Day Two

Wolfe Shelter to Rockfish Gap. 5.0 miles.

The three of us spent the night in the shelter. At about 7am, there was another rustle in the shelter. Two people had dropped in and were looking for the register. Without any regard for the three sleeping people, they began to read aloud the shelter register and add their own comments. After about 45 minutes of this, they went on their merry way. It seemed like a pretty good time to get up. Well, Hannah already described the rest of the day. Centrail Virginia maps have very little to do with what actually exists on the trail. It always makes for an interesting day. I mentally prepared for an immediate 1,000 foot ascent in less than a mile only to ascent 500 feet in about the same distance and walk on a plateau. In a sense it was nice, but I spent the whole morning dreading nothing.

Our trail guide stated that there were restaurants on the trail as well as lodging and groceries about 4 miles away. Everything in the vicinity of the trail was abandoned and boarded up. However, the parking lots in front of all these buildings were nearly full. We saw three guys in one corner, and then a man and woman over at the other side. The old men looked creepy, and I thought the other car looked like an undercover cruiser so we went to talk to them. There was a guy in his early to mid-20s and an older lady wearing a navy blazer and a pistol. They immediately struck up a conversation with us and offered to take us into town. We had worried about hitch hiking, but as it turns out, people just volunteer to take us places, so it didn't matter. Along the way, the guy driving mentioned that he didn't want to take us close to the Lutheran Church where there was a hiker hostel because the U.S. Marshall was taking down a fugitive in the area, but he would be happy to take us to the Chinese Buffet (see Hannah's post). He also assured us that we were in no danger. Awesome! Actually, the prospect of danger didn't hit me. I had my mind set on the sushi.

After we had our lunch, surprisingly, we were still able to walk. We certainly ate more that the $7.15 that the buffet cost us. The registers said that if we found Grace Lutheran Church, they would put us up for the night. The Marshall said that we just needed to take a left and we would see it. Well, we found the Unitarian Church, First Baptist Church, St. John's Catholic Church, St. Mark's Methodist Church, Bethany Lutheran Church, the Church of Latter Day Saints, and Westminster Presbyterian, nut no Grace Lutheran. Knowing that it was a Lutheran Church we were looking for, we decided to knock on Bethany's door thinking that one Lutheran could point us in the direction of another. The words "Seek and ye shall find" was written on the sign out front. The continuation of that verse is "knock and the door shall be opened for you." So we knocked. The secretary looked out the window and waved at us. So, we knocked again, and nothing happened. Somebody dropped the ball. Anyway, around the corner, there was a funeral home with a bunch of suited men hanging around the back door. I imagined that a funeral director must know where all the churches are. He did, of course, and gave us directions. We were on the right path, but didn't go quite far enough. This Lutheran church was also locked tight, but we found an open door and let ourselves in. The sky was getting cloudy, and things didn't look good. After several minutes, we finally drew the attention of someone who told us that the hiker hostel just ended a few days ago. Apparently, these people are charitable to hikers for four weeks a year. The rest of the time, they would like to invite all hikers to go screw themselves. The heavens opened up, and the rain fell in sheets from the sky. We put our pack covers and rain gear on and headed for the YMCA--the other place mentioned in the shelter register.

The Waynesboro YMCA has a field across the street where they allow hikers to pitch their tents and stay for up to two nights. The also, for no charge, open up their locker room (showers!). Well, we pitched our tent in the field, threw our packs in, and took care of priority 1. We went to the library to check our e-mail and update the blog...

Afterwards, we took a shower. I predicted, having other YMCA experience, that the shower would be a large room with several showerheads. Hannah said I was crazy. This is modern America. They will, of course, have shower stalls. We were both right. However, I had to deal with the creepy guy in the big room of showerheads, while Hannah had a lovely, luxurious shower stall. Well, I entered the locker room and went into the shower area. Looking at me, there was a naked man creepily smiling at me. I decided to take a side trip to the bathroom. He finished his shower and stood just outside my stall drying off far longer than is reasonably necessary. I grew tired of waiting, so I emerged. Again, he was just standing there, creepily looking at me, towel draped around his shoulder still naked as the day he was born. Thankfully, he left when I got to the showers. The shower, I will admit felt really good. I took my time because it was uncertain when I would be able to indulge in this way again. I finished up and went around the corner where this man was still naked. Gross. I dressed and left.

Afterwards, Hannah and I went to Kroger Supermarket where you can buy your Beer, Wine, and Fireworks in the same aisle. There are reasons to like Virginia after all. Since we had nothing to do, and nothing really to buy, we decided to walk the aisles and look at the food that Virginians eat. It doesn't sound exciting, but let me tell you, it was wonderful. We decided that we would need dinner, so we picked out the worst things we could think of. We got some hoagie rolls, a pound of bologna, Frito Lay Cheese spread, a tomato for good health, pork rinds, 2 liters of Cherry Coke, and 5 pounds of ice. We ate half for dinner and half for breakfast the next morning. The ice was used to make a "refrigerator" in the vestibule of the tent to keep everything nice and fresh. I'm telling ya. I feel like MacGyver already.