Day 62: Little Engine's Last Day

Origin: Thunder Hill Shelter

Destination: Johns Hollow Shelter

Today's miles: 16.3

Total miles: 783.0

Today was a good last day: the terrain was mostly gentle, we had good cover from the hot sun, there was a nice breeze, and we had some relaxing breaks by creeks.  We covered the 14 miles to the highway where Marcia and Josh were meeting us at a leisurely pace, and Magge had an extra spring in her step as she was excited to see family, take a bath and eat at Chik-fil-a.  As we crosses the longest footbridge on the AT, Magge spotted her mother and brother and I could sense the relief she felt.  They had a cold Sprite Zero for her and two Mello Yellos for me (I downed one in two minutes and saved the other for dinner).  Then all of a sudden, I was by myself, as I will be until around June 10, when I will enter Harpers Ferry.  I will enjoy certain aspects of hiking alone, but I will miss sharing the trail with my best friend.

Day 61

Origin: Jennings Creek

Destination: Thunder Hill Shelter

Today's miles: 14.0

Total miles: 766.7

Today was relatively short, but it was heavy on climbs.  We started at an elevation of 950 ft (the first time the AT dips below 1,000 ft above sea level) and had to summit Apple Orchard Mountain at 4,225 ft.  Due to some gaps that forced us to retrace elevation, we ended up climbing nearly 5,000 ft today.  It was very much a put-your-head-down-and-work type of day and we didn't really enjoy many views.  The bugs were especially bad today and Magge had to pull two ticks off my legs.  I'm a little paranoid now about getting Lyme disease, so please cross your fingers for me.  We just have about 14 miles tomorrow, mostly downhill, before reuniting Magge with her mom.

"Thru-Hikers, Go Home!"

I wrote the other day that I can't help but not like day and weekend hikers.  I guess the feeling is mutual, if this graffiti written on a shelter is any indication.  I love the response written just underneath - it's perfect.

Day 60: A Bittersweet Day for Little Engine

Origin: Wilson Creek Shelter

Destination: Jennings Creek

Today's miles: 17.0

Total miles: 752.7

Due to yesterday's short day, we needed a big day today.  We supplied for four nights of food to get us to Buena Vista so we don't have much wiggle room.  Despite waking up early, though, we didn't get moving until 8:15am.  We then spent the morning crisscrossing the Blue Ridge Parkway over rolling terrain before taking a long lunch break.  

By the time we reached our next resting point, Magge had a very pained look on her face and I could tell she was at her breaking point.  She has put up with many aches, pains and other issues and she just wasn't having fun anymore.  Because she's stubborn, she'd hike to Harpers Ferry anyway, but I made the call to cut her adventure slightly short.  As my dad told me, you don't want to make this trip work because we work enough as is, and this is now painful work for Magge.  As upset as she is about not finishing, she's relieved to be done and I'm incredibly proud of her for fighting this far.  This trip was actually her idea (Magge denies this, but Marcia and Lee can back me up that she brought it up at dinner and I was initially cool to it) and I doubted she'd want to do it long enough for us to even leave for Springer Mountain.  Instead, she's put up with flat feet, a sore ankle, freezing rain, frozen clothes, torrential downpours, twisted knees, face plants in the mud, heat and humidity, near hurricane-force winds and more.  I'll miss my hiking partner over the last 240 miles.

We managed to make it another three miles before setting up camp by a cool creek.  We have two 14 mile days before Magge will get picked up by her mom.

Day 59

Origin: Daleville, VA

Destination: Wilson Creek Shelter

Today's miles: 11.2

Total miles: 735.7

Today was relatively uneventful.  We resupplied in town and got back on the trail (where the highway had beware of crossing hiker signs).  It took us longer to resupply than we had planned, so we had to cut our 18 mile day to 11, which means we'll have 20 to cover tomorrow.  The weather was great today and we tried to enjoy it as much as we could before the temperatures hit 90 later this week.

Day 58

Origin: Campbell Shelter

Destination: Daleville, VA

Today's miles: 15.4

Total miles: 724.5

A sheltermate woke us up in the middle of the night to tell us he heard a mouse in one of our backpacks, which were hanging on the wall.  We hung our food outside, so I thought he must have been mistaken.  Still, I stayed awake for a while to listen for a mouse chewing through my bag.  I didn't hear it so I eventually fell back asleep.  Magge had a hard time falling back asleep, and as the sun started to rise, she decided to check her bag out.  When she opened it, a mouse indeed popped out.  After she shooed it away, she heard some more mouse chatter, so she flipped her bag upside down and four baby mice fell out, along with a chewed up bag liner that had been turned into a nest.  Magge felt guilty about separating the mice from their mom and tried to collect them to return them to the shelter.  I am a much less compassionate human being and I was against returning them just so they could pester future hikers.  I told her to let nature take care of them.  If they managed to make it make it back, then they deserved to chew through someone's pocket to get to the trail mix someday.  However, with the help of some weekend hikers, she managed to find three of the four and return them, and the mother shuttled them into a hole in the wall.  At least the mother mouse did not damage to anything of Magge's except for the trash compactor bag she used as a liner.

The rest of the day was calm in comparison.  We had a beautiful walk on the Tinker Cliffs, from which I already posted a picture and have included another one below.  We pulled into Daleville in the late afternoon and got an early dinner at Three Lil Pigs, a very solid BBQ restaurant where I ate a disgusting amount of food.  After a night of sleep without the potential for mice building nests in our backpacks, we'll be ready to tackle the trail again.

   

A Good Morning So Far

Day 57

Origin: Virginia State Road 624

Destination: Campbell Shelter

Today's miles: 10.3

Total miles: 709.1

With an outdoor temperature in the low 30s, most hikers in the hostel/garage weren't in a hurry to get going this morning, and that included us.  Once we found out that the outfitter in Daleville that we were planning on visiting tomorrow is closed on Sunday, we adjusted our plan to do a short day today and see the outfitter on Monday, we were even slower getting ready.  When we did get on the trail, our pace was more deliberate than usual as our legs were a bit sore after a couple of tough days.

The highlight of the day was McAfee Knob, unofficially the most photographed point on the AT.  The only negative of the day was crowding.  The knob is only five miles from a parking lot, it was beautiful and sunny today, and it's Memorial Day weekend - all ingredients for lots of day hikers and weekend hikers, or "bear bait" as a fellow long-distance hiker called them.  I keep telling myself the trail is as much theirs as it ours, but I can't help but not like them.  They tend to be noisy, have poor trail etiquette, are more likely to leave trash, and they smell too nice.  McAfee Knob was beautiful, but I couldn't help but think of what it must be like on a weekday.  I met a trail maintainer who said it was the most crowded he's ever seen it.  We met a couple from Michigan who drove 12 hours today to make the five mile hike and will be headed back tomorrow.  The man had seen it on TV during a special on the AT and put it on his bucket list.  

Despite the crowds, it was a fantastic day with perfect weather.  We're looking forward to the Tinker Cliffs tomorrow and a BBQ dinner in Daleville.

Day 56

Origin: Niday Shelter
Destination: Virginia State Road 624

Today's miles: 16.8
Total miles: 698.8

Today marked a full eight weeks on the trail.  The weather marked the occasion with the coldest morning we've had in nearly two weeks.  It was very welcome, as both of us felt very content and comfortable in our sleeping bags.  It stayed cool all day, with the high only reaching the mid 50s.  Except for a strong wind, it was nearly perfect hiking weather.

After a steep climb, we came across a monument to Audie Murphy, the most decorated American soldier of World War II.  A recipient of 24 awards, including the Medal of Honor, he had died in a plane crash in these mountains.  A number of visitors had left American flags planted around the monument.

The second half of the hike was filled with views.  Magge sat on a rock and rested while admiring the below view and gliding birds.  She said it was one of her favorite views of the whole trip.

We came to a stone monolith called Dragon's Tooth that I thought was pretty cool, but other hikers were nonplussed with it.  Maybe we hikers are starting to get a little spoiled.

The descent from the Dragon's Tooth was one of the toughest we've had.  It was extremely rocky and tricky.  At one rock, I thought I had a bit of a ledge to step down on.  However, it wasn't wide enough and I slid down five feet and landed hard on my left shoulder.  It was easily the worst fall I've had so far, and I don't know how I didn't hurt myself.  In the split second after I slammed into the ground, I was worried I may have separated my shoulder but it turned out fine.  My collarbone that I broke when I was 15 ached for a bit, but other than that I escaped unscathed.  I have a feeling I may be a bit sore tomorrow.

We made it to the Four Pines Hostel, which is really just a generous guy named Joe's garage.  He drove us to resupply for the next two days and to an all-you-can-eat restaurant, where we stuffed our faces.  Tomorrow should be a great day, weather-wise and scenery-wise, so I wanted as much energy as possible.

Day 55

Origin: War Spur Shelter
Destination: Niday Shelter

Today's miles: 18.2
Total miles: 682.0

With a long day ahead with two steep climbs, we got an early start, hitting the trail at 7:20am.  The trail eased us in with a gentle one mile descent before having us climb 1,700 ft in just over two miles.  Once we arrived at the top, we had a few miles of easy terrain, including some bucolic pastures (pictured below).  The only problem with pastures is that we have to climb fence stiles to enter and exit, and Magge's short legs can get tired if there are enough of them.  Just past the pastures, we passed the oldest oak tree on the southern half of the AT - it's over 18 feet around.

Another steep climb brought us to a rocky ridge with great views.  I had packed away the iPad because I thought it was going to rain, so I don't have pictures to post, but it ended up being a beautiful afternoon.  The storms didn't roll in until after we arrived at the shelter, so we stayed dry today.  While we curled up in the shelter, a lightning bolt struck about 100 feet from us, which is the closest I think I've ever been from a lightning strike.  My heart is still recovering.  That is why I don't like tenting during storms.

We have another big day tomorrow so it is time to get some rest.

Day 54

Origin: Bailey Gap Shelter
Destination: War Spur Shelter

Today's miles: 8.8
Total miles: 663.8

Our intention today was to hike 14.6 miles, but we fell short of that.  After a short climb up to the great view at Wind Rock (picture below), we had a long descent in the heat down to War Spur Shelter where we stopped for lunch.  It is in a shaded, wooded area by a creek, and it felt nice and cool.  Soothed by the sound of rushing water, we decided to stay here for the day and make up the miles tomorrow.  We then spent some time reading by the creek before a storm rolled in and made us move under the shelter and listen to the thunder and rain in dry comfort as we read.  Not a bad day at all.

Day 53

Origin: Rice Field Shelter
Destination: Bailey Gap Shelter

Today's miles: 16.4
Total miles: 655.0

Most of the day was spent along the top of a relatively flat ridge, and we covered it at a decent pace despite the steamy temperatures.  We did take a number of breaks, though, to ensure we were eating and drinking enough.  In the last six miles, we had a steep decent off the ridge, walked across a valley, and then had a very steep climb up the ridge on the other side - a signature of the Virginian portion of the AT so far.  The last climb and the heat sapped us of our energy and we were lethargic during our camp chores and dinner.  Hoping it cools down a bit tomorrow.

Same View as Yesterday, but Different

Day 52

Origin: Pearisburg, VA
Destination: Rice Field Shelter

Today's miles: 6.8
Total miles: 638.6

We kicked off the day with our standard town day breakfast of biscuit sandwiches with eggs, cheese and bacon or sausage before getting packed up.  As we were checking out, the rain started to pour, and I figured we would get soaked and stay that way for the next five days given the less than pleasant forecast.  However, it stopped after 10 minutes and the sun came out by the time we finished our short day.  Give. Magge's struggles, I wanted to maximize her rest time, so a 7 mile day following her zero seemed to be the best course of action.  Even though it was short, a steep climb to get back to the top of the ridge line made up a good chunk of the miles, and Magge did really well.  We have a 16 mile day scheduled tomorrow, so hopefully her new food regimen does the trick.

Our shelter sits at the edge of a clearing on the ridge with a great view of the valley below (pictured below).  We watched a fantastic sunset that I didn't capture with the iPad, but I did get it with our camera so it'll make its way to the website eventually (late June or July maybe).

 

Day 51

Origin: Docs Knob Shelter
Destination: Pearisburg, VA

Today's miles: 8.2
Total miles: 631.8

Predictably, I slept horribly as I avoided the rocks that covered 80% of the footprint of my tent.  The weekend warriors in the shelter made lots of noise as they got up at 6am and I normally would have been annoyed, but this time I appreciated the excuse to get up early.  The mountain was shrouded in fog the whole morning, which was a shame as they were some lookouts that are probably spectacular in good weather.  I arrived in Pearisburg in a few hours and walked to the motel where Magge was staying.  After a difficult 18 hours, all I wanted was to take a shower and veg out on the bed, so that's what I did.  I eventually recovered enough to make a supply run and get some lunch and Magge and I spent the rest of the day catching up with family and the outside world.  We came up with our plan for the next 170 miles, which we expect to cover by May 31.  Now it's time to enjoy my first night in a bed in 10 days.

Day 50: How a 16 Mile Day Turns into a 33 Mile Day (and Nearly a 41 Mile One)

Origin: Helvey Mill Shelter
Destination: Docs Knob Shelter

Today's miles: 33.4
Total miles: 623.6

We had our plan in place: we would hike the 16 miles to the grocery, where Magge would be whisked away to Pearisburg and I would camp, and then I'd put in 25 miles the following day while she rested.  The 16 miles went well compared to the previous two days and we arrived at a decent hour.  We ate some hot dogs while we waited on Magge's ride and I decided that I didn't want to hike the 25 miles the next day because I didn't want to arrive in town that late, and I would instead hike an extra 8 miles right after she got picked up.  

After Magge rushed off to meet her bed and hot shower, I hiked to the next shelter and arrived at 6:45pm.  My legs felt good, I had at least another two hours of sunlight, and the weather had held up better than the forecast had predicted, so I decided to hike another 9 miles to the next shelter.  I figured I would only have to hike an hour in the dark and the shelter would probably have space because the trail had been pretty empty due to the Trail Days hiker festival taking place in Damascus.  My pace over the next two hours was strong, but then I had to stop to change my socks due to chafing.  By the time I was done, it was pitch black out and the path had changed from soft dirt to large rocks, which are already difficult enough to navigate when you can see perfectly.  I could not see perfectly.  The headlamp provides a much more limited field of vision as is, and the fog that had rolled in had made things even more difficult.  

The next 4 miles took me nearly two hours and were mentally exhausting.  The rain picked up during the last half hour and I was drenched by the time I reached the shelter at 11pm.  I peeked inside and was disappointed to see it was full.  None of the immediately surrounding area was flat enough for a proper pitch of my tent, but the dark made it difficult to assess my options.  I considered walking the final 8 miles to Pearisburg.  Physically, I felt fine, but I decided that at least three more hours in the dark, if not more if the terrain was rocky, was unpalatable.  So, I reluctantly pitched the tent on a tiny patch that looked reasonable and got inside, looking forward to a respite from the rain.  I immediately saw that I had misjudged how rocky the ground was, but I was too tired to repitch the tent, and I didn't know where I'd be able to pitch it anyway.  I crammed my sleeping pad into the least rocky corner of the tent, curled up in a fetal position, and tried to fall asleep.  At least I only have 8 miles to Pearisburg and will be there by lunchtime.

Day 49

Origin: Jenkins Shelter
Destination: Helvey Mill Shelter

Today's miles: 14.0
Total miles: 589.2

We had planned a 24 mile day today (not preferable, but nearly unavoidable in order to get to Pearisburg in our desired time due to the spacing of the shelters and campsites) but we had to adjust given Magge's tough day yesterday.  We added an extra day to our leg to Pearisburg; we didn't pack enough food to do this, but we'll cross a road that has a little grocer where we can eat dinner one night.  This was the backup plan when we organized this leg, so it wasn't dumb luck that it worked out this way.

Today was not much easier than yesterday, as Magge was nearly wiped out after the first five miles.  We came to a pleasant creek (pictured below) where we rested for nearly an hour before continuing on.  It wasn't easy, but we arrived early enough for Magge to get plenty of rest.  I decided that Magge needed a zero day to recuperate, but at the rate we were hiking, we wouldn't get anywhere soon enough for that.  I thought the best solution was to make it to the grocery store and then have Magge picked up and driven to Pearisburg, where she could rest while I hiked by myself.  She has to earn that day off, however, as the grocery store is still over 16 miles from here.

Day 48

Origin: Knot Maul Branch Shelter
Destination: Jenkins Shelter
Today's miles: 19.1
Total miles: 576.2

Short entry today because we didn't roll into camp until 8:15pm and by the time we ate and finished our camp shores, it was well after dark.  We left at a decent hour this morning, but our pace was slow because Magge is struggling with her energy level.  The temperature has picked up quickly (we had highs in the 50s just a few days ago and it is now in the 80s all of a sudden) and I don't think she's adapted her hydration rate appropriately.  I also don't think she's eating enough during the day.  Luckily, both issues should be easily fixable.  Hoping for a better day tomorrow.

Day 47

Origin: Davis Path campsite
Destination: Knot Maul Branch Shelter
Today's miles: 10.8
Total miles: 557.1

Today was tougher than expected. We had planned to make 12 miles to a campsite at Lynn Camp Creek. At this point, we'd prefer to do more, but the spacing meant that it was either a 12 mike day or a 20 mile day, and we didn't feel like doing the latter. Because of the small distance, we took our time eating breakfast this morning and didn't get started hiking until 10:15am. By that time, it had already become hot, and the day's high got to the mid 80s. That's too hot to be comfortable while hiking, especially when you have to go up and down a bunch of small hills like we did this morning.

About a mile and a half into the hike, I realized that I left the rope for our bear bag hanging from a branch at our campsite. Since we wouldn't be able to replace it for another 80 miles, I had to go back and get it. So for the third time on this trip, I had to backtrack, this time in the heat with limited water. By the time I caught up to Magge, I was already tired. We took many breaks today, including that lasted nearly an hour by a river. After a handful of more climbs, we arrived at a shelter short of our intended destination at 5pm, at a pace of 1.5 mph for the day - nearly a mile less than what we've been averaging lately. Because it was late, we decided to not hike the extra 1.2 miles to the campsite because we knew at least two other tents were set up there and we didn't know how many spaces it had, and the shelter had plenty of space.

While trying to hang the bear bag, the weighted bag (I've been using my sleeping pad stuff sack) that I use to throw over the branch got wedged between two branches. Since I backtracked to get the rope today, I refused to cut the line. Magge found a dead tree that was about 15 feet tall that I could pick up and I tried to use it to pry the bag out. It was just barely long enough and put a lot of stress on my shoulders, so we tied my trekking pole to the end to make things easier. All I was able to do was make a few rips in the bag. Figuring it was beyond hope to rescue the bag, I decided to just pull the rope hard enough to rip the bag to retrieve the rope. Roadrunner, a guy we've been hiking with for a few days, helped me pull the rope until it finally snapped, sending me to the ground, where I felt a sharp pain in my side, and sending the rope whipping to the back of Roadrunner's head. I had fallen in a sharp tree stump, but luckily only scratched myself, and Roadrunner was rewarded with a welt above his neck. The rope was safe, though. Unfortunately, I no longer have a stuff sack for my sleeping pad.

With our surprisingly long short day behind us, we're trying to get to bed early tonight and are hoping for a surprisingly short long day tomorrow. Since we didn't get to the campsite, we have just over 19 miles to the next destination.

Day 46

Origin: Partnership Shelter
Destination: Davis Path campsite
Today's miles: 14.7
Total miles: 546.3

A perfect day. With bellies full of pizza, we slept well (at least as well as we can sleep on the trail), slept in until 8am and enjoyed a leisurely breakfast under a clear, blue sky. We didn't have to cover too much ground today, so we were able to take our time. The weather today was as good as it gets for hiking: low 60s, sunny and a breeze when we needed it.

The first part of the day brought us to the top of a ridge, where we got a great view (below with Magge). We then spent about 6 miles slowly descending towards Atkins, VA through meadows that smelled incredible. We've walked through a few meadows that weren't mountaintop balds before, but never for this long and it was a great change of pace from the forests and hills. The scenery isn't necessarily as stunning, but it has a pastoral beauty that is very easy to appreciate on a day like today. We may have taken more pictures today than any other day, and some are below.

Atkins is a tiny town and we didn't want to spend the night there, but the trail went right by a restaurant called The Barn that accepts mail drops, so we had supplies sent there and also had an early dinner. Many restaurants along and close to the trail offer hiker burgers - 16oz monstrosities that appeal to thru-hikers' inflated hunger. It took us longer than most to get "hiker hunger" and we had had no desire to order a hiker burger until recently. Today, we each ordered one at The Barn and neither of us had much of a problem wolfing it down. I'm kind of appalled that I didn't even feel overly full afterwards, even though I also took down a side of fries. Magge was more virtuous, ordering a side house salad, which she felt canceled out the hiker burger. I'll give her 8oz of cancelation, but not the whole 16oz.

After the gluttony, we sorted out our new food, called our moms, and finally got back on the trail at 6pm. We only had three more miles to cover, and without needing to make dinner, we could hike until nearly sunset without a problem. We took our time through more meadows and pastures before arriving to a crummy campsite, but it couldn't ruin our day. Sun, scenery, a pound of angus beef - what else would we need?

Day 45

Origin: Hurricane Mountain Shelter
Destination: Partnership Shelter
Today's miles: 19.7
Total miles: 531.6

It got down into the 30s again last night and we were moving slowly this morning. It stayed cool all day, but it was sunny and that's all we could ask for right now. We had many miles to cover because we didn't have any dinners left but we knew we could order pizza from Partnership Shelter, nearly 20 miles away. The distance peeled away rather quickly and easily, as the terrain was forgiving and we passed cascades, open meadows filled with wildflowers and pastures. Magge fell in love with one particular meadow, pictured below, claiming it was one of her favorite parts of the whole trip. We arrived at the shelter early in the evening, ordered our pizza from the house phone at the nearby Mt. Rogers Visitor's Center along with everyone else staying in the area, and indulged in the novelty of a pizza party in the woods. The shelter itself was the nicest one we've seen, with two clean stories and even a shower (although it was too cold out to take one) - it's also pictured below.

Both of us were surprised at how good we felt after a 20 mile day. We hope that continues because we'll be forced to do a 20+ day this week due to the spacing of the campsites.

Day 44: Halfway There

Origin: Thomas Knob Shelter
Destination: Hurricane Mountain Shelter
Today's miles: 16.0
Total miles: 511.9

We were woken up in the middle of the night by a young woman downstairs in the shelter yelling, "Get away! Guys, it's a bear!" There was a bit of rustling but then things calmed down. Meanwhile, a guy on the loft where we were sleeping searched his bag for his knife, as if that would have helped. Magge told him the woman was just dreaming so that he could stop preparing himself for a kamikaze attack. We found out this morning that some ponies paid our shelter a visit and one stuck his head inside, and the woman assumed the mass in the darkness was a bear. We're hoping the trail name Ponybear sticks (I like The Girl Who Cried Bear, but it's too long).

We were in our sleeping bags until 9am, the latest we've slept in since we started, town days included. It was a nasty morning and the forecast was for a sunny afternoon, so we weren't in a rush. Additionally, the temperature was hovering right above freezing, and it's difficult to accept that in the middle of May. Once we did get going, we had a great day. Cutting yesterday short was a great decision as we had great views throughout the Grayson Highlands. Some parts felt like true alpine areas, with rocky balds and alpine-like vegetation. We also saw more ponies. This section was one of my favorites so far.

The day ended with a bit of a hill that Magge set a blistering pace on and we finished on a high note. She then built a great fire and I set up camp by a stream that should put us straight to sleep. The problem may be staying asleep in these temperatures, as it's supposed to dip below freezing at our elevation.

We hit both the 500 mile mark and the halfway mark today.

Day 43

Origin: Lost Mountain Shelter
Destination: Thomas Knob Shelter
Today's miles: 12.2
Total miles: 495.9

While April was mostly beautiful, albeit cold at times, May has just been wretched. We've been on the trail 10 of the 11 days of this month, and it has rained 8 of those days. We had planned to do over 17 miles today, but with another foggy and rainy day greeting us, we decided to cut it short. We're tired of hiking in this weather and not seeing anything. We're supposed to have a string of sunny days coming up, and we'd rather put in big mileage then. We'll follow our relatively short day today with 16 and 20 milers under clear skies.

We walked over more meadows today that probably would have provided nice views. In fact, much of today's walk probably would have been great in nice weather. With the fog, though, we couldn't appreciate much as we climbed Mt. Rogers. This mountain is Virginia's highest, and although the AT doesn't take us to the peak, there's a short side trail that does that I might take tomorrow morning if it's clear.

There are wild ponies in this area and we saw a few this afternoon. They are very used to hikers and aren't shy; one could smell the food in my pockets and was quite aggressive trying to get it. We'll be going through Grayson Highlands State Park tomorrow, which is supposed to have even more ponies.

Fingers are crossed that the forecast is accurate.

Day 42

Origin: Damascus, VA
Destination: Lost Mountain Shelter
Today's miles: 15.6
Total miles: 483.7

Relatively well-rested, we left Damascus with the sun on our faces. By the time we reached a coffee shop just outside of town for breakfast, I realized I didn't have my wallet on me. Magge didn't have it either, so I ran back to the hostel where we had stayed to see if I had left it lying around. It wasn't there so I ran back to the coffee shop, only to find it in my backpack... again. Note to self: next time I lose my wallet, search my bag thoroughly before backtracking.

Most of the day was pleasantly sunny and warm and we thought we might have escaped the bad weather forecast. However, the later it got, the darker the clouds became. Around 4pm, I could feel a few drops. I silently asked for the storm to give us 40 more minutes so we could arrive at the shelter dry, but then the sky just opened up and we were drenched before we could even get our rain jackets on. The last two miles to the shelter felt exceedingly long. We can't catch a break with this weather.

Day 41: Zero in Damascus

We woke up with the intention of putting in a few miles today, but while doing laundry and looking over potential itineraries, we just decided to fully rest up today. We were both still pretty sore from yesterday's marathon and we've been making fast enough progress lately that a zero day doesn't set us back too far. The rest of the day was spent drying our gear in the sun, resupplying and reading. Back to it tomorrow...

Day 40

Origin: Iron Mountain Shelter
Destination: Damascus, VA
Today's miles: 26.3
Total miles: 468.1

With a big day planned, we had our alarm set for 6:30am to ensure we'd get an early start. Unfortunately, two others planned to get started even earlier, only to continually hit snooze. Their first alarm went off before 5:00am. Just as I fell back asleep, it went off again. This happened a few times before Magge sternly told them, "Either get up or don't. There'll be no more alarm." It was too late, though, as our own alarm was about to go off.

We got on the trail shortly after 7:00am and walked through a thick fog for hours. We couldn't see much, but we did walk through a cow pasture for a while, which was a first. By 2:00pm, we had arrived at a shelter 16 miles away and had to make the decision to continue another 10 miles to Damascus or stay put. Despite not being rained on as much as we thought we would, it's been a damp few days and would rain again tonight, so we decided the extra miles would be worth it. With about five miles left, the skies opened up and completely soaked us to the bone by the time we reached town. Cold, tired and sore, we stumbled into Subway for dinner and then crawled into bed. We'll see how we feel tomorrow before deciding whether to zero here or do a short day.

Virginia is the latest state on our tour as we said goodbye to Tennessee today.

What your feet look like after hiking 26 miles:

Day 39

Origin: Watauga Lake Shelter
Destination: Iron Mountain Shelter
Today's miles: 14.0
Total miles: 441.8

We woke up to a rain-free morning and hoped to get in as many miles as possible before the storms inevitably came. The sun was shining as we crossed Watauga Dam and received our first trail magic food since April 1 (other hikers rarely seem to go more than a week without something) provided by a dam worker called Safety Bob. I procured a delicious Little Debbie brownie (refined sugar at its tastiest) and an apple and we continued on our way. After two hours, the rain started but it never lasted long enough to soak us so we didn't mind it too much. For the first half of the day, we had nearly continuous views of the lake to our right.

The second half of the day was relatively featureless, so we just put our heads down and powered through. We arrived at the shelter at 4pm, early enough to push on if we had wanted to. The forecast was for rain so we stayed put, but if it had been clear I would have liked to have covered another seven miles to make tomorrow a little easier. As of now, we are hoping to get into Damascus, which is 26 miles away. It's a long day, but the terrain is some of the easiest we've had on the trail, and it's supposed to rain so we think we'd rather soldier on to get a dry place to sleep rather than be wet another night.

Here's the foggy view from inside the shelter tonight.

Day 38

Origin: Dennis Cove Rd
Destination: Watauga Lake Shelter
Today's miles: 10.3
Total miles: 427.8

We had another great breakfast this morning: French toast with honey and walnut topping, apricot coffee cake, shrimp and grits, biscuits and gravy, spicy sausage, fruit salad, and more delicious things I can't recall. Sadly, we couldn't stay for one more breakfast. The weather today was supposed to be awful, so we wanted to get on the trail and put in a short 10 miles before the rain got too heavy. We ended up getting sun almost all day, with a short cloudy period in the middle.

The trail today was fantastic. We had many stream crossings, the biggest waterfalls of the trail so far (Laurel), a climb up Pond Mountain and a walk around Watauga Lake. The lake is much higher than normal and several sections of the trail are flooded. Part of the trail was rerouted via US 321 and residential roads, and parts of the trail we had to bushwhack a bit on our own.

The terrain from here to Damascus is pretty easy, so we're hoping to make it there in two days of hiking even though its around 40 miles away. If the weather cooperates, I think it's doable. If the forecast is right and we get hit with storms for the next two days, we may have to stretch it an extra day.

Day 37: Mileage Update

Origin: US 19E
Destination: Dennis Cove Rd
Today's miles: 24.9
Total miles: 417.5

Not much to add to Magge's post. It rained on me most of the day, but it was still a great section of the trail - lots of streams, waterfalls, meadows, valley views and relatively easy terrain. I would highly recommend hiking it in nice weather.

I forgot to mention that we permanently left North Carolina on Saturday. We had straddled the North Carolina-Tennessee border for 215 miles, and are now in the process of hiking the 75 miles that are solely in Tennessee.

Day 37

Magge subbing in for Jeff today -

After yesterday's harrowing hike, we arrived at a little slice of heaven called Mountain Harbor Hostel. For weeks now we have heard rumors of the legendary breakfast and superb comfort that awaited us. Though the weather did not look so great when we set out yesterday, I knew I had only 9 miles to go. After the previous day anything was going to seem like a cake-walk, right? Ha. Well, you already saw Jeff's post on that, so I will not rehash. Besides, I'm fairly certain I'm suffering from PTSD after those 9 miles and thinking too much about it may result in me curled up in the fetal position. For the rest of my life, I will probably shudder every time I hear the word "bald". If you can't tell, I didn't think yesterday was quite as "awesome" as my husband.

But I digress. So after our walk, we were relieved to arrive at the hostel. But alas! There was no room at the hostel. I bet you all can imagine how crushed I was when we were unable to get one of the beds in the hostel, but instead had to take one of the rooms at their B&B. Luckily, there was a room with a king and a single that we were able to split with a fellow hiker in order to lower costs.

This morning we awoke to some of the most amazing smells coming from the kitchen. The breakfast that the owner had been preparing since 4am more than lived up to the hype - quiche, sausage, chocolate-covered strawberries, salad, at least half a dozen different made-from-scratch breakfast breads, and lots more - the variety was incredible. Barely a word was uttered all through breakfast as everyone savored each different offering.

While the mood around the breakfast table was bright, the weather outside was anything but. Because we knew it was going to rain for the next several days, we decided to alleviate some of the suffering by doing something called "slack packing," where you have the hostel owner drop you off up the trail and then you hike back and stay at the same place where you stayed the previous night. Probably the best part is that you don't have to carry all your stuff. Also, knowing that having a warm room to sleep in after hiking in the rain makes all the difference in the world. Because of timing, Jeff decided we would need to cover 25 miles today. I have been pushing my knee (and the rest of my body) pretty hard and while I am not in agony by any means (Mom, I don't need to go home!) I decided that 25 miles in the rain - sounds like more of a deluge - was not what my knee wanted to do today. So at the moment Jeff is slack packing and I am just being a slacker and resting up a bit. I will have three days walking in the rain starting tomorrow, so I will be getting my fill of hiking in the rain!

Day 36

Origin: Overmountain Shelter
Destination: US 19E
Today's miles: 8.7
Total miles: 392.6

Balds are much-loved by most hikers. The grassy expanses provide a welcomed contrast to the seemingly endless corridor of trees and provide fantastic views. Today, however, we hated the grassy bald.

With bad weather forecast for the afternoon, Magge and I wanted to get our short day out of the way quickly. We left early and immediately had a climb up a bald. I wrote yesterday that the wind was bad - I didn't know what bad was. Today, the wind was bad. Really bad. We struggled up the climb as we were battered from the side and were knocked off the trail a few times. The climb didn't last too long before the trail dipped into the woods and we were protected from the wind. I laughed about how my legs were already sapped but that I was ready to keep going.

However, 15 minutes later we were back on a bald and this time there were no trees in sight. We slowly climbed up Little Hump, desperately fighting the wind the whole way. At times I was knocked three feet or more off the trail. At other times we just had to stop and dig in our heels to prevent ourselves from getting knocked over. Most of the time, though, we had to lean into the wind as we walked just to make sure we could make forward progress.

Finally, we reached the summit and were able to get back into the woods. I thought we were done with walking on these exposed areas and I allowed myself to relax, but we soon popped out of the forest again and this time the wind seemed worse than ever. We had another climb, and by the time we started to descend, the wind was in our face. Even though we were headed downhill, we still had to work hard just to move forward. It was so foggy that we couldn't see more than 30 yards or so ahead and we had no idea how much farther we had to go. At some point, I screamed, "Get me off of this [expletive] bald!". A few minutes later we came up behind a woman who had to turn around to steady herself and she let out a shrieking, "[EXXXXXPLEEEEETIVE]!". There was a long blue streak across the Roan Highlands today. Mercifully, we entered the woods for good, and 2,000 ft lower the weather was fine.

Today's winds were the highest I've ever been in. A hiker later told us that they were 60 mph and greater and that the windchill was in the lower 20s. The hiking today was without a doubt the toughest we've had on the whole trip - tougher than the steepest climbs, rockiest declines and everything in between. We are exhausted. But you know what? Looking back, today was awesome.

Day 35

Origin: Campsite at the Orchard
Destination: Overmountain Shelter
Today's miles: 19.5
Total miles: 383.9

Biggest day yet. We had an easy morning, with cool, partly cloudy weather and rolling terrain. Right before lunch, we had a short but strenuous climb up Little Rock Knob. Knowing we had a big climb up Roan Mountain, I was not amused with the AT planners for finding it necessary to have us climb seemingly every single summit in the Appalachian range and I muttered to myself that there better be a view up top. Thankfully, there was and it was great (picture below). It was also the last view we'd have until we finished our 19.5 miles.

From Little Rock Knob, we could see the hulking Roan Mountain was enveloped in clouds. I hoped it would clear up because we've missed views from many of the big mountains lately. Just as we started the ascent, the clouds went away and I thought we got lucky. Not so fast. By the time we reached the top, a thick fog rolled in with high winds. We saw nothing at Roan High Knob, the last 6,000 ft mountain we'll climb on this trip (those doing the whole trail won't meet another until Mt. Washington in New Hampshire).

I thought the tough part of the day was over, but I was wrong. The Roan Highlands has the longest stretch of grassy balds in the Appalachians and we had to walk through it. Normally this would be nice, but with high winds and no trees, we took a pounding. Several times, we had to steady ourselves to stay on the trail. It was easily the strongest wind we've hiked in so far.

Around 7pm, we finally pulled into our destination, a barn converted into a shelter. It was a very quaint shelter with a great view (pictures below) but we were too tired to enjoy it too much and the wind was getting colder. We made dinner quickly and got into bed.

We have a shorter day to Mountain Harbor Hostel tomorrow.

Day 34

Origin: Campsite south of Indian Grave Gap
Destination: Campsite at the Orchard, just north of Iron Mountain Gap
Today's miles: 14.6
Total miles: 364.4

The forecast of 0% chance of precipitation for last night was either very localized for Erwin or just plain wrong, as we were woken up at 2am last night by howling wind and rains. We stayed dry, but we had a hard time getting going this morning as I didn't fall back asleep until around 6am. We had hoped to do nearly 19 miles today, but with the late start we adjusted the plan: if we made 15 miles by 5:30pm, we would push on to 19.

The rain stopped this morning but strong winds and fog plagued us into the early afternoon. Most of the terrain wasn't too difficult, but we weren't able to enjoy any views. The climb up Unaka Mountain was nice, as the peak was covered in a spruce forest, which was very different from the vegetation below. On our way down, a hiker passed us and told us he thought there was trail magic at the next gap. Magge and I have managed to not hit any hiker feeds since April 1, so we were cautiously excited. It turns out our skepticism was right, as the trail angels had either already left or had never been there at all.

We hit our 15 miles before 5:30pm, but Magge's pace had slowed down enough over the last hour that I didn't think we could make 19 miles by a reasonable hour, so we put our tent up in a bucolic orchard area (it's called the Orchard, but I'm not sure what kind of trees are here). I thought we'd have it to ourselves but someone else eventually showed up so we have to share it.

Day 33

Origin: River Rd, Erwin, TN
Destination: Campsite south of Indian Grave Gap
Today's miles: 7.3
Total miles: 349.8

I felt much better this morning and was ready to get back to hiking. We took our time getting ready, though: breakfast biscuits, slowly packing on the lawn of the hostel, checking emails, etc. the plan was to only put in around seven miles so there was no rush. The sieve miles were mostly easy. The first three miles were relatively flat and were full of mountain streams (picture below). There was a small climb before it flattened out again and we arrived at the campsite before we knew it.

It felt good to be back on the trail. Because we took a zero yesterday, we probably won't take one in Damascus next week as planned.

Day 32: Zero in Erwin, TN

We had to take an unplanned zero today because I got a bit sick. I'm not sure what it was - I had many of the norovirus symptoms but didn't vomit, which seems to be the most prevalent symptom among others. I hate to lose a day of hiking but I'm starting to feel better so we'll start again tomorrow.