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| Hanging Bear Bags at Cosby Knob Shelter |
Starting Point: Tricorner Shelter
Destination: Cosby Knob Shelter
Today’s Miles: 7.7
Total Miles: 64.0
“You should have told us,” says AK to Sarge the next morning.
“That’s why I waited until you all went to bed before I did,” replies Sarge.
As if that made a difference!
We take off about We have a short day today, only 7.7 miles . As we walk along, we agree that if Sarge shows up to sleep at our shelter tonight, we will make him stay in his tent.
We also toy with the idea of combining today and tomorrow’s hike and going all the way back to Standing Bear. This would allow us to catch up to Janet and finish our hike a day early. The trail is mostly downhill both today and tomorrow, but the downhills are harder on Jenni’s foot than the inclines. So we all pretty much know we will not try to go 15 miles today.
The afternoon is chilly, but there are plenty of flowers to keep us company. On this part of the trail we encounter the dwarf iris, and they are gorgeous. Just like the ones I have planted at home, but teeny tiny.
We get to the Cosby Knob shelter early in the afternoon. There’s only one other couple there, who came all the way from Buffalo , New York
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| Cosby Knob Shelter |
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| A pretty setting for a shelter |
Soon a family of 5 arrives. They set up tarps beyond the bear cables. An hour or two after we arrive, Sarge appears. As planned, we tell him he will have to stay in his tent. He says he’s only here to eat and then he plans to push on to the next shelter. We are relieved.
Then Caleb, the ridge runner assigned to this part of the park, shows up for the night. He’s been a ridge runner for about 7 months and he’s tired of it. He tells us he’s going to get a job singing on a cruise ship. More and more thru-hikers arrive; most of them set up tents. One goes directly into the shelter and gets into his sleeping bag without introducing himself. V-Dub, Mockingbird, and the professors also appear. A thru hiker named “Big Dog” also pulls in, and when we mention Sarge (who has left by then), he tells us he’s been trying to stay at least one shelter behind Sarge because of the snoring. Then Henry from California Canada
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| Caleb the Ridgerunner |
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| Henry, with Big Dog sitting behind him |
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| Henry's homemade gaitors |
Between Caleb, Henry, Big Dog, V-Dub, Mockingbird and the “Virginia Ladies”, as we have come to be known on this trip, we have a lively conversation and a lot of laughs. Mostly we talk about the other hikers we have met. At this point, the thru hikers have been on the trail for about a month, and many know each other. Thus, Big Dog knew Sarge. Caleb, the ridge runner, has encountered many of the same hikers we have gotten to know in our short time on the trail. He tells us for example, that Beans (who gave me a roll of toilet paper the night before) is “pink blazing,” which means he is following Lady Sherpa. He’s not stalking her; they met when they first got on the trail and like each other. But according to another thru hiker, he has to pant to keep up with her!
We take full advantage of having a ridge runner with us, and we ask Caleb lots of questions. One of the things we ask about is the lack of African Americans on the trail. Other than AK, I’ve only seen one other on the trail. AK says it’s a cultural thing. She says her family thinks she’s crazy. We ask Caleb how many African Americans he’s seen on the trail this year, and he replies four. But he adds that one of those looked more Polynesian.
As dusk falls, it’s time to hoist the food bags on the bear cable and I gather them from AK and Jenni. They get a kick out of my fascination in doing this. Bear cables consist of steel cables strung horizontally between two strong trees at about 15 to 20 feet above the ground. Then individual bear cables are looped around the horizontal cables. Each loop has a hook at one end and a clip at the other. The clip attaches to the tree. To hoist the food bag, one unfastens the clip from the tree, which causes the other end with the hook to fall to the ground. The food bag is attached to the hook, and then hoisted back up to the cable. Once the food bag is back to the level of the horizontal cable, the clip is refastened to the tree. The process is reversed in the morning. These bear cables are so much easier to use than the bear poles in the Shenandoah National Park or throwing a bear rope.
Finally we turn in, and we are all happy not to have the freight train with us tonight. I put a big note in my journal: EAR PLUGS!! But, we have a different type of surprise in store for us. Around , I am awakened by a retching sound. Someone is throwing up. I’m on the top bunk, and the vomiter is on the bottom bunk, so he or she is presumably throwing up onto the dirt floor of the shelter. It is pitch black and I don’t want to turn on my headlamp. I hear Caleb say, “Get out of the shelter if you have to do that.” But the vomiting continues. Once it stops, another voice says something unintelligible, except for the end—“smart ass.”
Early in the morning, while it is still dark, Henry gets up, packs up and leaves. That makes me think he was the vomiter. When Mockingbird gets up, however, she says she thinks it was the professor. Later in the day, Jenni , AK
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| The privy at Cosby Knob Shelter |
