I was very tired all day. Plus there were a couple straight up climbs. So even though we hiked 27 miles, it felt a lot longer. I saw a timber rattlesnake today! It was probably 5 feet long and pretty intimidating. It was on the side of the trail moving into the woods as I passed. The only reason I noticed it was because the noise it made as it rustled the leaves. I would not want to mess with one of thoughs in the future. Optimus and I hiked 26 miles to a B&B Restaurant and decided to check in on a wing special. We got 12 wings for 5 dollars and a beer. It was a great unexpected treat at the end of a long day. We eventually made camp about half mile North of PA 309, the Blue Mountain Summit.
Off the Trail in VA, WV, and PA (and back through MD, WV, and VA) Part I:
With my left shin doing well for some time, my right one decided to go on me. It was the fourth of July and we made our way into Pearisburg. It was a short nine mile hike after many long days, but the tendons in my shin decided to give out. In town the swelling started as did the internal grinding and I knew it could get bad. I iced it and we hit the trail again, but two days out and I was hurting. I limped along for a while, but had to get off and hitched ahead of Turok to Troutville. Thus started my second set of adventures off the trail.
In Troutville I got a room at a Comfort Inn where Turok would meet me in a day. Then I went across the street to Taco Bell and ate eight tacos and a few orders of nachos. This would be the first of three visits here while in town, buying one 79 cent item at a time and reading the Hobbit. Turok came the next day and then left and I had to figure out what to do. So I called up my new friends from Asheville, Clay and Andy.
They were going to be headed up this way to go to All Good music festival over the weekend and I figured I would see if I could tag along if I pitched in for gas. They said yes and off I went that Thursday evening, in a truck stuffed with three people up front and one person and two dogs in the truck bed.
"Timber Rattlesnake!"
We hit the trail again today. Rachel dropped us at the trail where we had gotten off. It was 24 miles into Port Clinton from there. The terrain was rocky, but pretty flat until the last descent. We came across a boulder field that we explored but otherwise pushed quickly to the church pavilion where we are camping tonight, in order to beat the rain. We beat the rain by a few hours, and now it is only drizzling.
Off the Trail in GA, SC, and NC Part III:
Upon arrival in Hot Springs I explored the town, which took about 10 minutes, and then got myself a $10 campsite. I spent a number of days here while Turok worked his way North on the trail. During the day I would read down at the river or up at the library and at night hang out around the campground. The two roosters, especially Little Jerry provided entertainment. A guy named Noah, who was about my age, worked the gate most of the time so I would talk with him and go to the happening sites around the campground when he got off of work. Later in the week when Turok arrived we all partied a bit.
At the outfitters that week, however, I saw a sign for work for stay. The lady LA who had posted the sign was right outside and I told her that I would take the opportunity. She drove me up to her house and I mowed the lawn for her, weeded the garden, and cleaned the porch gutters. This got me a free night stay and a free dinner (and the ability to watch a Celtics game). It also got me invited to a hiker wedding down at the river later that week. I also reserved a night for Turok and I for his zero day. So that weekend, Turok got into town, we camped out for a night, took care of business in town, and then enjoyed a night at LAs with a good dinner and satellite television before hitting the trail once again.
"Optimus exploring a boulder field North of Pine Grove."
Today was our zero day. We hung out around town again and relaxed. The Comfort Inn even had an indoor pool.
Off the Trail in GA, SC, and NC Part II:
In Charlotte, South Carolina there was a transfer, and as we got off the bus video cameras were everywhere and newscasters were interviewing one of the passengers. Later that night on the eleven oclock news that was playing at a bar in Asheville, it was explained that the passenger was Willie Mays Hayes, an athlete being released from prison after 14 years. So I got to see myself on the news behind him at the bus station.
Before making my way to that bar in Asheville, however, I went to Taco Bell across the way from the bus stop. With the dining room closed it looked like I would be unable to get any. They get mad when you walk through the drive and refuse to serve you most of the time. Luckily, an employee was out back smoking and he went inside and got me a burrito for free. Eating that on the way to Ingles supermarket, I started looking for a ride. It turns out it was high school graduation and all of the kids were out on the town. I found a ride right away and went to downtown to pass my time at a bar.
When closing time rolled around, I made my way to a local diner North of downtown. Ordering some french fries, I started talking with a couple of kids who had been at a concert in town. They invited me back to their house. It turns out that they were staying in a tent behind the house, but I was happy to sleep on their picnic table on the back porch. In fact I slept there for three nights while I tried to find a ride to Hot Springs.
From the house I could easily walk to UNCA up the street. I spent some time reading and sleeping in the library and eventually made my way to the outdoors club. When I explained my situation, they brought me to a trainer who lived up towards Hot Springs. She ran a rafting company on the French Broad river in addition to working for UNCA, and got me a ride with one of her employees who drives the van to the outpost in Hot Springs.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -We woke up at five in the dark this morning and left camp by six as it was getting light out. We reached the road for Pine Grove by ten and hitched a ride down to the main street. After one more hitch we made it to the Comfort Inn and got our rooms and cleaned up. Rachel arrived shortly after and we went around town running our errands, eating, and ended the evening by watching the new Batman movie.
While in town, Optimus wrote up some of the experiences he has had while he was off of the trail with injuries. We will post those over the next several days in addition to the regular posts.
Off the Trail in GA, SC, and NC Part I:
It was after only about a week that injury forced me to get off the trail. We had not even made it out of Georgia yet. My left shin was swollen, stretched out, grinding away, etc. The decision was to descend from Blue Mountain the two miles into Unicoi gap (in a thunder storm) and make our way to Helen down the mountain. At the gap we caught our first hitch of the trip with a local couple who had been camping for the weekend. After a nine mile drive we came into a touristy Bavarian mountain village and got dropped at the Best Western that had hiker rates of $35. With one night in town, Turok hit the trail again and my adventures off the trail began.
It started with a visit to the doctor in the next town. Big mistake. Having a scheduled appointment, I got a cab to drive me down the road the seven or eight miles. Unfortunately the going rate was about four dollars per mile and cost me $55 round trip. The bigger disappointment, however, was the appointment itself in which I was told my injury might just be an infected bug bite and I was given antibiotics and anti-inflammatory pills.
After this I started to figure out a way to leave Helen. There was no public transportation. I could not rent a car one way. I thought about getting a box truck from Uhaul but they were not very close, and still not very cheap. The ultimate decision was to get a shuttle to Gainesville and catch a Greyhound to Asheville, North Carolina which was about twenty minutes from Hot Springs on the trail.
I checked out of the hotel after three nights and walked to the library. Here I printed off a list of people who run shuttles around the trail. I made my first call to the couple who gave rides for fifty cents a mile and it turned out they were headed to Gainesville for a doctors visit anyway. Riding to the bus station with them, I learned that my driver had lived in Glastonbury, CT thirty years ago when he worked for Pratt and Whitney in East Hartford. We got to the bus station around 11 and I got my ticket for a bus which turned out to be scheduled for around 5, and was running about an hour late. So after a long wait I boarded and made my way North, slowly.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -We had to hike over 17 miles today just to reach the first shelter. Of course we arrived there around 2pm and decided to move closer to town so tomorrow we would have a shorter day in. We ended up setting up camp on top of a ridgeline on a small campsite beside the trail. Planning on passing out early and getting up around 5am.
Optimus has been doing pretty well. His boots give him problems every once in awhile, but for injuries he has been looking good. My feet of course still hurt and the terrain is not helping. But we knew it would be tough here. I get new shoes tomorrow from our package pickup at the post office! I will probably invest in gel insoles for my shoes too. Hopefully the new shoes, with better soles, and close to two days rest will help out my feet.
Weather started out looking questionable today, but by mid afternoon it turned out to be a great day. Partly cloudy in the 80s! I believe that we ended around 25 miles. This will give us something like 8 or 9 miles into town in the morning. Looking forward to good food, movies, and the visit from my girlfriend Rachel!
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -Slept in today until about 7am. That was well needing because we actually did not arrive at Darlington Shelter til after dark the night before. So we slept in, but probably only got 7 hours of sleep.
Today is the day Optimus and I sort of feared the most in awhile. The start of the 150 miles of Pennsylvania rocks. In the thru hikers guide they state that no other state has been talked about with such fear by hikers who have never been there before. However, so far it does not seem too bad. Yes, my feet hurt. And yes, there are a lot of sharp and annoying rocks. But my feet hurt well before today, and I am sure they will keep on hurting until I finish this trip.
There were actually things much more annoying than the PA Rocks today. The gnats in the morning were unrelenting. All these stupid bugs do is fly into your eyes and ears. It can drive a sane hiker mad. I cannot wait until a cold night rolls on through and kills those damn bugs!
In short, we hiked from Darlington Shelter to Peters Mountain Shelter. A total of about 23 miles. We also stopped in at the Duncannon Subway and picked up some 5 dollar footlongs. Great day overall with two more shorter days into Pine Grove, PA where we will be taking a full fledged zero!
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -Back to back great days! 33 miles today from our campsite to Darlington Shelter. The weather was once again outstanding and the terrain was the easiest yet.
We hiked the Cumberland Valley today to Boiling Springs, PA and then stayed within the valley for 15 miles afterward. This basically consisted of hiking flat farmland the entire day. At Boiling Springs we checked out the cool springs. The pond in town is fed by a spring that pumps 55 degree water year round into it. So in the winter when it is below freezing the pond ends up steaming.
We also had a nice long lunch in town at the local pizza place. Optimus and I each got Cheese Steak subs with side orders of great bread. We have been eating well.
"Farmlands of PA"
What a great day. Totally the opposite of yesterdays mess. Temperatures were in the 80s with clear skies above. There was a great cool breeze all day. It was the perfect hiking weather.
We hiked the 30 miles from Tumbling Run Shelter to Pine Grove Furnace State Park where we consumed our half gallons of chocolate ice cream. Optimus finished in 15 minutes while I took about 25. The challenge is really not worth it anymore because now you have to pay, and you do not get refunded for finishing. However, we spent the 5.50 a piece for the ice cream to not break tradition. It is surprisingly not that difficult to eat a half gallon of ice cream without feeling sick afterwards.
We planned to stay at the state park at a camp site for 12 dollars. But the rates changed to 15 dollars, and the hot showers were being renovated. Angrily, we skipped out and decided to take a dip in Fuller Pond, and camp just outside the park. It was a good decision because the swim was refreshing and we found a great camp site up the hill from the park about a mile. So in total we did almost 31 miles.
Please wish us luck for the next half of the trip. Today we crossed the physical half way point at 1088 miles! So now it feels like every step brings us closer to Mount Katahdin in Maine rather than farther from Springer Mountain in Georgia.
"Turok and Optimus before eating their half gallons."
Absolutly Miserable...So as we went to bed a bunch of loud high schoolers strolled into the campsite beside ours and well, were being loud. The two of us were already lacking on sleep, and this did not help. At about midnight Optimus got up to ask them to quiet down, and I felt some raindrops. So the both of us quickly rigged up our roof with our other tarp. It ended up keeping us fairly dry, but the condensation did get our sleeping bags damp.
Morning came. We waited for the rain to cease before crawling out of our tarp tent. Almost immeditly after packing up the rain began again. It did not stop until 4pm. So we did something like 16 miles through pouring rain, with wet shoes, clothes, and everything. It was by far the wettest I have been since being out here. Actually, I cannot remember the last time anywhere that it rained this much. As I write this now, it is pouring rain outside the Tumbling Run Shelter.
This is truely a demorilizing day. Being wet all the time, is probably one of the worst things. However, to look on the brighter side of things, the weather can really only get better from this. We will also be reaching the half way point tomorrow at Pine Grove Furnace State Park. If we arrive there tomorrow by 7pm, after a 30 mile day, we will both attempt the half gallon challenge. This is a tradition for thru hikers on the AT. Near the half way mark, there are a couple of general stores that will give you a free half gallon of ice cream. The only stipulation is that you are a thru hiker, and that you finish it all. If you do not finish it all, then I suppose you have to pay for it. Optimus and I do not intend to fail.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -We left Harpers Ferry this morning after having a nice breakfast of left over pizza, yogurt, and egg and cheese sandwiches. It was very delicious. The hike was nice and easy as we ended our day at Annapolis Rocks. Very few climbs and a nice and wide trail. This was really the first time we could walk side by side since the trip started. We also walked beside the famous Potomac River and canal, and climbed the Washington Monument.
We had a nice view at Annapolis Rocks with a good campsite, and a great spring. We ended up laying out our tarp to sleep on for the night. We also had extra heavy backpacks today coming out of town, with extra dinners. So we decided that the first couple days we will eat double and knock off weight for later. This after all will be a 7 day hike from Harpers Ferry WV to Pine Grove PA.
"Railroad at Harpers Ferry just before crossing into Maryland."
It took us only 24 days to travel the great state of Virginia. We left Damascus only back on June 28th! That is one fourth of the AT in a short amount of time.
This morning we finished off the rollercoaster in Northern Virginia and then immediately crossed into West Virginia. The terrain after the rollercoaster was really nice ridgeline with some pesky rocks on the trail. The heat is getting a bit annoying. Temperatures rose to the mid 90s, and water sources were scarce atop the ridgeline. We arrived into the town of Harpers Ferry around 3pm after crossing the Shenandoah River. Optimus and I got our resupplies at the PO, and stop in at the ATC, or Appalachian Trail Conservancy. There we got some information on a 15 dollar hostel in town, got our pictures taken as thru hikers, and got an offer for a lift to the supermarket.
After stopping at the ATC we checked in at the hostel. This is basically just an old renovated house that hikers and others are allowed to use. We had a laundry machine, cable, and air conditioning! We also had the place to ourselves!
After going to the supermarket and picking up pizza for dinner, we did some relaxing, watched television, did laundry, and decided to try to get to sleep early. However, this did not occur for me because I attempted to wash my sleeping bag. I think it kinda work, but it was risky in a top load washer.
Harpers Ferry WV is considered by thru hikers the physiciological half way point. Though the actual physical half way point is not for 75 miles. Over the next few weeks we will travel through Maryland, Pennsylvania, and then into New Jersey and New York.
"A welcoming sign early in the morning."
We got a late start today at just before 9. It took us awhile to get ready and get out of the comfort of the hiker loft. The terrain turned out to be really nice. Several miles were in open fields and there were not too many big hills until the rollercoaster at the end of the day. The rollercoaster is a continuous set of 10 hills over 13 miles in Northern Virginia. The PATC prides itself in creating and maintaining one of the toughest sections on the AT. Optimus and I trekked over half of the rollercoaster. It is pretty tough, but I would not even consider it in the top 5 toughest so far. But we still have the other half in the morning.
The Sam Moore Shelter is about 28 miles away from the hiker loft. So it was a pretty normal day for me. Optimus did not seem to have any trouble either. The shelter is not any different from all the others. However, its nice because it has a separate pavilion, but not so nice because of the big crawly spiders that will be spending the night with us.
"The Creepy Spiders and Crickets..."
Today was definitely in the top 5. I traveled from Pass Mountain Hut to the end of Shenandoah Park. Then I traveled another 6 miles to a hikers loft in Front Royal. I had an early morning blackberry milkshake before leaving the park, and also saw a bear about 10 minutes after leaving in the morning. During the hike I met a few other thru hikers. A woman, Just Jill, is a thru hiker currently hiking with her 12 year old son. Levi is another young college aged guy that seemed really cool. We both talked a bit about the trail coming up ahead while having our milkshakes.
At the end of the hike I met up with Optimus at the hiker loft. He was invited to stay there by Sharon and Tom Johnson, who run the shuttle service he used. They were both great hosts. Sharon was an awesome cook. We had a big dinner with burgers and potato salad, and a nice breakfast with eggs, bacon, and banana bread. Tom, the former president of PATC, a major trail club in Virginia, told us about the trail ahead in Maryland and Pennsylvania. The plan was for Optimus and I to go into town and watch Batman at the theaters. But the both of us were way too tired to go into town. So we just ended up watching Viva La Bam, and Remember the Titans.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -A very good day today! I started my hike at 10 of 6am and treked quickly to Big Meadows Wayside. This is just a small restaurant that serves from 8 until 8 everyday. I got in at around 9am and got a great big breakfast. This consisted of 4 scrambled eggs, bacon, english muffins, and hash browns. I also did get the famous blackberry milkshake. It was pretty damn good. All and all the meal cost me almost 20 dollars. O well, it was worth it. I brought cash into the park for a reason.
The hiking today was hot, and buggy once again. There were a ton of up and down rollercoaster hills, but nothing insanely bad. Shenandoah has been nice, but nothing special. The waysides, restrooms, and water faucets are to me, what make it a nice place to hike through. But it is not truly wilderness hiking with all that available to you everyday. Getting up early tomorrow and pushing to Front Royal to meet Optimus. Hopefully we will go see a movie at the theater conveniently located next door to the outfitters.
"The kissing trees at Pass Mountain Hut."
More or less the same old boring hiking today. I started out really tired so I decided to jog the downhills. I ran into a overhanging branch and then decided to not run the downhills for awhile. I was able to contact Optimus at one point during the day. He took a bus to PA and is taking the train to Harpers Ferry early tomorrow morning. From there he will either shuttle into the park and meet me tomorrow night at Pass Mountain or he will just stay at Front Royal VA until I get there on Saturday. At least he is spending plenty of time off his leg to let it heal properly.
Like I mentioned earlier, todays hike was boring. Lots of ups and downs and not too many great views. However, a mile before my destination at Bearfence Hut there was a camp store. I stopped in and got two dinners, peanut butter, snickers, an ice cream sandwich, and two pop tarts. I ate a bunch of it at the hut, and have some stuff left to get me into town. Tomorrow I may hit up one of the Skyland Drive wayside restaurants for breakfast. Hopefully I will be able to get one of those famous blackberry milkshakes that they make in the park. My daily mileage is still great. I am averaging around 27 miles for full days, and thankfully I have been finishing the hikes around 5 or 6 in the evenings! This gives me plenty of time to relax.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -First day in Shenandoah National Park. The climbs were well graded. Sometimes it was hard to tell if I was going up a big climb or not. I ended my 27 mile hike at Loft Mountain Campground. I was suppose to pay 16 dollars for a small plot of land, but I ran into a ranger who said if he does not see me I will be ok. So I got a nice spot 100 meters off the AT with a table and some nice flat ground. The weather was nice and cool today, but this attracted an insane amount of bugs that seemed to swarm me all day. I have even been using sun glasses I found on the trail to keep the nats out of my eyes.
While eating dinner at the table a couple of dear came within ten feet of me. They just did not care about my presence and they went on eating shrubs. So once again I will be with just my one tarp tonight. Optimus is having difficulties getting back to the trail, and he is going to attempt to make it to Lewis Mountain Campgrounds tomorrow to meet up with me. So hopefully by tomorrow evening, Optimus will rejoin the hike.
"I hope the bear do not come as close..."
Today was an official zero day. This means I did next to nothing. I sent packages of supplies off to our next stops. I also relaxed by the pool for 2 hours! Had lunch at AW, and they really make a good strawberry milk shake. I also had a great dinner at a chinese buffet that just opened on Sunday! The place was pretty pimped out and the food was really good. Besides all that I spent the day watching No Reservations on the Travel Channel. I also tried to watch the All Star game. But that was pretty damn boring. I guess that's basically it. Zeros are for relaxing and thats what I did.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -Well you realize after reading my last post that last night was miserable. I got maybe 2 hours of sleep, on a small slab of dry pavement. So of course I was up as soon as the first beam of light arose. It was a fairly nice morning. The mist moved out almost immediately, and the sky was filled with only a few clouds. I performed my normal morning routine of making oatmeal, drinking gatorade, packing up, brushing my teeth, then moving onward.
The hike into town was easy, but since I was so tired and beat up from this week and the bad night, it was still a tough time to hike. I hit US 250 a little before Noon, and then went to the visitors center. I put all my wet things, including my tarp, sleeping pad, and cloths, all out in the sun to dry. As my stuff dried I got in contact with a trail angel, someone who volunteers free rides into town. The trail angel also volunteered to bring me to the outfitters, and then come back later to get me into downtown. So I thanked him and went into the outfitters.
At the outfitters I had to try to get my backpack framed fixed. I talked with a couple people, but they did not recall me calling in the week before to ask about assistance. But it did not matter, the people at Rockfish Gap Outfitters helped out a lot. They pulled out a new frame from one of there packs, and put it in mine! They gave me no hassle! Awesome!
The rest of the day was for getting ready for hiking on Wed. I got a room at a hotel, went to the PO, did laundry, and ate at several places. These include McDonalds and Subway! I may try a couple local places tomorrow. After doing all that organizational stuff I relaxed and watched some television. I had a great time watching the Home Run Derby and drinking some High Life out of bottles. Also saw the Daily Show and Colbert Report, and then fell fast asleep.
"Where I awoke this morning..."
When I started this morning I had about 41 miles to Waynesboro. My goal was to get within 15 by night. I got to just after Cedar Cliffs, about 13 miles outside town. Today was a lot hotter than any other day I remember. The hike was extremely difficult going up the major climb called Three Ridges because it was in the 90s. I was just falling forward during the 4 mile climb and the majority of the day after.
The last 6 miles I walked below the ridge line in a steady rain. It was fairly nice since the rain cooled everything off. I was attempting to reach the top of Humpback Mountain and find a campsite, but I just got too tired to continue. As I was about 2 miles from the summit I crossed a side trail to a picnic area .3 miles away. So since I was already dead, and it was past 7pm, I decided to check it out and try to sleep there. Currently I am laying down on my tarp, at a small picnic area in the corner, hoping it does not rain again while I sleep. I am not sure if I am allowed to camp here but nothing says I cannot, and I am technically just off the trail. So hopefully I can get 8 hours of very low quality sleep. Just enough to help me get to town early tomorrow.
...Morning Update. Last Night was probably the worst night of my life. As I finish writing this update last night I hear a rumble of thunder off in the distance. So I get into my sleeping bag and wrap up into my tarp. The rain begins, a long steady rain. It rained from 10pm until 3am. My tarp idea worked for a couple hours, but then puddles formed and that was it. I managed to keep my sleeping bag fairly dry until the rain stopped. As it slowed down I made a mad dash for the restroom in the picnic area. There was a small slab of pavement there that was still dry under an overhang. I got a couple of hours of sleep there until the sun began to rise. Great Night! Yea. One good thing came of this. I did not have to travel far to do my mornings business.
"Awesome view from Cedar Cliffs!"
I hiked entirely way to far today. Imagine walking 136 times around an outdoor track in 11 hours. That is what I did, plus over the mountains. 34 miles in total. To make it more difficult I had a 2000 foot and a 3000 foot climb. Surprisingly though I hiked swiftly and felt pretty good. Got started from James Hollow Shelter at 745 in the morning and finished just before 8pm. Not much for great views today. Went over a couple of balds, but they were nothing special compared to the ones farther South.
So according to my book, the hardest parts of Central Virginia should be over with. Just have a little over 40 miles into Waynesboro. Only have to climb above 4000 feet once more, and it looks a lot more like ridge line than the past two days. My confidence is rising as we edge closer and closer to Harpers Ferry, the physiological half way point. Kinda forgot, but about 5 miles into my hike today the wilderness showed itself a bit too much for my liking. An old guy, probably in his 60s, walking in the other direction, was completely nude besides shoes and a backpack. As he passed by he said, Nice weather we got today. Haha. I have heard of people doing it, but hopefully I will not see him again.
"Turtle Crossing! Mountain Turtles?"
Unlike yesterday, I was beat and tired all day. I may have hiked 27 miles, but it felt more like 40. The first 12 miles of trail went from 1300 feet in elevation up to 4200. It was a long and aggressive uphill that managed to take the little energy I had out of me. The final 15 or so miles were much easier. But we did drop from 4000 to 600 feet in elevation. This was brutal on the legs after awhile. It also means that we have another long climb tomorrow morning out of Johns Hollow Shelter...
The frame in my backpack snapped on one side a few hundred miles back. It has really started to bother me lately. A lot of pressure is put on my left hip and right shoulder. I called the outfitter in Waynesboro, and they said they should be able to help me out. So hopefully when entering Shenandoah next week I will have a new frame.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -What a great day today! Started with an awesome continental breakfast at the Comfort Inn. Had everything from sausage patties to egg burritos and pancakes! After getting ready I left Optimus who plans to get a ride from a friend he met in Ashville to a music festival over the weekend. I hit the trail around 8am and hiked all the way until 8pm. I covered close to 32 miles. It was a long day, but the terrain was easy. The trail criss crossed the Blue Ridge Parkway and also followed along side it all day. Fratdog, two other section hikers, and me shared Bryant Ridge Shelter. It was a cool place with two stories and a nice front porch. I was also really energized today. No lack of energy. I think all the carbs the night before really helped me out!
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -The day started out pretty bad. Looked like the rain would be starting up again. But it never did, at least while I was out hiking. My ankle was hurting pretty badly for the first 6 miles. However, all that time I spent in the trainers room at college actually helped out. I was able to isolate the tendon that hurt, I wrapped it, and I could walk with no pain. Awesome feeling when that happens.
The hike today was actually fairly nice. It was a rollercoaster of up and downs, but still easy relative to the past few days. At least after I wrapped my ankle. I walked over two of Virginias popular spots. Mcafees Knob and Tinker Cliffs, which both had nice views, but nothing good for the camera because of a hazy start to the day. After traveling over the Tinker Ridge Line I dropped into a small valley which lead into the outer commercial area of Troutville. That small valley was only a half mile to my final destination for the day, but it took me 45 minutes to hike. It took long for good reasons though. There were hundreds of groups of ripening blackberries. And I stopped at every group to take the best ones!
I got into Troutville, went to the outfitters to get some supplies and other things. Optimus decided to take a hitch to Troutville and get a hotel room. As I walked outside the outfitters an old woman in a Cadillac GTS offered me a ride down to town. I accepted and she drove me to the hotel in the nicest cleanest car I have been in since I left on the trip. AWESOME! Sometimes the hospitality in the South is amazing. After getting to the hotel, Optimus and I did the norm. We did laundry at the local truck stop off of I-81, got fast food, and watched television. Tomorrow I am off to Waynesboro. Hopefully a 5 or 6 day trek.
"Hiked 715 miles for this blackberry!"
Worst day since I have started this. I awoke at 5am to hear a thunderstorm roll right over the ridge line that we had to cross in a couple hours. Optimus and I left the Sarver Shelter around 7am and hit this wet, rocky, and dangerous ridge line. After working our way over that we came by a water source and began to get water for the day. Then of course it started to pour. After filling our water, Optimus and I said our goodbyes and he headed up the road to town for rest, and I heading North up trail.
The rain continued for about 5 hours, until 2pm. I had a treacherous time navigating the descent of Dragons Tooth. This was the most difficult technical descent so far on the trail, and to make things worse, every rock was slippery and wet. After clearing Dragons Tooth the sun decided to peak out. A wasp stung me on the calf muscle and after about five minutes it went from the 70s to the 90s. The rest of the day was long and hard. Lots of rolling ridge line and rocky downhills. Of course around 6pm, as I was a top a ridge, a severe thunderstorm formed out of nowhere and went right over my head. Luckily, I was able to find some sort of shelter under a rock face.
Towards mile 27 of the 32 I did today my left ankle started hurting. This has happened before to my other ankle and I think its just an overuse thing. So hopefully resting it tonight will make it feel better tomorrow. The only good thing about today is that I caught up to Horsefly, Red Flag, and Fratdog. So at least I have people to talk to at the Catawba Shelter and during the hike into Troutville tomorrow.
"The Audie Murphy Monument. This WWII Veteran died in a plane crash off the AT."
Well, we did not make it to far today. After 6 miles Optimus was in a lot of pain because of his shin, and he has decided to take time off to let it rest. We ended up going 12 miles today to Sarver Shelter. Over the course of the 12 there were two big climbs, both close to 2000 feet. The second of the two climbs was really difficult with the last half mile at a 20 percent gradient.
So we did lose a little mileage today according to our plan but I will try to make that up in the next two days. I plan to hit Troutsville by Wednesday evening, and then on to Waynesboro for the next week. Sucks going on by yourself, but I am not giving up and there are others ahead that I can tag along with. Optimus will join back on when he feels better.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -We did today what we do everyday. We hiked for a very long time. Ended up making it into the War Spur Shelter just before a thunderstorm passed overhead (25 Miles). Thank god we got up at 6am like we planned. The actual terrain today was interesting. The first 10 miles were on a rolling ridgeline. A bridge down in a valley was washed out from earlier in the year and we had to walk 2 miles on a road. Then we went up over 6 miles and had to navigate 3 miles of boulder scrambles. This was slow and tough because these rocks and boulders were extremely wet from the rain last night. If you take one wrong step you can slip and hurt yourself bad.
Optimus is still hurting, but he was able to do the mileage fairly quickly. The pain in his shin is really bad on downhills. So we shall see how it goes tomorrow.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -We slept in today! Got up at seven thirty. Thats much better than getting up at six or six thirty everyday. Then the two of us took a walk down the road and got breakfast at Hardees. Not exactly the best place for breakfast. It was really expensive, and our orders were incorrect. At this point we wish there was a Dennys in town. After breakfast we headed to the Food Lion, picked up some snacks for the trail, and then went back to our room. It was a good morning because we got to nap for an hour because we planned on leaving around noon.
The hike was short today. Only 7 miles to the Rice Field Shelter, plus 1 mile to get to the trail. However, it was kind of depressing. As soon as we stepped outside it began to rain. I cannot complain too much because of the whole drought situation. Hopefully in the long run these storm systems will replenish the dried out springs and streams. At the shelter two other thru hikers met up with us. Horsefly and Redflag. They are both college aged and plan to do fairly similar mileage to us. So maybe there will be some more company for us in the future.
Adams leg is still unknown. He was able to hike today with fairly little pain, but his shin is a little swollen. So we will take this issue day by day and hope it gets better.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -We woke to my cell phone alarm at 6am. Packed up our backpacks and took off for town. The 9 miles into town were really easy, except for one aggressive downhill into town. Optimus may have aggrevated one of his legs on this downhill, but hopefully it will feel better in the morning.
Pearisburg is a small town with a couple fast food places and a couple motels. We got in to our room at the Holiday Motor Lodge, took our showers, and did our laundry. We also went to the Pizza Hut Buffet and ate a ridiculous amount of food that kept us full all day. We spent the rest of the day watching Comedy Central, talking with fellow hikers, and napping. We could see a few fireworks going off in the mountains, but nothing special. I am looking forward to heading back up into the mountains. Everyday we get closer to the Northeast, and everyday we feel closer to home.
"Optimus and Turok on the cliff side of Pearis Mountain."
Another long day today. We rolled into a full Docs Knob Shelter around 8pm. So we had to set up our tarps within some Rhododendron thickets. The terrain was really easy, but Optimus and me moved slowly. We are really tired and looking forward to spending the 4th in Pearisburg. We also smell really bad, and our bodies are covered in a few layers of grime. Its really uncomfortable to try to fall asleep being all sticky and smelly in your sleeping bag. Laundry and showers are the first things that will be done when arriving into town tomorrow. Total mileage on the AT is 615.
"Everyone hanging out at Docs Knob Shelter."
Not going to say much about today. We are really tired from this weeks trek and even more tired from the last two late nights. We hiked from Jenkins Shelter to a campsite two miles beyond Jenny Knob Shelter. Somewhere in the area of 26 miles. We had to do this because Virginia is now in a serious drought and many of the ridgeline water sources have dried up. So we go down to a road after passing the shelter, hike a half mile, and get water from a house were a creek was suppose to be. Of course this creek, which was labeled on a topographical map, was also dry. From now on we will have to be more careful and carry extra water on our backs.
Earlier in the day, we stopped into the town of Bland to pick up supplies and get a bite to eat. We both ended up getting large pizzas at a gas station which we later regreted because it sucked what little water we had out of our bodies.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -Today Optimus decided to push it. Not me. We hiked out of the Davis Path Tentsite and got to the Chestnut Knob Shelter right around schedule at 5pm. There happened to be no water at the shelter. So my suggestion was to head downhill for 1.3 miles to the next water source and campout there, but Adam said we should go to the next shelter 10 miles away. So of course I agreed. We ended up pushing that 10 miles of ridgeline in about 3 hours, getting there just as it got dark. So the past four days have been extremely mileage heavy. 28, 25, 24, and 30. But hey, we feel fine so why not do it over the easier terrain.
Also saw tons of deer throughout the day, and another black bear right after we left in the morning. Nothing special now I guess, just wish it were possible to snap a picture. The odd thing was that Optimus was ahead of me by 5 minutes. So the bear most have just moved into the area. Looking foward to spending the 4th in Pearisburg!