3-7-06
Start: Wilsonburg, WV
Destination: Smithburg, WV
Miles: 21.6
Weather: Perfect!
We started out with a very cold morning, but it soon warmed up to the perfect hiking temp for us. I'm guessing high 40s. The sky was a deep blue with not a single cloud, and warm sunshine all day. And we had a bittersweet transition today. We went from the mountain's many ups and downs to a rail trail, which is flat. It even goes through mountains by way of dark tunnels. It's called the North Bend Rail Trail, and we got onto it in Wolf Summit and will take it all the way to Parkersburg, which is near the WV/OH border. So we'll miss the challenge of up and down and the gorgeous views, but we'll gladly take the break.
Our morning started out with warnings of West Virginia's many dangerous animals by some regulars in the cafe where we had breakfast. We realized that they were messing with us when they mentioned the "wild rabbits."
A fun thing that happened today that shows the closeness of the small towns we go through: As we walked through Reynoldsville, past a church, the pastor was waiting for us to come by to meet us. He said someone who works at the post office saw us walking on her way to work, and having read about us in the local newspaper, called Pastor Hayes to let him know we'd be coming by the church. We stopped in for a little bit and found out that one of the people I did a phone interview with goes to his church. When we left and continued down the street, we were stopped three other times. Pastor Hayes called some of the residents he knew to let them know we were coming, and they came out to give us some words of encouragement. They all respected the fact that we needed to hike on, and we were very thankful for their warm welcomes! What a wonderful community!
We seemed to upset quite a few dogs today. We must've smelled awfully funny or something. We had a couple of situations where we weren't quite sure if we were going to get away with our ankles in one piece. We just walked, looked straight ahead, and with our hearts beating through our chests, let them bark and sniff our feet and the backs of our ankles. They all eventually left us alone. The scariest was when two of the littlest wiener dogs came running out at us at mach-speed, barking ferociously. We thought for sure that we were going to lose a chunk out of the backs of our legs, but the owner quickly called them back. They may be little and kind of funny when they run really fast, but they scared the heck right out of us!
The tunnels we went through were neat. Mom and I are both really fascinated by them. We think it's got to be because they are so spooky. So far we haven't run into any deep water. We were told there might be spots where the water can be knee-deep. And we were also told that the water is infested with Copperhead snakes. But that was the same guy that told us about the wild rabbits - We think it's too cold for snakes, anyway - or at least we hope so! The scariest part are the little spaces they have built into the walls of the tunnel that were used for a place for people to jump into when a train went through -- back when the train still ran through there. I'm glad we don't have to worry about that!
At the end of our day Sharon from West Union picked us up in Smithburg and brought us back to her and her husband's home for the night. We were given a very good dinner, wonderful rhubarb pie (reminded us of home), laundry, a warm guest bedroom, and a hot shower. Yup, the people in West Virginia are wonderful hosts! They know how to make hikers comfy -- we feel spoiled! Thank you Sharon and Paul for a great stay! :)
Oh, and I think I might be on my way to having a new trail name if I'm not careful. Jeff got on the roll of calling me "milkshake" while he was with us. And it's sticking... but I need to say in my defense that mom on Peeps or an apple does the same thing!! Must be the sugar, hey? It sure keeps us entertaining each other! And we have no plans of stopping that!
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