. It was too damn hot! The heat had imposed it's imperial rule and Marshall Law had been declared. It was siesta time again. This would become his modus operandi for the next few weeks. Rise early, power hike until around eleven or so, then find a shady spot until around two or three and power hike until dusk. As was also becoming the habit, he would dunk himself in every river or stream which presented itself. Often this would get him just far enough to do it again.
Nap time over, The Monk followed sidewinders to Parkers gap Road and began his assent up Apple Orchard Mountain (4,225 ft). At the summit was an FAA air-traffic radar dome. He did not stay long. There were excellent views but he felt intruded upon by the Radar Dome. It was too omnipresent to ignore, a reminder that the wilderness experience was now seemingly all behind him. Descending, he passed through The Guillotine, a large boulder wedged into a narrow rock cleft and suspended over the Trail. Crossing the Blue Ridge Parkway, he reached Thunderhill Shelter just before dusk.
Day 74, a short jaunt brought The Monk back up to the Parkway and Thunder Ridge overlook. This had a view of Devils Marbleyard, an 8-acre boulder field. According to legend, in the early 17th century, a missionary accompanied by a young woman came to the valley and converted the Indians who lived there to Christianity. Previously they had worshipped The Great Spirit on a high ledge under a pinnacle. However, after a drought had ruined crops and made game scare, the missionary was blamed. But as the two were about to be burned alive in sacrifice to The Great Spirit, a terrible storm smashed the pinnacle and ledge, turning it into a boulder field.
Next, the Trail passed through the Thunder Ridge Wilderness to Petites Gap where it entered the James River Face Wilderness.
James River Face Wilderness/James River Gorge: The James River, estimated to be more than 160 million years old, is Virginia's largest waterway, flowing 450 miles from the Allegheny Mountains to the Chesapeake bay. Most rivers cut through the surrounding rocks, but the James River did not. Rocks on either side were uplifted. The gorge contains 964 plant species in 4.5 miles. The 8,903-acre wilderness is marked by rugged terrain and steep buffs, along which trails offer views into the gorge.Appalachian Trail Guide to Central Virginia, First Edition, p135
From Petites Gap, the Trail ascended steeply to High Cock Knob (3,073 ft)then dropped just as steeply to Marble Spring. There, The Monk stopped to camel up. Already, he was sweating profusely. He couldn't find his bandana, so he ripped the sleeve from a t-shirt and used that instead. He was having difficulty seeing as the sweat would drip over his glasses and into his eyes.
From Marble Spring, the Trail crossed several side trails and numerous views of the James River gorge. Feeling spunky, he reached Matts Creek Shelter in the early afternoon. This would have been a fine place to stay but he wanted to try and catch up with the Bushpigs so he pressed on. He crossed US 501 and the James River and in the early evening arrived to an empty Johns Hollow Shelter. He could go no further so he enjoyed a quite night alone. He found it humorous that so many others complained about crowded conditions at shelters and there he was yet again with one all to himself.
The next day, he slept in. He was finding that everything tended to average out. If he did a long day the day before, he couldn't generally do another long day the next. Obviously, terrain was a factor. He was no Maineak, that was for sure, hnyuh, hnyuh. He got up and made coffee. This was something he hadn't done in a few days, mostly due to an eagerness to beat the heat. Today, he just couldn't be bothered. He wanted to stop and smell the coffee.
Around 10 am, he finally got under way. After a steep climb he passed the crest of Little Rocky Row (2,431 ft) and became ensnared by several breathtaking vistas off Fullers Rocks (2,472 ft). After a bit, he continued on to the summit of Big Rocky Row (2,992 ft) where he soaked in the views some more.
The Trail continued along the ridge to Saddle Gap before crossing Silas Knob to Saltlog Gap. He had stopped to take a breather at the summit of Bluff Mountain (3,372 ft), when Buddy Bear and Bare Bait arrived looking like bona fide thru-hikers. Together the three ascended Bluff Mountain together. Just before the summit they reached a small monument.
This is the exact spot Little Ottie Cline Powell's
Body was found April 5, 1891,
After straying from Tower Hill School House Nov. 9,
A distance of 7 miles.
Age 4 years, 11 months.As they sat in silence atop the summit, they could see The IDHFH approach in the distance. They waited for him and the four descended together. They reached Punch Bowl Shelter but Buddy Bear wanted something more. They stumbled out onto the Blue Ridge Parkway and were quickly scooped up by a big Pickup truck. It had plenty of room in the back for four stinky thru-hikers. Buddy Bear was working some serious mojo and minutes later everyone was taking turns indulging in long hot showers at an inexpensive Motel in Buena Vista. They were amazed at how easy the hitch was and just how fantastic a shower could be.
Over dinner, Buddy Bear raised his beer in toast. "Life is good on the AT!" He exclaimed. All agreed. Life was good on the AT...
©Copyright 02002. Fresh Ink. All rights reserved.
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