Day 86 - Tuesday, September 6

Linda

Ronald's birthday! We awoke to a warm breeze blowing across the top of the mountain and a clear morning. The storm that had threatened the day before had never materialized, which suited us just fine. For tradition's sake, I sang "Happy Birthday" to Ronald and we headed off for Rockfish Gap. We came down to McCormick Gap, then up to Scott Mountain. Just before the gap, we got a good view of the mansion where the family who owns Scott Mountain live. It's incredible! The estate has a number of buildings besides the main house, and a tower that the main drive goes through. It's Elizabethan style makes it look as though it belongs in England. It overlooks the entire valley. A while later, we passed close by the guesthouse which is even larger than the average family home. I can't imagine what it would be like to live in a place like that.

We were down to Rockfish Gap and the Ho-Jo by 9:30. Of course, at that time all respectable people were ordering breakfast, so we got the ice cube treatment when we asked for banana splits. We remembered the hostess from a previous experience in May when we stopped in after a camping trip with our friends, Eugene and Kay Eubank. The woman's glance could break mirrors, and she was true to form today. The last time we were here, she put us in the back room and tried to freeze us to death with the air conditioner. This time she did at least seat us in the main room, but about as far back in the corner as you could get. She walked away, dismissing us with a sneer and a wave of her hand. Our waitress was no joy either. She grudgingly took our order for banana splits, then returned to inform us that they were out of bananas. Out of bananas! How could a restaurant that is famous for its ice cream specialties be out of bananas? We were crestfallen! I settled for a meager sundae, but Ronald ordered a sundae and a strawberry ice cream cake. That really brought a few rolled eyes among the pancake crowd. We just acted like we didn't notice, since we were celebrating. Certainly didn't leave a tip when we departed.

Started back on the trail a little after 10:00 and figured we'd make it to Humpback Rocks 7.5 miles away for lunch. We went up over Elk Rock, which was very rocky, but weren't rewarded with a view for our efforts. Descended back down to Mill Creek, then straight up .7 mile on a major huffer-puffer trail with no switchbacks, before a little descent to Humpback Gap. Humpback Rocks is a very popular spot, and we had been there several times before. I was anxious to see how I would fare on the trail up to the rocks this time. We met some people spreading out a picnic lunch at the parking lot, and they gave us some water before we headed up the .7 mile to the top of the rocks. We had never done this with packs before, since other times we had just been out for a day hike. It was a lot different with a heavy pack, but we still managed to make it in 20 minutes. By that time the sun was shining very hot overhead and there was no breeze blowing, so it was too hot to stay out on the rocks. We moved over to a semi-shaded area to have lunch. Ronald had said he had always wanted to eat lunch up there, so since it was his birthday, I figured I could oblige him.

After lunch we went the rest of the way up Humpback Mountain, then wound around and around and up and down over a rocky section to Laurel Spring Gap. It had started to rain by then, and just as we were filling up with water, the main deluge hit, complete with thunder and lightening. We weren't too wild about the prospect of being exposed up on Devil's Knob in the middle of a thunder storm, so, since the Blue Ridge Parkway roughly paralleled the trail along here, we opted to walk on the Parkway to Reed's Gap. At Reed's Gap we were planning to hitch a ride around the 35 mile stretch we did over Easter weekend this spring. The downpour continued for about a mile, then stopped abruptly and the sun came out for a while. Oh, well, just try to predict the weather.

It was getting later in the afternoon, so we almost ran down to Reed's Gap, then sat by the road from 5:15 to 6:45 watching car after car after car go by with barely a glance in our direction. We weren't quite sure what to do, and were beginning to get really bummed out, partly for not getting a ride, and partly because we were feeling a little homesick. We had just spent a wonderful weekend with the families, and here we were, all by ourselves again, sitting by the side of the road. Anyway, we knew it would be next to impossible to get a ride in the morning. Now that summer was officially over and school had started again, there wouldn't be nearly as many people out on the Parkway on a weekday morning. So, we just sat, and sat some more, hoping someone would stop. Finally a couple (Pat and Mike) in a van from Kentucky stopped and picked us up. They had no plans for the rest of the day, so they took us all the way around to Rt. 60. Made a side trip down to Buena Vista for gas (and a Dr. Pepper) on the way. We gave them some money to help out, since they were running low on cash. Figured it was the least we could do, since they were going out of their way to take us where we needed to go.

It was almost dark when we got to Long Mountain Wayside on Rt. 60. Pat and Mike dropped us off, and we thanked them and started down the trail. We had originally planned to go the couple miles to the next shelter, but decided it wouldn't be too smart to try to walk it in the dark. So we walked back to the wayside and pretended not to know you weren't supposed to camp there. Besides, there was already a family in a camper parked close by, so if anyone came to throw us out, they'd have to throw the camper out, too. Ronald set up the tent while I fixed a gourmet birthday dinner of stove top stuffing and chicken, with some more "all new flavor" butter pecan pudding for dessert. We even ate by candlelight at the picnic table to make it seem like the special occasion it was. It had been an unusual day with some questionable moments, and some emotional ups and downs to go along with the physical ups and downs. It all ended well, though, and we called it a night at 9:45 after 20.6 miles.

Ron

I can remember birthdays when I dreaded getting up far more than I did today. A warm gentle breeze was blowing across the mountain. Clouds covered the valley below in a soft white blanket. I lay in my sleeping bag for awhile wondering what new wisdom was bestowed on me during the night. Then I realized I had just grown older, not wiser. There was nothing else left to do but get moving.

As we walked along the bald on top of the mountain, I was amazed at my prior ignorance of the beauty of this place. For years I had driven along the Skyline Drive just a little below here. All the time never knowing this place existed. We hated leaving the mountain top pasture but we had many miles to cover before dark. The trail down to Rockfish Gap was traversed in short order on old mountain roads.

We stopped at Howard Johnson's for a short birthday celebration. Our initial order of a Banana Split was turned down because they were out of bananas. I had to settle for strawberry short cake, a chocolate sundae and a large root beer. The waitress looked at me as if I were cracked. What the hell, how many times will I have a birthday on the trail? Although I will admit that it did look a bit odd, since it was only 9:30 in the morning, and the rest of the patrons were still eating breakfast.

Well fortified, Linda and I took off - determined to make Humpback Rocks for lunch. For the first couple miles the trail was easy as it followed the ridge with little gain or loss in elevation. After climbing Elk Mountain, the trail dove down to Mill Creek on poor trail. That section was in serious need of repair and switchbacks. On the other side of the creek, the trail went straight up for .7 mile. It was the hardest climb we had done in a long time. We picked up water at the Humpback Rocks parking lot from some picnickers. The usual 40 minute climb to the rocks took us only 20 minutes with full packs. We stopped to eat lunch a little after 1:00.

The generally hazy conditions prevented any real view. It felt good to sit at such a familiar place and eat lunch. By the time we were finished, the weather looked like rain was coming. We played cat and mouse with the rain for the next four miles. Somehow we managed to avoid it until Laurel Springs. Then the storm just dumped on us. Not wanting to risk the ridge in the storm, we walked the Blue Ridge Parkway to Reeds Gap.

Linda and I had hiked the section between Reeds Gap and Highway 60 during spring break. We used the three day hike as a shake down cruise. Considering how hard the hike was, I am not sure why we attempted the whole trail. We decided to bypass this section and spend more time on other areas of the trail.

We reached Reeds Gap around 5:00 and set out to hitch to Highway 60. Since it was now after Labor Day, most of the summer traffic is gone. We sat there for 45 minutes watching an average of one car every five minutes pass. I was going to give it another half hour before we would setup camp in the meadow. Much to our we relief we picked up a ride in a van from a musician and his girl friend. They were our for a leisurely drive on the Parkway. Since they were not going anywhere special, they gave us a ride all the way to the trail crossing. That was a good because the AT crosses Highway 60 several miles off the Parkway.

It was almost dark when we were dropped off. We said good-bye and started off what we thought was the trail. It soon became obvious that our little AA flashlight would not give us enough light to hike safely. I sent the three D cell flashlight back yesterday with my parents. We walked back to the wayside beside the highway to make camp. Tonight we are camped right along Highway 60. We laid a picnic table on its side to try and hide our tent. No need to get rousted during the night.

(20.6 Miles - 1304.7 Total)