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Saturday, August 14, 2004 - My daughters birth date.  R.I.P.
Cove Mountain Shelter to Bobblets Gap Shelter

Thirty years ago today I had been up all night with the wife in labor. Melodye Kay Rowlands came into the world in
the early afternoon in Mount Vernon, Ohio. She died in 1989 of cancer. I think of her often. She was 7 years old in
1981 and I called here from Pinkham Notch N.H. to wish her a happy birthday. I never knew when I would rehike the
trail again but she was to be with me when I did. She is.  

I got up at 6:00 a.m. at Cove Mountain Shelter after the alarm went off. I got to Bearwallow Gap at 9:00 a.m. or so. I
tried to hitchhike down to Buchanan with no luck.  There weren’t very many cars on the road this time of day. I
decided that I had enough food to go for a while. Later I wish I had because I heard the hurricane in Florida had
gone through the Orlando area and had done much damage. I hope all is fine in the Ocala area where I live. I will
call the first chance I can. I made it to Bobblets Gap shelter by 11:00 a.m. It was .2 off trail but a decent shelter with
a small water source which would do. There was some charcoal left by others and I started a small fire under
overhang to stay warm and heat up water on a very cool day. Wet and damp is the word for the day.   It is nice to
have a small heat source without having to start a stove every time. Today on the trail a man with current forecast
says 1-2 inches of rain is expected tonight. I met the music man today. He is from Key West Florida and wonders
about his house too. He told me to look him up if I ever get down that way. He was hiking as far north as he could
until cold weather sets in in about a month. I had mashed potatoes, garlic, butter, and mushrooms for lunch and it
was very tasty. [Chicken of the woods I had picked] The shorter days are helping my sore leg. If it rains tomorrow I
will stay here another night. I hate hiking in the rain. I sure wish I had some meat to cook on this nice charcoal fire.  
There is nothing around here slow enough to catch and eat. I have seen no rattlesnakes around either. Freddy
Bear stayed here two nights ago. He is moving on. Triumph was here yesterday afternoon for lunch. 2:45 p.m. The
wind is picking up a little and it is 58 degrees. I have been adding some small short wood to fire to keep my feet
warm. I will be glad when I can start hiking to 4p.m. It sometimes gets boring sitting around in the rain. I usually have
a book to read but I haven’t had one lately. But right now the leg is the boss. I am O.K. with that for now. I am having
a Lipton Rice side for supper. I can see my breath it is so chilly. Is it August or October? This was a boring day at
the shelter but I was visited at around dark by a lonely gay dude wanting some action. I had to finally run him off at
dark.  

Sunday, August 15, 2004 - Bobblets Gap Shelter to Fullhardt Knob Shelter

I was up at 5:a.m. on a clear morning and left 40 minutes later. I made good time to Wilson Creek Shelter where I
had lunch at 9:45 a.m. The next shelter is 6.2 so I went for it. There were all sorts of hiking here with two big climbs
which rendered me ‘real tired. My leg did not bother me much today but my feet hurt from the extra miles. I am at
Fullhardt Knob Shelter. It has the only remaining water cistrin on the entire Appalachian Trail. I stayed here in 1981
and there were many shelters on the trail with cistrins. The Walker Mountain range way south of Bastian had some
there. They were used a lot on these dry ridges where a lot of rain fell but did not collect in springs. In 1981 there
was a pond north of the shelter but I could not find it today before arriving. I had to jog my memory but I do recall this
one. This shelter is .10 miles off the trail and if I had not stayed here I would not have come up. I will check later in
my old log of 81 to see if I mention this shelter. It is incredible that I do not remember a lot of these shelters. I believe
that many have been rebuilt or relocated over the years. When I talked to G-man a while back he said he was
having the same issues of the trail, not remembering as much as he thought he would. The shelters look a lot alike
in certain areas so that doesn’t help things either. When a custom shelter is built you tend not to forget it. Oh well, it
is all good. It is of sweat and occasional pain but I’m glad I came. It is something I had to do again. Weird Huh? The
older Rowmin Goat has the right stuff! I have decided most recently that my cheap boots could be causing my
tendon problems. I will keep a close eye out on things and maybe buy new ones later. My left foot and leg are
perfect; my right shoe looks the same with no running over or any sign of being different. I need to make a list for
food I need to buy in town tomorrow. I went to open a tuna can with my Swiss army knife and it never has worked
good for me. I usually use a little p-38 army can opener but I must have sent it home. I just happened to look up on
the shelter ledge and there were 2 p-38’s with little spoons built in just sitting there for the taking. I carried one of
them the rest of this season of hiking. This shelter is supposed to have an old homeless woman living here. Many
thru-hikers talk of her in the registers to the north. I never did see her on this day. The water in the cistrin was very
cold and clean, but has a tricky valve which can act as if no water in there. Beware and play around with it a bit. I
checked my 1981 journal and I did stay here in 1981 and I mentioned the pond and the cistern.

Monday, August 16, 2004 - Fullhardt Knob Shelter to Lambert’s Meadow Shelter

I left Fullhart Knob Shelter at 5:40a.m., and made good time down mountain in the dark with my headlight. I got to
Daleville and walked to the Bojangles for a second breakfast. I then called Virginia and then went to the Kroger’s
where I got my supplies for the next few days. I decided to go on after finding a little out about the hurricane in
Florida. We dodged the bullet this time but this is a real mean season. This was a hard pretty day of hiking. I went
passed Hay Rock and many other places I remembered from my 1981 trip.  We were up on a ridge most of the day
with views back to Daleville. It was a nice day and very rewarding. I got to Lamberts Meadow Shelter at 6:30 p.m.
and it is a different design so I remembered it from 1981. It was taken over by Boy Scouts then but I got to stay there
this time. Freddy Bear was here and two new friends. [Bonny and Clyde]  

Tuesday, August 17, 2004 -Lambert’s Meadow Shelter to Catawba Mountain Shelter

I was up at 5:45 a.m. and I left the shelter at 7:30 a.m. I had fresh brewed coffee and oatmeal to eat. I hiked a
beautiful six miles past Tinker Cliffs and stopped by Campbell Shelter for lunch and took a nap. I walked over
McAfee Knob and took a picture of Freddy Bear on the famous rock. I ended up at Catawba Mountain Shelter. I got
there at about 4:00 p.m. I had mac and cheese for supper tonight. It was good as usual. I had to get water past
shelter on the trail to the south and it was a small spring but an adequate one. This shelter has very high ceilings. I
will pick up some mail sent to me in the morning at Catawba. I will then hike over the Saw Tooth range and stay at
the Hostel near the highway. This shelter is one mile from the Boy Scout Shelter. It rained really hard in the late
evening.  Freddy Bear, Bonnie and Clyde are here too. It has been remarkable cool this year in Virginia. I sure do
hope it keeps up till September when it should cool down for good this year. The weather in Florida seems to still be
active in the hurricane area. I need to keep an eye out every chance I get.

Wednesday, August 18, 2004 - Catawba Mountain Shelter to Four Pines Hostel

I left the shelter at 7:00a.m. and met a man day hiking at The Boy Scout Shelter one mile away. He told me he would
give me a ride into town to get my mail! I hiked with him and we went to Post office and he even gave me a ride back.
I was up and back in 15 minutes. The only thing I didn’t do was call Virginia because I had no time. I will call her
tonight at the hostel if they have a phone. I bought two honey buns and ate them both.  1100 calories and zoom,
zoom I went. The next six miles would be hard up and down and up and down. The name Saw tooth was fitting for it
when I later saw the mountain range from Dragon’s Tooth it looked like a long saw. The elevations were not  long
but many.   I met Freddy Bear in the middle of the Saw Tooth and we yo-yoed up and down together.  I was out of
water and with no filter I did not want to drink the water at a cow field.  Freddy Bear filtered some water for me. I was
grateful . We got to the road to the hostel, 624 and walked to the Four Pines Hostel. This place was real nice. It had
a garden out back which was taken care of by hikers from the planting to the harvest and we reaped the bounty.
There were tomatoes, peppers, squash, and corn. We ate a stir fry with venison burger left in the refrigerator for
supper and it was one of the best meals of the trip. We put beans in the stir fry too along with ramin noodles. There
was red burgundy wine in the refrigerator and I got a little tipsy from two glasses of it. Freddy Bear and Clyde walked
to the store to buy some beer and we played horseshoes till dark.. Bonny beat Freddy Bear and Me badly at
horseshoes. It made her day. We had enough time earlier to wash out some clothes and dry them. Freddy Bear and
Clyde bought us some eggs and bacon for breakfast in the morning. Over all we had a great evening. I am sad to
inform everyone that the Mitchell family who were so nice to me in 2004 closed their hostel soon after we stayed
there.