Mysteries solved...

A skunk took my shoes.



We've been walking along/crossing over the Blue Ridge Parkway (BRP) for a week or so now. Lots of nice views scattered here and there between lots of mountains and spring trees. I must say, the flower scents are wondrous. I sometimes forget I'm a stinky stinky hiker. (I'm not at the moment, though, cause I'm in Waynesboro at the Lutheran Church Hostel - so I've taken a shower AND done laundry).



I should also mention the privies in the BRP have been beautiful - by privy standards. There's a huge hole the size of a basement, a real toilet seat/stand on a concret slab inside an exquisitely built wooden toilet home, and you can actually stand up inside without having accidently hitting the toilet and feeling grossed out. Going doo-doo out in the woods is almost better that privies actually. But it does require some hefty physical labor - digging a hole at least six inches deep :) Anyway, the Natural Bridges AT Hiking Club gets kudos from me for best privies on the trail thus far.



We've been trying to do bigger days without taking shorter breaks during the day meaning a couple days getting into camp after dark - not so much my cup of tea. I just don't like it. You have be quiet so you don't wake people up because hikers midnight in actually 9 pm. hang food bags in the dark. set up in the dark and still be quiet. go to bed on a full stomach. wake up early so you don't have to get into camp late the following night. It just doesn't create good trail habit making.



We got into Thunder Hill Shelter late several nights ago. After being quiet/hanging food bag/eating/going to bed, etc, I awoke in the middle of the night needing to take a tinkle. And upon waking up, I hear a noise ruffling through some plastic - figured it was a mouse and carried on with my nightly wake-up call. But I couldn't find my brand new hiking shoes (bought just a couple days prior). I also noticed all the other shoes were scattered about, and a single sock without it's pair. And as I crawl back into bed, I saw a larger-than-mouse shadow stroll down the mountainside...scared the living sh*t out of me.

So the next morning, we discover my shoe is not the only missing, but both Pyrofly and Y-Knot have a missing croc each, and Wingo's sock is nowhere to be found. (I had put all the remaining shoes/socks inside the shelter before I went back to bed). Y-Knot crawled out of bed first and found the missing items minus his own Croc and Wingo's sock...and Wingo only had one pair of socks on him...uh oh. Neither were ever found.

After pondering what the dark shoe stealing shadow could be (perhaps a raccoon), Pyrofly and I sighted the perpetrator...a skunk with a white tail casually yet catiously strolling up the mountainside - to it's sock/croc filled nesting sight perhaps. Excellant. It wasn't scared of us. Probably knew we weren't gonna run up the mountainside banging at it with a ferocious stick...seriously, there's not much one can do about a skunk. I mean, we do stink, but we don't stink like skunk spray stink - well at least, I don't think we do.

But we were informed later that peroxide and baking soda works wonders on getting the skunk stink off of misbehaving skunk chasing doggies...