Trail Journal 06.05.02

Very late on a long day but need to write before I forget.  Walked into Troutville today after getting up at 4:30 to beat the heat.  Was tough getting up--didn't get much sleep last night.  Was hard to get comfortable in the humidity.  Had a lot of thunderstorm activity through midnight which made sleep difficult.  But still we made it out early which resulted in some of the most glorious walking of the hike so far.  Not only did we have the soft morning twilight to walk in, we reached Tinker Cliffs early.  The wind was blowing stiffly from the west and was delightfully cool after the night's humidity  The cliffs are a sheer outcropping that offers expansive views to the west:  houses, farms, roads and ridges dissolving into the distance.  We were very glad to be there at that early hour.

The rest of the day's walk wasn't nearly as rewarding.  It seemed to go on forever.  We got in around 1:30 and immediately started in on all of the town chores.  So here I am sitting naked in an air-conditioned motel room wondering what great thoughts I wanted so desperately to record.  A few come to mind:

• Walking in the Troutville area is difficult.  The roads are built for cars, not pedestrians.  We were lucky to experience some trail magic in the form of an unexpected ride to and from dinner.
• AT hiking turns us all into old people, at least in its impact on our gait.  I saw three 20-something hikers coming out of a motel in Pearisburg.  They walked stiffly and with some effort.
• We hikers are a very distinct group.  Most people recognize us as thru-hikers almost immediately.  No doubt out unique garb and men's beards give us away.

Not exceptionally profound but it's late.