[at-l] Finally made it to Springer

[Richard Calkins]

I am suffering from a really bad case of Springer Fever this year.  Cold compresses don't seem to help.  My 2005 hiking partner, Butterfly Moon, is having another go at it this year, with her dog, Luna.  Reading her journal brings back so many incredible memories.  She just passed Bly Gap where we took a group picture at the famous old gnarled tree.  I miss her, and Phoenix, and Nubee, and even Hopeful Hiker!  I'm going again next year, but that's 349 days from now.  sigh....
 
Best I could do this weekend was to respond with my search and rescue group for a missing person search in the Shenandoah National Park.  Got up at 5 am to get down there for the 7:30 am briefing.  Searched until dark, and then headed home.  Had to come to work today.  
 
One of my tasks was to lead a team doing a sweep search on both sides of the AT between Elk Wallow Wayside (remember the fresh blackberry milkshakes?) and the Piney Ridge trail.  Later we did a grid search around the perimeter of the Range View Cabin.  We didn't find him.  But we tried.  The search is still going on, but I had to come back to work.  I miss the mountains.  I hope they find him.  
 
ok, back to lurking.....
 
Longhaul


Date: Sun, 30 Mar 2008 17:35:19 -0400From: dfaddleton at gmail.comTo: at-l at backcountry.netSubject: [at-l] Finally made it to Springerfor a week-end trip, that is. With a backpacking meet-up group at http://www.meetup.com/A cold and rainy Saturday greeted me; the weather radio predicted pea-sized hail around nightfall, but it never came.I'd left early Friday and hiked from 3Forks to Stover Creek Shelter in the evening. The trail has been rerouted to the new shelter and latrine: instead of the steep climb to the right at the end of the old, nameless FS road, you switchback to the left and down. They installed it last Fall. It has an aisle down the middle of the first floor, a great innovation; and sleeps 4 or 5 on each side. There's an upstairs loft. Both have windows in the rear. There's a porch with a giant table and benches all around the perimeter. There are pegs galore in the sleeping areas, but none in the porch area. Mice have already moved in. I slept under my tarp between two trees in a hammock, with only my legs in the bag. The first night was warm enough for that.I was supposed to meet my group at the parking lot below Springer on Saturday at around 10 am, but they arrived late. I was wet to the skin hiking up there to meet them and cold from waiting for them and decided to hike without them to the Springer summit. My assault on the summit went smoothly -- only three bottles of oxygen and no burned retinas; I'd left my gear at the Stover Creek Shelter, planning to return and dry out and letting them hike up to Springer and back using the BMT, because they liked to hike miles. But they wanted to stay together as a group and didn't want to get wet. So we went to the Stover shelter and lunched. It quickly filled up because of the rain. A women's PE class from UGA showed up and took over all the tent spots. My group decided to hike down to a camp site they'd seen after going to view Long Creek Falls and returning in the afternoon. I'd wandered close to hypothermia and then dried out by then -- after someone had built a fire -- and agreed. The next morning dropped to around 38F with drizzle and we left.The ridge runner at the summit said he counted 15 leaving on a thru hike. He said there were over 50 the last week end. We camped with two, Pete from coastal Virginia and Sunny from Boston. I told all the others I was just finishing up my sobo thru and offered stolichnaya and they didn't think I was much of an [trail] angel. But the Russian economist dude to whom I'd promised it if he joined me liked it. We drank it with his spicy organic garlic Saturday night as darkness gathered. There were rumors of bears, but we never saw one.
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