Photo Album #1 | Photo Album #2
Mon 2
- Camp .4 S of Eastern Continental Divide
Some moments are best captured only in your mind.
Watching the ridges of the blue ridge mountains become illuminated in a beautiful golden glow tonight is one of those moments.
Nevermind. I managed to find a spot to try (and fail) to faithfully photograph it.
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It’s been a while since I’ve set up my tent. I’m actually a bit out of practice lol.
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The google doodle for today (https://g.co/doodle/zuuq649) was about the Appalachian Trail (a friend told me abt it, I’m not normally looking at the google homepage while on trail lol)! Kinda fun that I was just on McAfee Knob yesterday!
Tue 3
- Stay at Bailey Gap Shelter
The top of this ridge sucked. The N side is all weedy and overgrown. And the S is all rocks.
Wed 4
- Angels Rest Hiker Haven Hostel (Pearisburg, VA)
Nothing like waking up to the sound of a gunshot. But then realizing it was actually just a nut hitting the metal shelter roof. That realization didn’t help me fall asleep though—good thing I needed to wake up anyway.
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Stopped at The Happy Hog for dinner tonight. The shrimp and grits solidly lived up to expectations, but the pulled pork sandwich and Mac and cheese were mediocre at best. The Mac and cheese reminded me of Sunday potluck baked Mac and cheese—in the slightly dry, slightly under seasoned, somewhat bland way. The pulled pork sandwich was a meh bun with meh coleslaw and meh barbecue sauce on perfectly fine (but unimpressive) pork.
Thu 5
- Stay at Wapiti Shelter
Did I finish a full size tub of Tillamook ice cream between last night and this morning? Maybe. Don’t judge—they were on sale for $3.50/tub, which was like half the price of a Ben and Jerry’s at Food Lion. At least in my mind that’s logical.
I grabbed some 2-part epoxy last night at Tractor Supply, to glue the tread back on my shoes, prevent the sole from delaminating like it did on my last pair, and gluing the end caps back together the ends of my pole segments (after having had them taped on for a month (after they split)).
Took three rounds of epoxying, but I think they’re mostly good as new now (at least in function, definitely not in appearance), and I managed not to get epoxy everywhere or glue my fingers together, so I’d consider it a success.
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Just found a hole under the crotch of my pants lol. Glad I’m meeting my parents tmrw so I can get them repaired, along with tears in my sun gloves and leggings—it’s almost like wearing the same clothes daily for 4 months straight is hard on them or something, not to mention walking though miles of thorns and climbing over hundreds of boulders.
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3” away from stepping on 18” a black racer snake. I’ve seen a lot of them yesterday and today. Also a decent amount of larger black snakes. Yesterday I was 6” away from stepping on another 18” black racer. They blend in really well.
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Another shelter to myself. Super convenient when I roll in right after sunset and don’t have to worry abt waking or disturbing anyone nor deal with setting up my tent.
Fri 6
- Athens, WV Airbnb (via VA 611)
Sometimes you get to be a trail angel. While waiting for my parents to arrive to pick me up at VA 611, I met two NOBO section hikers who were almost out of water. I ended with ~800 mL of water, since I grabbed some near the previous road crossing. While I was picking up trash around the trailhead (something I normally avoid, since there’s so much (I can only pack out so much trash, and it’s so close to the road (ie, I’d rather pack out the trash far in the backcountry)), I found an unopened 500 mL bottle of water, likely left as trail magic or a water cache. Normally, I avoid picking up trash near road crossings, since (1) there’s so much and (2) it’s much easier for someone else to throw it away, so I’d rather spend my limited time, energy, and trash-carrying-capacity on trash I find in the backcountry instead. Right now though, I have (1) time to kill while waiting for my ride and (2) a way to depo trash.
Back to the matter at hand, I gave them one of my 700 mL bottles and the 500 mL bottle, which should get them to the next water source, a little S of where I filled up. I also gave a brief rundown of the water sources around (past) the shelter and near the road crossing, so they knew what to look for (and to not be surprised it’s just a puddle lol).
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After a third NOBO hiker asked if I had water, I decided to have my parents pick up water at the store to then leave a small (6 gal) water cache at the road. That third hiker was just camping nearby, so he was able to get water when it arrived along with my ride.
Sat 7
- Athens, WV Airbnb (Zero)
Sun 8
- Camp near Suiter Road/Laurel Ck
With all the time I’ve had with myself, there’s a few things I’m starting to realize: (1) I don’t like being tied down, (2) I’d like to live more intentionally/minimally, (3) I want to travel without being weighed down, and (4) I’d like to live a more healthy lifestyle (and possibly give up alcohol, but I’m not sure yet on this one).
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A few backpackers I crossed paths with said Fresh Grounds would be at Laurel Spring for dinner tonight and breakfast tmrw. There is no such thing as Laurel Spring (at least anywhere near here). The closest thing is Laurel Creek. So I guess I can stop early tonight instead of pushing for the next shelter, Jenkins Shelter.
Sadly, no fresh grounds appeared tonight.
I saw G-Man at the Brushy Mtn Outpost and we’d both decided to stop at Laurel Ck on the expectation fresh grounds would be here. SMH.
Mon 9
- Burke’s Garden Hostel
I did not wake up to fresh grounds, instead I woke up to a few rain drops on my tent this morning at ~9:30 am after a bad night’s sleep. Little did I know it would start raining at ~1:00, and not stop till around sunset. That wasn’t in the forecast (even the forecast from this morning didn’t show rain till 4:00 pm). Guess I’m tossing my plan of pushing to Bear Garden Hostel and stopping f at Burkes Garden Hostel instead (13 mi earlier). Great. Two 13 mile days back to back. I’m over a day behind where I’d like to be.
I should’ve gotten picked up at VA 612 instead of VA 611, I should’ve pushed and taken more advantage of the dry days, and I should’ve woken up earlier so I wouldn’t have had to do as much hiking in the rain. But I can’t change the past.
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Wow, burkes garden is beautiful. I’m pretty glad I walked down, since there’s no views into it from the ridge line (especially with the rain and fog).
Tue 10
- Camp near Reed’s Creek
Burkes Garden is beautiful. Though the AT walks the ridge of it, there are few views down into it, and I doubt any compare to the experience of walking through it.
I stand corrected, there’s what looks like I’d be a good view from the Chestnut Knob Shelter into the garden, but I can’t say for sure since it was pretty cloudy when I was up there.
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Saw two bear cubs just S of Lick Creek. Or rather, they saw me and bolted. The smaller one was up a tree. No mama in sight.
Wed 11
- Camp near USFS 86/Glade Mtn Rd
Another cold morning. Didn’t end up leaving camp till noon since I slept in after a bad night’s sleep from the cold.
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Recently, it seems like I’m dreading waking up and breaking camp more often than I used to. Not to mention more frequently just generally not really wanting to hike.
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Hit 3/4 today. Woot. Not really. I really don’t feel like hiking today. But I’m already a day behind schedule. I don’t want to make that two days behind schedule.
At this point, I’m looking forward to getting out of Virginia and finishing overall.
For me, the cold—and especially the rain—just sucks the fun out of backpacking. Even more so for long distance backpacking, where I just have to hike through it whether I like it or not.
I do still enjoy the views and mostly enjoy the experience overall, but it’s starting to feel like it’s dragging on, even with the end in sight.
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Stopped at a gas station after crossing I-81 since I was running a bit low on snacks. A ~7 yr old girl in a car saw my bag and poles as I was walking by and said, somewhat to herself, “that’s cool.”
Hearing this, I told her “I walked here from Maine,” and I kept walking.
She took a second to process what I said before responding with the most wholesome “woah!”
I think that moment just made my day. A great lunch at the gas station Mexican restaurant didn’t hurt either.
Thu 12
- Grayson Highlands Base Camp
If your business is serving thru hikers, you have to actually answer your phone or allow texts.
There’s nothing more stressful than getting a voicemail box after calling from atop a ridge to arrange a shuttle in from the next road gap (where there’s no service).
I left a message and continued on, hoping I’d get a callback or an answer before I lose service, or at least that they’d hear the message before I get to the trailhead and be there to pick me up.
And lo and behold, still no response by the time I started to descend. So, I pulled my wildcard and briefed my logistical support team (my parents), so they would keep calling, and keep me up to date via satellite messages.
The descent went faster than expected, so I ended up at the trailhead ~30 mins ahead of schedule. A few minutes after arriving, a couple arrived in their SUV and went for a ~15 min walk before returning to their car. As they were walking back to their car, I asked if they were going thru Troutdale, which they said they weren’t, and I wished them a safe drive as they got in the car.
However, after sitting in their car for a few minutes (presumably looking at the map), one of them got out and said they actually were going thru troutdale, and asked if I’d like a ride. Of course, my answer was yes, since I had no idea whether the shuttle would ever arrive. While driving, I got to meet Furnace and his wife, and explained my struggles with getting a shuttle called. I also sent off a message (both via inReach and a conventional text) to my parents that I got a ride, so the shuttle wouldn’t be needed.
Fri 13
- Camp just N of VA 601/Beech Mtn Rd
Sat 14
- Broken Fiddle Hostel (Damascus, VA)
While hiking, I met a section hiker and a dog that was watch them. As he told me, the dog started following him, and when he got service he contacted the owner, who was trying to coordinate a place to meet them and get their dog back. After some confusion, I was able to reassure him that he wouldn’t have to detour, and could just keep heading N, since the owner was coming S on the trail after connecting via a spur trail.
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Tonight ended up being a bit of a reunion with a few tramily members I hadn’t seen in a while.
As it turns out, Rabbit Foot was also staying at broken fiddle, along with his brothers who had been hiking alongside him for the last few days.
Shiitake was also staying in town and we (rabbit foot and his brothers) had dinner with he at the diner.
Finally, Teva, Speedo, and Crocstar arrived at the hostel late in the evening.
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While walking to dinner I decided to stop by the outfitter and see if they had any rain mits, since my hands have recently been getting quite cold now whenever they get wet (as the seasons change).
Thankfully, they did, I licked out and got their last pair of OR helium rain mits. Combined with a lightweight pair of gloves, I should be able to keep my hands warm through the rest of the season—while avoiding the weight and lack of modularity of full winter gloves.
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While at dinner, Rabbit Foot, Shiitake, and I talked about possibly doing the Boots Off Aqua Blaze together. It’s essentially a kayak route on the Watauga Lake that parallels the trail. Practically, 8-10 mi of kayaking replaces 20 mi of hiking. We were all pretty much in agreement that we thought it’d be a fun change of pace, and none of us wanted to do it alone, so, pending planning and weather, we decided to do it together. After dinner, we called Boots Off and got the logistics figured out, along with getting their thoughts on the weather, since there was some concern about rain that day.
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