gimpat01

Part II

05/23/05 - Lynn Camp Creek (in tent) - ~16 mi
Didn't write yesterday but it was pretty exciting. We did an easy 11.5 mi into Atkins by 2pm for a late lunch of double bacon cheeseburgers, onion rings, sweet tea and carrot cake. We'd been rained on about 10am and as we walked into town it started to rain AGAIN. By the time we got our food, you couldn't see across the street. We decided after having a 2hr lunch to ge ta rooma the motel and stay dry. On the local news it turns out there were reports of tornados having touched down. Glad to have been inside. So we ate & ate & ate @ the Village Restaurant and Motel. Today was tough. More ups than I like. We're camped beside a creek. We had to forge a flooded creek and we got a good picture of a black snake on the tree beside a blaze.
Bedtime for Bonzo!
Gimp

05/24/01 - tented 1mile before shelter - 18.2 mi

05/25/01 - Into Bland
Crossed river (previously a creek) 19 times. Fun fun fun.

05/26/01 - in Wytheville for 2 0fers w/Sean's family

05/28/01 - 2.3 to Helvey's Mill shelter (in tent)
Sean's parents left today. I was sad. Christopher Elliott joined us. He's a good guy to walk with. He and Sean together are really funny. My pack is entirely TOO heavy. We ate alot of food this weekend. It felt good to be full.
We are only doing about 10mi/day because Chrispy's here. We should be to Pearisburg, VA by this Friday which means only 4 days til a shower. I've got to send some clothes home. Too much stuff.
Bedtime for Bonzo!
Gimp

05/29/01 - in tent @ Jenny's Knob Shelter

05/30/01 - tented by pond .5mi before Wapiti Shelter - ~15mi.

05/31/01 - 13mi to campsite

06/01/01 - 2.5 mi to Pearisburg, VA. got a room at the Plaza motel.

06/02/01 - Slack packed 22mi. "Freedom hiking" from Stoney Creek Bridge back.

06/03/01 - 0 day in Pearisburg, VA.
Weird place, ready to move on

06/04/01 - Leaving P'burg finally to Warspur shelter (in tent) - 10 mi
Sean got his cavity filled. About to leave. We got started around 12pm noon and got here at 8pm. We ate dinner ~ 1 mile before the shelter. this shelter's got a mouse problem.
NOTES TO MYSELF:
write about - oddities of privy
- never ending hunger
- freedom hiking

Gimp (336.3 total miles)

06/05/01 - 12.2 miles ALL UP!
What a crazy day. Started early & with way toom steep of an up. It took FOREVER! The middle of the day was ok cause one of the farms we walked by sold ice cream and cokes. YUM!
Then we went straight up forever again onto a ridge. That's when it poured. Lightning started hitting close and we put up a tent. Everything is soaked. When the rain let up we tried to dry stuff out. The evening was made wonderful by the chili Madman and Bloody Stump shared. Yum

06/06/01 - tented at Trout Creek - 15 mi
Good day. One big up tha thad nice switch backs. Saw a monument to Audey Murphy. More rain tonight.

06/07/01 - in hostel
Went up Dragon's Tooth. Kicked my ass on the way down. Had to climb iron rungs down the face of some rocks. Dropped my hiking pole onto one random ledge and Sean climbed out to get it, thank God. Tough day.
A trail angel left cokes and junk food at the road. We went to a store and restocked and it was already 530pm. I told Gump i didn't want to go on. My feet hurt (what's new?) We walked .4 mi up the road to a hostel. It's a nice garage someone converted w/lights and a shower. So we're clean yet again.
Onward and upward.
TRAIL MAGIC ROCKS!!!

06/08/01 - in tent - 11 mi.
McAfee's Knob has beautiful views and could see Tinker Cliffs and Roanoke. Definitely a good day.

06/09/01 - Tinker Cliffs - ~14 mi.
Also good view - the AT walked on cliffs. camped .5 miles b/f Daleville @ Tinker Creek.

06/10/01 - In Econolodge in Daleville, VA (salsa incident - ouch)

06/11/01 - 8mi.
Got mail drop and hiked out to Curry Creek

06/12/01 - 13mi.
REALLY hot and I got sick alot.

06/13/01 - to Jennings Creak then on a road walk to Wonderful Life Campground.
Short day still sick.

06/14/01 - Buchanan, VA
I got a room in Buchanan and Sean walked on to Glasgow.

06/15/01 - Sean's parents came up and we went to Lexington

06/16/01 - In Lexington, VA
Sean slacked packed

06/17&18/01 - toured Washington and Lee, Stonewall Jackson's house and Lee's tomb.

06/19/01 - Left to get back on trail. 7mi in I got sick again.

06/20/01 - Still sick
Went down to Montebello to a camp store. Then went (hitched) to Waynesboro to the hospital. My blood pressure "tilted" and they figured out that I was severly dehydrated. I was given 2 liters of fluids and phernergen by IV. (not in journal but this part will stay in my brain forever I'm sure - they had me under 7 heated blankets because I was so cold inside. We'd become incredibly acclimated to being in the heat and the cold inside was insane. The Dr was going to let the med students try to start the IV but then even he couldn't find my vein. That was when they realized just how bad off I was. IV Techs had to work on me to get it set up. When the student rolled the regulator pump into the room the Dr. told him that "she doesn't have time for that..." Sean's eyes got big as saucers as we both realized I was very ill. I was about 1 hr away from renal failure. I knew something was wrong when they took me straight back as soon as I signed some forms. The waiting room was full but I didn't get a chance to sit down at all before the nurse came and got me. While they didn't give me anything for the illness they did get me rehydrated after spending the day in the ER).

cont from journal...
then they released me and we stayed at the Budget West Lawn in Waynesboro, VA

06/21/01 Montebello campground
tried to get back on trail...

06/22/01
Got sick again before getting to trail. Went back to Waynesboro and Sean hiked on to meet me there. This time they gave me the antibiotics for giardia and I got a room again.

06/23/01
Bad storm last night. Sean called me (on cell) he was so scared. He got into town around 830pm. Glad he is safe.

06/24/01 - 0fer in W'boro

06/25/01 - hiked out about 7miles and I was STILL sick. Stayed the night in a shelter w/Gnome b/c he saw a bear.

06/26/01 - Got a hitch back to the YMCA so maybe I could get some rest

06/27/01 -0fer day at YMCA

06/28/01 - Talked to Aloha Ann (who's off trail with knee injury) going to stay w/her in Fredericksburg for a few days. Aloha!

06/29/01 - 07/01/01 @ Aloha Ann and Char's!

07/01/01 - Shenandoah (sp?)~5mi. today
Weather looked bad. NOT SICK!

07/02/01 - In tent - 13 mi
Ate lunch at Big Meadows Lodge and made it to Skyland for dinner. It was awesome!

07/03/01 - in tent "Stealth camping" - 14miles
ate at Panorama - good food.
(499.2 trip miles total)
Gimp
[for some reason I left a big blank and wrote FILL IN REST LATER! - no idea what about]

07/13/01
An interesting life is what I lead. Two day ago I decided my big toe hurt too much to continue on, so I hitched from Turner's Gap backto Harper's Ferry to go home. There wasn't another train to D.C. that day so I made a reservation for the next day to take Amtrak to Atlanta. While I was waiting, about 11pm wednesday evening, I decided I didn't want to give up so easy but I didn't want to jerk Sean around anymore. Thurs morning I still didn't know what to do, then I ran itno Pee-Wee. She suggested that I could use her tent and yellow blaze ahead and hike my own hike and let Sean catch up. So that's what I'm doing. I've done ~9mi by 11:15am - crazy fast for me.

THAT ^ was my last journal entry from the trail. Luckily I wrote more enteries later on so I'll post those on here. They don't have dates or a whole lot of meaning to anyone else besides me but I'll post em anyway.

12/10/03 - Was reading over my journal when I realized just how much of my hike I'd left out. The stories of Texas Jack and Grampie yelling at each other at 6am about breakfast. The Horsemen: Strider, Gunslinger, Maximus, Sheriff, Treebeard, Rocky, Deep Sea, Monkey, Phoenix, BBall Jones and the Accomplice, Baltimore Jack, Big Bird, Aloha Ann, Monya, Midnight Moon and Summer Rain, BMan and Brother, Batman, Catwoman, Breeze & Mudwamp and the list goes on...

The heat in NY/NJ.

The drought there as well.

The crazy hostel in Palmerton PA where they actually put a window A/C unit in the room for an extra $2 and the climb out of Lehigh Gap the next day. The blistering sun since of all the vegetation was burned off the mountain due to a zinc smelting plant polluting it in the 60's. The 20 mile hike that same day to the Gateway Motel in Wind Gap PA just to see the season finale of Buffy. The owner going out for Burger King for us so we didn't have to move. The bad bed and worse bathroom. The tub and toilet moved all on their own.

Something about the way The Horsemen said PORT CLINTON!

Once into NJ we hiked over the state line to camp in Unionville NY, where we set up tent in the memorial at the center of the city and ate burgers at the bar.

As we hiked into Vernon NJ we were too close to an auto accident at an intersection. Met Edie and Rich Nathan while were avoiding becoming witnesses and were walking through their yard on the way to the hostel. Ate cold grapes and drank cokes in the back yard with them. Spent that night in a tent @ the volunteer fire dept because the hostel was full. Was woken at up at 4am with the fire truck leaving it's sirens blaring.