Swiss Cheese Socks

June 12
Mile 626 to 853
Pearisburg to Waynesboro

Summer has fallen on the eastern mountains like a big giant hot wet towel. "it is 90 degrees" I heard one hiker say (June 4) "94 in Town today" I heard another report in Waynesboro. And that ain't your average west coast stuff. This stuff is thick... oppressive, soggy... I feel like I am trying to breath under water! Well I did... I am beginning to acclimate. The last few days have been better, even with the thick, hot, steamy weather. On the 12th, today, Ladybird and I (a hiker with whom I have been traveling since mile 370 or so) made 20 miles by 2:00 with limited stops. Naturally we were drawn by the spinning vortex of town, trapped in its event horizon. But it was hot today! "94 in town"

One gives up trying to stay dry. I... we have adopted the strategy of trying to stay wet!

Here is a possible transcript of a visit to one of the many creeks and streams that cross the trail:
"Oooo, a stream, There. That looks deep enough. Thigh Deep? Fine! That means I can submerge. Lunch? What it is only 10:30? Oh, who cares, lets do lunch anyway... How long has it been? Two hours? Hey, my socks are dry!"

After a couple swims, one becomes accustomed to a cleansing soak in a murky stream. And Clear ones become that much more refreshing. We have been rating stream, giving points for depth, clarity, waterfalls, slabby rocks... There are no clear winners, and I can't even begin to remember all of the spots. Jennings Creek sticks out in my mind as a particularly refreshing stop. Streams can be found in many of the low gaps between high mountains.

And oh the wonders it does for thruhiker stench! There are several stages of body odor. The first is that sort of smell one gets after jogging for an hour. A little sweat, but it is fresh. It is just salt. There isn't much in the way of bacteria. Socks when dropped on the floor, don't crawl away under their own power. This is normal. In the next stages, one begins to smell like various foods. Onions and old refried beans are typical after a day or two. Then comes cheese. Swiss, Feta... The most alarming stage is that compost pile smell. At this point, possibly over a week, salt and dirt has soaked into the clothing repeatedly over the course of a week. When I encounter such a smell, I do my best to stand up wind. Now I am sure that I smell plenty bad, but I think a swim does wonders. If caught early, the progressing putrification can be reversed from cheese back to refried beans, and if one is lucky, the river smell, which is very socially acceptable, will drown out all other various and interesting smells.

The added bonus is the break from walking. We realized one day after doing nearly 100 miles in three days "Are we having fun?" In one way, yes. It is fun to push oneself. In another... No. I'd rather be swimming. I think I can make a five mile per day sacrifice for that. Maybe even 10.