Weekly Overview
Day 22
May 24, 2019
- Route: Cherry Gap Shelter (mile 361.3) to Overmountain Shelter (mile 386)
- Daily Mileage: 24.7 miles
When we got up this morning, Gazelle and I decided to pull a big mileage day so we could make it all the way to Overmountain shelter by this evening. This isn’t one of the typical three-sided lean-tos that you see along the AT. It’s actually a large red barn that was converted into an shelter.
One of the sides of the barn has been partially removed so that it’s open to the elements, and hikers can sleep on a raised wood floor with views out toward the mountains. The barn is just one of those iconic spots along the southern portion of the trail that everyone knows about – much like Max Patch or McAfee Knob. And it’s equally popular with thru-hikers, section hikers, and weekend warriors. So, I was super excited to sped the night there — if we could make it close to 25 miles.
ROAN MOUNTAIN
The two of us pulled out of Cherry Gap around 7 am and the morning was filled with several smaller, but tiring, climbs. We stopped for a quick second breakfast before pushing again to get up and over Roan Mountain, which involved a more exhausting 2,000 foot climb.
I still don’t understand why this trail insists on going straight up and over every mountain in the most direct and difficult way. Right now, I’m really looking forward to getting to Virginia, which everyone says is flat. Of course, “AT flat” doesn’t actually mean flat, easy trail. It just means it is no longer crazy steep all the time.
At the top of Roan Mountain, I stopped to see the old caretaker’s cabin and filter some water while Gazelle pushed ahead. The cabin was nothing special. Just a tiny single-room log cabin with a small front overhang. I can’t imagine living out in these woods long-term in something like this. It’s barely the same size as most of the AT shelters, and I think I’d feel like a hermit way out here.
RVSP
After descending the mountain and crossing Carver’s Gap, we encountered the infamous Roan Highlands, a series of beautiful mountain balds. Finally, some views! This is what I love to see. I’ve found that the mental effort of hiking up mountains is far less when I can actually see some proof of my effort. The Roan Highlands are the perfect antidote to “green tunnel.”
Luna and Squirrel caught up with us earlier today when we were eating our second breakfast, and we all discussed our plans for tomorrow. If we made it to the barn this evening, that would put us within 9 miles of Mountain Harbour Bed & Breakfast and their epic $12 breakfast tomorrow morning. Gazelle said she was in too, so we had a plan!
Of course, it’s common knowledge how popular this B&B can be at breakfast time. They feed hikers, weekend visitors, and their overnight guests alike. We didn’t want to arrive too late to partake in breakfast, so I decided to call ahead to see about get all the details when I got some cell signal up on one of the balds.
I’m sure glad I called, because the lady who answered told me they had a full house due to it being Memorial Weekend. (You kind of forget about holidays out here…) She confirmed our reservation for four, and promised to make enough food, as long as we made it there by 8 am.
CAPTAIN UNDERPANTS
With that chore knocked out, I decided to lay down on one of the balds and enjoy the sun until Luna and Squirrel caught back up and I could share the good news. They were only 20 minutes or so behind me, but when they arrived Squirrel had tears in her eyes. She told me she was in incredible pain, not from her blistered feet, but in her groin.
I didn’t understand what she was alluding to at first, but soon realized that she must have squatted to relieve herself somewhere and accidentally grazed against something poisonous. Now she felt like her nether regions were on fire. I offered her some baby wipes so she could go clean up behind some bushes. She gratefully accepted, and took off to remedy the situation. Unfortunately, she returned a few minutes later and said the alcohol in the wipes only made it worse!
Time for round two. Squirrel left again with soap and water, some Benedryl cream that Luna offered from his first aid kit, and a clean pair of underwear to change into. While that seemed to resolve the issue, it also presented a new problem. Whatever was irritating her was all over her shorts. There was no way she was putting them back on over her clean underwear. Yet, those were the only set of shorts she had.
In her easygoing way, Squirrel just shrugged it off, and decided she’d hike the rest of the afternoon in her underpants with a bandana hanging down to help conceal her limited attire! So, with Luna hiking in front of her, and me directly behind her, we were back on trail like a conga line marching past tons of day hikers across the Roan Highlands.
We figured it didn’t matter what any of them thought really. If anyone questioned Squirrel about her risqué clothing choice, she had the perfect excuse. She was a foreigner. She could just respond the the query in her heaviest German accent, and say “vhat? Dis is how vee hike in Deutschland.”
THE RED BARN
The afternoon’s miles flew by and we arrived at the Overmountain shelter shortly before sundown. Gazelle was already there and eating dinner near her tent, but the rest of us wanted to explore the barn. Maybe we’d sleep in there tonight!
There were dozens of tents set up out on the grass, and everyone hoped to get a nice sunrise views the next morning. Meanwhile, the old red barn was nearly empty. The top floor had a few thru-hikers setting up their gear, and there were less than half a dozen hikers on the main floor.
After talking it over, we decided we’d need to start hiking by 4:40 am if we wanted to make it to the B&B for breakfast tomorrow. Having to break down camp and packing up all our gear in the morning would just slow us down. It was far better to sleep in the barn instead. So Luna, Squirrel, and I found three spots next to each on the bottom floor, and only the unpacked minimal needed for the night. No reason to explode all our gear if we wanted to make a hasty departure that early.
MEET THE FLEP
As I was setting up my stuff in the barn, there was a guy beside me eating what appeared to be a military MRE (pre-packaged shelf stable meal for Soldiers). On closer inspection, I could see he was relaxing in a pair of Army shorts, and there was a pair of well-worn tan combat boots resting nearby. It would seem I unwittingly found myself a fellow Soldier who was out here on a weekend backpacking trip.
We got chatting, and I soon learned he was an Army Captain stationed out at Ft. Campbell, Kentucky. After a little more discussion, we also discovered we had something really obscure in common.
You see, there’s this tiny little program in the military called the Funded Legal Education Program (or FLEP). Each year, the military selects a handful of active duty officers, and offers to pay their way through law school with a full scholarship! This program like winning the lottery. It’s highly competitive, and one of THE most coveted avenues for higher education in the entire military.
I was exceptionally fortunate enough to be selected for FLEP back in 2000. This was how I was able to attend law school and become a JAG officer in the Army. And now, here I was, out in the middle of nowhere on the Appalachian Trail, and meeting this young man who just got selected for the exact same program himself! The minuscule chances of the two us running into each other out here on the trail left us both gobsmacked. Frankly, it’s about as likely as meeting your doppelgänger on the trail.
And so, the two us spent the rest of the evening talking about hiking, the Army, combat deployments, and so on. It was surreal to be giving advice to someone who in my exact position that I’d been in 19 years ago. And he seemed equally excited to pick my brain about what he had to look forward to in law school and his future legal career.
After talking for an hour straight, he asked where we were headed the next day so we could continue our conversation. I shared our plans to get up super early and head to Mountain Harbour B&B for breakfast, and he said it sounded great. He and was ‘all in’ for joining us for an early morning hike so we could talk more the next day. And with our plans cemented, it was time to hit the hay!
DAY 23
MAY 25, 2019
- Route: Overmountain Shelter (mile 386) to Mountaineer Shelter (mile 404)
- Daily Mileage: 18 miles
The alarm at 4:20 this morning seemed to come too quickly, but we were all up and moving as quietly as possible. Luna and Squirrel needed a little extra time to get Squirrel’s feet bandaged up. The young Captain was equally busy trying to pack up his gear as quietly as possible. When I glanced over and I saw how large and heavy his pack was, I didn’t envy him in the least!
Around 4:40 am, Gazelle arrived and shared that her headlamp wasn’t working. All she had was the light from her cell phone. So we lined up single file, with Gazelle in the middle, so all our headlamps would help illuminate the way. And then we set off with Luna leading us in the dark toward Harbour Mountain B&B for our epic breakfast.
RUN, RUN, AS FAST AS YOU CAN
The 9.3-mile route to the B&B was supposed to be mostly downhill, and we had just over three hours to get there. That seemed like a fairly doable task. We needed keep just under a 3 mph pace and we’d make it right on time. Unfortunately, the AT wasn’t going to make it that easy.
The first few miles were in the dark and we automatically moved slower than our normal pace. We also couldn’t see all the obstacles in our way. There were rocks and roots on the ground, as well as tree branches poking out at face height. This forced us to navigate and move more slowly in the dark. Luna was keeping us at a good pace, but even so, we were only really going 2.5 mph. We’d really have to speed it up after the sun rose.
Another challenge we encountered was the two steep peaks we needed to climb over. Although there was a net loss of several thousand feet in elevation between Overmountain Shelter and the B&B, we still had to hike up Little Hump Mountain and Hump Mountain before we’d get to begin our long descent. Neither mountain would be particularly easy, especially in the dark.
Luckily, the sun came up right as we were working out way up and over the first peak, and we got the best sunrise ever. Unbeknownst to us, both mountains were balds, so you could see for miles and miles. This is the same view all those hikers sleeping outside Overmountain Shelter were hoping to get from their tents, and we had a front row seat.
Unfortunately, as we crested the top of Hump mountain, we still had 6 miles to go and we only had a little more than 1.5 hours left to make those miles. We’d need to seriously pick up the pace and jog. The remaining miles were straight downhill as we descended from 5,560 feet elevation down to 2,570 feet elevation, and we ran the entire way with our packs swaying and slapping our backs. But the effort was worth it. We popped out on the road right at 8 am, and only had another 1/3 of a mile left to get to the B&B.
Gazelle ran ahead once we hit the road, and raced down to the B&B to make sure we didn’t lose our breakfast reservation. The rest of us jogged as fast as our tired bodies and aching knees would carry us. Luckily, we weren’t too late. People were just starting to serve themselves when we arrived.
It’s difficult to explain how truly awesome this breakfast was. It wasn’t a simple AYCE buffet breakfast with eggs, bacon, and pancakes. There was quiche, fresh baked gourmet pastries, blueberry pancakes, homemade biscuits, breakfast tacos, several meats, an egg soufflé, and so much more. All of us agreed it was the best $12 we could have possibly spent on trail. It was even worth running 6 miles down a mountain at breakneck speed.
A LAZY AFTERNOON
After gorging ourselves on that awesome breakfast buffet, we were too stuffed to move. We sat out on the massive outdoor patio drinking coffee and relaxing in the sun. It wasn’t even 9 am, and we’d hiked 9 miles and eaten a superb meal. That’s a phenomenal start to a morning if there ever was one.
In addition to being a bed & breakfast, Mountain Harbour also has a hiker hostel with laundry, showers, and a food truck. Luna, Squirrel, and I availed ourselves of the laundry machines and showers and decided to hang out and relax there for the majority of the day. Gazelle was still raring to make miles and left by 11 am in hopes she could get a 27-mile day. Then the Army Captain who’d joined us this morning said goodbye and headed back toward Overmountain shelter.
After hanging out most of the day, and then ordering a late lunch at the food truck, the rest of us had a decision to make. We couldn’t sit there forever. Mountain Harbour was lovely, but needed to make some more progress on the trail. So, around 3pm, we reluctantly departed to and headed off toward tonight’s destination.
This afternoon we began to realize that we’re going to hit the bubble of 2019 NOBO thru-hikers soon. Each day we keep passing more and more hikers who started in early-mid April (2-3 weeks ahead of us). Some of them even got off trail to jump head up to Damascus for Trail Days, and they were now filtering back to where we’re at. The trail would start to feel more crowded for the next few weeks.
We passed mile 400 this afternoon, which felt like another major milestone. As I stopped to grab a photo, I began reflecting. Soon we’d no longer see some of the our section hiking friends. Lost Girl (Double Shot’s hiking partner) and Scorpion (Moccasin’s hiking partner) will both be departing the trail and going back home when we hit Damascus, VA. It’s hard to believe that’s only a matter of days away!
On the way to this evening’s destination, there was a small side trail to some waterfalls that I didn’t want to bypass. When I arrived, Scorpion and Moccasin were already there and relaxing on the rocks. I didn’t know if I’d see them again before Scorpion has to return home to Birmingham, AL, so I made sure to get a photo so I had something to remember the them by. I’m really trying to remember to photos of the people around me, because I have a feeling I’m going to want to remember them as much as any scenic spot along the trail.
DAY 24
MAY 26, 2019
- Route: Mountaineer Shelter (mile 404) to Boots Off Hostel / Hampton, TN (mile 428.3)
- Daily Mileage: 24.3 miles
It was really warm and humid overnight, so I didn’t sleep well even though I was bone-tired from the early morning and hard hiking yesterday. Luna came by and woke me up around 6 am so we could get hiking by 7 am. I don’t need too much time to break things down and pack up, but I do still enjoy making breakfast and coffee in the mornings. So, I’m grateful he gave me a bit of extra time today.
We got to the first shelter on trail about 9 miles into the day, and stopped for second breakfast. After a little discussion, Luna, Squirrel and I decided we could push a bigger mileage day (24+ miles) and try to shoot for Boots Off Hostel near Erwin, Tennessee. Adding a few extra miles today would allow us to grab a shuttle and resupply this evening rather than potentially getting sucked into the town vortex like we did yesterday at Mountain Harbour.
WATERFALLS
The first part of the day was pretty easy terrain, and there were plenty of smaller waterfalls to stop and take photos of. I was amused to walk past Hardcore Falls, because it was anything but harcore. In fact, it was barely a trickle. I know that these falls can be much bigger earlier in the season because I’ve watched other thru-hikers post videos on YouTube earlier this year when the falls were still huge. I guess it only takes about a month for things to start drying up though.
The biggest falls we’d see today were Laurel Fork Falls. Because it was still Memorial Day weekend, there were tons of day hikers out on the trail. The trail to the falls was pretty difficult and included an insanely steep descent toward the end. Despite having a relatively empty food bag and lighter pack, my knees ached with each step down. It was like walking down a rock staircase with stairs that were just a few inches too tall.
Once we got to the bottom though, it was easy to see why so may locals were willing to brave the steep terrain. The falls make a nice backdrop, and the river pools in several spots so you can cool off in the water. Squirrel was super eager to get closer to the waterfall, and worked her way out on to some rocks so she could soak in the water. Meanwhile, Luna and I hung back on the shore and enjoyed the shady beach while we people watched.
POND FLATS ISN’T FLAT
We stayed at Laurel Fork Falls longer than we really should have, especially since we still had to get up and over a pretty big mountain this afternoon. As we walked along the river to finish out the last 6-7 miles. Unfortunately, as we tried to work away from the falls, we found ourselves having squeeze get past several throngs of weekend hikers who were in no rush.
Eventually, we got around them and merged onto an incredibly flat dirt road that seemed far too easy to be the AT. Before long, I was suspicious that we were on the wrong trail. Sure enough, when I double-checked, I learned we were on a side trail headed to the town of Hampton, Tennessee, and away from the AT. Dang it. I’d somehow gotten distracted back at a junction where a bunch of people were congregating, and completely missed our turn.
We’d wasted a solid half hour going down the wrong trail and backtracking to get to the AT again. If you add that little mishap to all our extra time lazying around at the waterfall, we were now seriously chasing the sun as it headed toward the horizon. We weren’t likely to make it to the hostel before dark unless we really picked up the pace. And we still had a mountain called Pond Flats to get over at the end of this really long day.
BOOTS OFF
As we continued up and over the Pond Flats, I was surprised that I pulled ahead of Luna and Squirrel. I felt like I was barely moving. But then again, we were all tired. When I made it back down on the opposite side of the mountain, there was long gravel road from the trailhead that led up to the hostel, so I decided to wait and rest on a picnic bench near the entrance. I was drenched in sweat, and needed to catch my breath.
After about 15 minutes, Luna popped out of the woods and we decided to head up to the hostel together to check when their shuttle went into town. It was already nearly 7 pm, and we didn’t want to miss whatever resupply options they had running. We reasoned that Squirrel couldn’t be too far behind us. After all, she’s such a strong hiker.
As it turns out, we were now squarely in the bubble of 2019 AT thru-hikers, and the hostel was packed! The shuttle driver had already taken a group into town at 6 pm, and he was getting ready to head back into pick them up when we arrived. Normally, they only did one shuttle each evening, but there were so many hikers to pick up that he’d needed to make two trips. So we were in luck.
Luna and I desperately tried to stall him for an extra few minutes to give Squirrel time to arrive, but eventually we had to just load up. He was raring to get to town. As we started down the long gravel drive toward the main road, we saw Squirrel head toward us, and we convinced the driver to stop just long enough to let her jump in. What a relief. We all made it!
DAY 25
MAY 27, 2019
- Route: Boots Off Hostel (mile 428.3) to Stealth Site (mile 448.1)
- Daily Mileage: 19.8 miles
When we got back from resupplying in town last night it was already dark. The mosquitoes were biting and we hurriedly set up our tents by the light of our headlamps before collapsing and falling asleep. Yesterday’s long mileage and difficult climb over Pond Flats left us all pooped. And even after a good night’s rest, none of us felt like racing back onto the trail this morning.
Squirrel found some wifi at the hostel, and was she busy texting back to her boyfriend and family back home in Germany before they went to bed. Meanwhile, Luna was using the morning to scour the internet for the perfect tent.
In his never ending quest to cut his base weight, Luna decided against bringing a tent for the AT. He came out here with just a tarp that he could set up using his trekking poles. This ultralight setup probably worked just fine on a trail like the PCT or CDT where there weren’t hordes of mosquitos and other insects. But, out here on the AT, he really needed some sort of bug net that would protect him.
Luna could have easily purchased a tent at any one of the many outfitters we’d passed in trail towns over the past 400 miles. But, he was bound and determined to keep his base weight light as humanly possible. He was willing to sacrifice comfort for weight, and he didn’t want a regular old backpacking tent that might weigh 2-4 pounds.
After much deliberation and searching online, he finally settled on a solution. Now, he just needed to narrow down which town to mail it to so he could begin using it before the bugs ate him alive. While Luna & Squirrel tied up their loose ends, I decided to grab some photos of the nearby wildlife. It was still early, but I did score some nice ones of toad hanging out on a giant boulder.
HOT & MUGGY
The day was just getting hotter and muggier the longer we sat there. As much as I wanted to have a 4th cup of coffee and take photos all day, there’s was no point in delaying the inevitable. It was time to hit the trail.
The AT wound itself around the west end of Watauga Lake and then across a Wilbur Dam before climbing back up to 4,000 feet elevation again. As I hiked, my hands kept slipping off the grips of my trekking poles because they were so moist. The hot, humid summer of the Deep South had definitely arrived.
I decided to stop for lunch at Vaneventer Shelter, and found myself with five more new hikers that I’d never met. Instead of eating at the bench out front, they all climbed up on a rock formation behind the shelter and were eating there. I followed suit, and enjoyed looking out on some pretty sweet views of the lake and mountains below. It wasn’t the most comfortable place I’ve ever rested, but the scenery mostly made up for it.
While sitting there and eating, I introduced myself to one of the hikers who had a nice looking Belgian Malinois dog. He shared that he was a recently retired USMC veteran, and said the dog had originally trained to be military working dog for explosives detection. The dog was ‘retired’ early because she never really adapted well to the work. He’d since adopted her, and now the trail was becoming nature therapy for the both of them as they considered what to do after military life.
STEALTH SPOT
Luna and Squirrel and still hadn’t caught up by the time I finished lunch. So, I decided to push on by myself to Iron Mountain Shelter near mile 444 to wait for them there. We didn’t prearrange a specific spot to stop today, but I was fairly certain they would make it at least this far. When they arrived in the late afternoon, we agreed to hike a few more miles further. There weren’t any shelters in the vicinity of where we hoped to end our day, but there was a few streams ahead. We would just have to find ourselves a stealth spot to camp tonight!
This would be my first time picking somewhere to camp along the trail instead of opting to stay near a shelter. The three of us hiked together until we found a nice-sized flat spot where we could spread out instead of being right on top of each other. It was only about 200 meters from a stream, so honestly, it didn’t really feel much different than camping at a shelter. The only thing missing was a privy. I guess this whole stealth thing wasn’t that difficult after all!
After setting up our tents, Luna went to toss a rope in the tree so we could hang our food bags this evening after we finished eating. We’d heard rumors that black bears have been pretty active in the area, and none of us is going to risk sleeping with our food in our tents out here. We’ll be crossing into Virginia tomorrow and don’t need any uninvited guests on our final night in Tennessee.
DAY 26
MAY 28, 2019
- Route: Stealth site (mile 448.1) to Damascus, VA (mile 470.6)
- Daily Mileage: 22.5 miles
This morning I woke up with a purpose. I was focused on getting to Damascus, VA. It was only 22 miles to town, but I needed to arrive there before 4:30 pm today so I could stop at the post office before it closed!
Back at Fontana Dam – before we entered the Smokies – I decided to do a good shakedown of my pack. I packed all the extra items I didn’t want to carry anymore in a box and mailed it to myself. Unfortunately, I don’t actually have a home to send my things back to anymore, so I mailed everything General Delivery to the post office in Damascus, Virginia.
The AT passes right through Damascus, and knew I’d arrive there just a day to two before I met up with Keith and Finn at Grayson Highlands State Park. If I wanted to dump those items off with them for safekeeping, I needed to get to the post office this afternoon.
COWS & PODCASTS
As I left this morning, the sky was dark with ominous rain clouds. It had rained a bit overnight, and it looked like there was more to come. Despite the gloomy outlook, the trail was really enjoyable this morning. It went through several fields and right past an iconic barn with an AT on it. Beyond that there were cows out grazing in open pastures, and I had to repeatedly pass through their grazing fields because the trail ran right through them. It was surreal to see the cows all just laying beside the trail completely unbothered by my presence. And there were even several spring calves hanging out with mothers.
Later, the trail returned to the forest again and I couldn’t seem to focus. I eventually decided I needed a little pick-me-up and put in my headphones to listen to a podcast. I had to admit, I really expected to listen to music, podcasts, or audiobooks a lot more than I have been thus far. In fact, before I started the trail, I must have downloaded at least 5 audiobooks to my phone. Yet, I just haven’t felt the desire to listen to anything while hiking.
Perhaps part of the reason is because I’m hanging out with other hikers. If I was hiking this trail 100% by myself then I’d probably feel the need to hear other voices on my podcasts or audiobooks just to retain that sense of human contact. Yet, with Luna, Squirrel, Gazelle, and all the other hikers I’m around throughout the day or evening, I haven’t felt that alone.
VIRGINIA
By mid-afternoon I reason to celebrate. I finally made my way to the the border of Virginia and was finally done with North Carolina/Tennessee. I have no choice but to lump the two states together in my mind because I rarely knew which one I was in. The AT tends follow the border between them, so sometimes the map might show you literally walking on the edge between North Carolina and Tennessee.
At least now I’d know what state I was in. And that’s a good thing because I’m going to be here a long, long while. Virginia is the longest state that the trail passes through at 550 miles. Heck, that’s just over 1/4 of the entire length of the AT. It’s longer than the sum of the three states I’ve already completed!
Getting to Virginia was exciting, not only because it’s a new state, but because of Damascus. This small town is often billed at ‘Trail Town, USA’ and is home of the annual Appalachian Trail Days festival for hikers in mid-May. Trail Days is essentially a long weekend filled with hikers, live music, a parade, and all kinds of festivities. The timing usually coincides with when the majority of hikers are making their way to Damascus, but many hikers will get off trail and jump ahead (or back) to Damascus just to attend Trail Days.
This year’s Trail Days was a bit more somber of an even though due to the attacks that occurred on Trail about a week earlier, killing one thru-hiker and injuring several more. Since I don’t have a first-hand knowledge of the attack, I’ll refrain from posting anything about the details of what occurred. However, there is plenty of factual information about it HERE and HERE.
DAMASCUS
When I walked into Damascus, none of the revelry or festive atmosphere from Trail Days remained. Instead, it was just a sleepy town in Southern Virginia. Squirrel was waiting for me in a park on the edge of town, and we made our way to the post office to grab my package and then to Dollar General for some cold Gatorade and ice cream.
The day was so hot, and we were so tired, that we didn’t want to leave the cool air-conditioned Dollar General store. So instead of going outside to eat our ice cream, Squirrel and I slumped down the wall and took a seat near the automatic door. And we sat there on the dirty linoleum floor, like pure hikertrash, just laughing and enjoying our Snickers ice cream bars. It was one of those perfect moments – where you realize you are exactly where you want to be, and surrounded by the very people you want to be with. 🙂
We texted Luna before we left the DG and made our way to a house owned by a local church. The inside of the building had been transformed into a donation-based hostel, and hikers could also set up their tents on the lawn outside. Squirrel and I set up our tents and waited for the group to come together back again.
In the meantime, I met a really unusual hiker with the named Pippi Rambo. She was in her 20s, and was unusual because she’s one of the few plus-sized hikers I’d come across on the trail. Don’t get me wrong, there are people out here of every shape and size. There are young hikers and elderly hikers. There are uber-fit hikers and those who are still struggling to get their trail legs. But, I’m not sure I’d seen any truly plus-sized women hikers yet.
As we briefly got to know each other, I developed an immense respect for her tenacity. She had the most upbeat personality and infectious enthusiasm. She knew she wouldn’t be able to hike the entire trail because she had work obligations that only let her take a few months off, but she wanted to see how far she could get. She was also very candid about how really difficult it was for her body to physically try to take on all the miles that she saw other hikers doing. As a result, she was constantly making and losing trail families because the others hikers were moving at much faster pace than her.
Thinking about Pippi’s struggle kind of broke my heart a bit. Every hiker is out here to ‘hike their own hike,’ but the camaraderie is on of the best perks of trail life. Even though I didn’t come out here expecting to make a trail family, I feel like I have one. I see Luna, Squirrel, Gazelle, TM, and GB as my tribe. We may not spend every moment together or have identical hiking strategies, but when we’re together we have a really good time!
DAY 27
MAY 29, 2019
- Route: Damascus, VA (mile 470.6) to US Route 58 trailhead (mile 487.6)
- Daily Mileage: 17.0 miles
Today was an exciting day for me on trail. It was the day I’d finally see my family again! Keith and Finn would be arriving at Grayson Highlands State Park today, and I knew I there was a trailhead just 17 miles from Damascus where they could pick me up tonight. I’d already texted to make our plan, and Keith confirmed he’d waiting for me there at 5 pm. Oh man! I was excited! I would even get to sleep in my own bed tonight.
Luna and Squirrel planned to stay in Damascus and take their first zero day today. None of three of us have taken any days off since we started the AT nearly a month ago. And, honestly, we all felt the need to give our bodies a rest. We were 470 miles in, and could afford a little R&R.
With a zero day, perhaps let TM and Gear Boy might even catch up to with us again. We’ve all been texting each other regularly, but our little family has been moving in separate orbits recently. TM and Gear Boy both took a zero back in Hot Springs, and the two of them have been a day behind us ever since. A zero day could bring us back together.
Gazelle, on the other hand, doesn’t seem to need any rest and is making serious miles. She has a hard deadline to finish the trail by 1 September because she’s be starting physical therapy school back in California this fall. And now, she’s nearly a day ahead of us now, I’m not sure we’ll ever catch her again.
CREEPER
Luna and I got up for an early morning breakfast together at the Damascus Diner before I left town, and made plans to meet up in two days. He and Squirrel would take a zero here in town today, while I hiked ahead. Then I’d take a zero tomorrow at the RV while they caught up. It everything worked out, we’d all meet back up in 48 hours and hike into Grayson Highlands together.
With our plan in hand, I left Damascus. The town seemed like it haven’t woken up yet, and was preternaturally still. Maybe that’s the normal pace of life out here on Saturday mornings, as people are sleeping in. It’s Memorial Day weekend too, so I suppose it’s equally possible that the locals are out of town hanging out in their own vacation spots instead of at home mowing their lawns or doing errands. Either way, I felt like I was slipping out of town completely unnoticed.
The trail out of town followed parts of the Virginia Creeper Trail, a 34-mile trail following an old railroad line that runs from Abingdon, Virginia through Damascus and ending at the White Top Mountain. The Creeper Trail is very popular with cyclists, and I saw several shuttle vans from local bicycle outfitters heading down Highway 58 to drop their passengers off.
Unfortunately, the AT doesn’t follow the relatively flat, well-graded Creeper Trail the entire way (unless you decide to blue blaze). But, I did get to walk on a few small sections of the Creeper Trail when it briefly merged with the AT, and I appreciated the nice long wooden bridges over the river. Overall, I’d rate today’s hiking as moderately easy. The hills were well-graded, and there was plenty of water to keep me well-hydrated as the temperature climbed into the 80s.
PROOF OF LIFE
I arrived at the Saunders Shelter, about 10 miles into the day, right in time to have lunch. There was only one other hiker there when I arrived, an older guy from northern Virginia named Proof of Life. I thought he had an interesting trail name and asked him about its origin. He explained that he was a AT section hiker, and was piecing the trail together over the years. However, since he prefers to hike alone, his wife worries about his safety each time he goes out. So, he makes sure to send her a ‘proof of life’ text once a day just to put her mind at ease.
I think many of us out here are in the same boat. We have loved ones back home who don’t quite understand that the AT isn’t really a dangerous place. I know there’s some irony to that statement, given what happened out here on the trail recently with Stonghold. However, violence on the AT (or any National Scenic Trail) is really quite rare. It’s a lot less common that virtually any of the towns we hail from.
In fact, the AT has only had 12 murders in the past 80 years. That might sound high at first, but consider this. According to the Appalachian Trail Conservancy (or ATC), approximately 3 million visitors hike a portion of the AT every year. That’s roughly the same as the number of people living in Denver, Colorado or St. Louis, Missouri. How many cities of 3 million people can claim they’ve only had 12 murders in 82 years? From that vantage point, the AT seems like a relatively safe place to spend your time.
Despite these metrics, our families back home worry about us. If they don’t regularly venture into the backcountry, they imagine (or fear) that it’s a much more dangerous place filled with poison snakes, vicious bear, and some sort of peril around each corner. So, just the simple act of updating them regularly, and assuring them we are alive and safe out here can have a tremendously positive impact. Proof of life isn’t a bad thing.
HOME SWEET HOME
I reached my pre-arranged pick-up spot early, and pulled out my cell phone to update Keith that I was there. Unfortunately, I didn’t have any cell service. This is typical on much of the trail. Cell reception is absent in many developed locations or beside roads, but unexpectedly present in other obscure places. This meant I’d have to wait and just hope Keith showed up. Unfortunately, there wasn’t a formal trailhead here. There was just a small AT sign on the shoulder of the Highway 58 for me to wait near while the occasional pickup truck whizzed past.
As I sat there for the next 30 minutes, I began to worry something had gone wrong. Were they having trouble finding me? Were they lost? These thoughts flooded my mind, but eventually I saw our car round the bend, and my ride was there. Turns out, they were just running a bit behind. I so was glad to see them, especially since less than ten minutes later, the skies opened up and the rain began to pour hard for the next hour.
We briefly stopped at the campground so I could shower, and then headed to the small town of Independence, Virginia to grab some food. It was a bit of a drive, but the wait was so worth it. The restaurant we stopped at was called Ciro’s Pizza and Subs, and the food portions there were huge!! They could quell even the most voracious hiker hunger. The pizza the waitress brought out to the table next us was a solid 24 inches wide! I didn’t know you could make a pizza that big. Every dish on the menu was equally enormous. My order of eggplant parmesan seemed to include an entire breaded eggplant atop about a pound of spaghetti. It was so much food, I had to take half of it home! This restaurant may be contributing to the obesity epidemic in the US, but right now it was a thru-hiker’s dream!!
DAY 28
MAY 30, 2019
- Route: Zero Day — Grayson Highlands State Park, VA
- Daily Mileage: 0 miles
Today was my very first zero day of this thru-hike. It felt weird not to be hiking, but I was grateful for the rest. As good as our giant-portioned dinner in Independence was last night, we opted to head off in the opposite direction to visit the larger town of Marion, Virginia, today so I could put together my resupply box to mail to Harpers Ferry, West Virginia.
I’m trying to buy my food along the trail as I go. After all, you can’t predict what you might want to eat in a day or a week. However, there are a few towns that are notorious for their lack of good resupply options, and Harper’s Ferry is one of them. Rather than scrounge around, I planned to just mail a resupply box to the ATC Headquarters and pick it up when I passed through in a few weeks.
My other ‘zero day’ task was to sort through my gear and decide what I wanted to hang on to as we transitioned into summer. I really wanted to lighten my load as much as possible. My bulky 15-degree sleeping bag was a major item I was looking forward to dropping. I’d been talking all week about swapping it out for my Army poncho liner, and that one substitution would free up close to a pound of weight in my pack. It’s funny how you don’t think of a sleeping bag as a heavy piece of gear until you have to carry on your back every single day for 8+ hours at a time.
As I made these adjustments and looked at the weather forecast, I could see the overnight temperatures were still projected to drop below 50 degrees in early June. That news made me question the wisdom of swapping out my cold weather gear. Would I end up like Luna, who was freezing in the Smokies because he’d tried to go too light on his packing list?
Of course, I didn’t really have to make any final decisions about my gear tonight. I planned to slack pack the next two days. That meant Keith would drop me off at the trailhead each morning, and the meet back up with me in the evening to bring me back to the RV. So, I really only needed to carry the essential items I needed for the day. I could contemplate the my full packing list later.
As we sat around the RV that evening enjoying each other’s company after a month apart, I pulled out a little gift for Keith and Finn. Thus far, it’s been pretty hard for them to really envision where I was at and where I was headed next. I’ve researched the trail so much that I know the names of many of the trail towns along the way. But they are a bit more in the dark about the route, especially since they don’t have a good map to look at.
While I was at the Mountain Harbour B&B a few days ago, I noticed a small pile of Appalachian Trail brochures created by the National Park Service sitting around and asked to take one. One side of this brochure is a fold-out map that’s close to four feet long and shows many of the trail towns, scenic spots, and mountains the trail crosses. It was the perfect item for Keith and Finn to have with them to follow along with my journey. As I unfolded the entire thing, it was awesome to see how far I’ve come in a just a month’s time. But, it was equally daunting to see how far a I still had to go!
Week 4 Overview
- Lowest Mileage Day: 0 miles (my first zero!!)
- Highest Mileage Day: 24.7 miles
- Number of nights sleeping in my tent: 5
- Nights sleeping in a barn: 1
- Nights sleeping in our RV: 1 (Ahhh! My own bed)
- Number of days with rain: 2
- Total miles hiked this week: 126.3 miles