May 12 - 20.2 / 838.8

Waiting this many days before giving an entry may be a little tough. I'll see what all I can remember.

I woke up at the Priest Shelter and could actually see that morning. The rain had stopped, and the fog had lifted. We got a good laugh out of being able to see the privy from the shelter. We had no idea where it was the day before cause the fog and haze was so thick. Again, PM was the first to get up and out that morning. The rest of us finally got going and head down the Priest toward the Tye River. I'm still waiting for VA to get "flat" since that is all we heard about VA before we got there. The descent from the top of the Priest to the river was over 3,000 feet. We got a really nice view from a rock face as we were coming down. We had sun at our elevation, but a few hundred feet below one could see the tops of other mountains sticking up through the clouds. It looked like islands out at sea.

TW, Samurai, and I got down to the river at the same time. The weather from down there was different as we had made in below the clouds. It looked like it was going to rain at any second. We stopped and had a snack. A southbound section hiker passed us. He was equipped for a war. He had on some fatigues, a pot that could feet 10 people, and a huge Rambo knife...more like a sword.

From the river, the trail went straight back up 2,900 feet over Chimney Rocks and Three Ridges. I think the climb was pointless. The third of Three Ridges was the toughest. The blazes were not well defined on the rocks and trees. I stopped a few times debating if I was even going the right direction. At the top, there really wasn't even a good vista. I feel I should be rewarded after climbing to the top. I took a break at the top and then headed on toward Maupin Field Shelter for a late lunch.

PM was walking back to the trail as I was arriving. He said he was going to push on and hike 15.8 miles to the next shelter. I was eating when it started to sprinkle. I moved from a table and into the shelter. SR arrived and was followed by Samurai, TW, and eventually Sonic. We were all sitting in the shelter when we could hear thunder in the distance. I was just about to start hiking too. Next thing I know, we are sitting in the shelter for the next 3 or so hours waiting out a t-storm. This was the first time while on the trail I had to stop for lightning. We got some music going with an ipod. Some read while I refreshed my knowledge on wilderness first responder skills. I even gave the others some responses when they started asking what to do in certain situations.

We decided we would leave the shelter if the storm had passed by 5. Around 4:30, all the rain quit and the lightning and thunder had passed. We packed up our stuff and hiked another 6 miles to a spot just off the BRP. Just before camping there was a good vista which overlooked Waynesboro. We got a good view of another storm coming in with the sunset off to the side.

During the night I thought a bear was going after my food bag. It turned out to be Sonic trying to go to the restroom. He had lost his headlamp sometime during the night and was trying to find it with his cell phone light.