Day 133: Punch Bowl Overlook

Start: Hog Camp Gap (AT mi 815.4). Stop: Punch Bowl Overlook (AT mi 798.2). Today’s miles: 17.2 miles. Total AT mileage: 1394.9 miles

Not long after I wrote out yesterday’s post, I made dinner. Then a lady and her dog showed up to camp in the same meadow I was in. I eventually went over to say hi, since her doggo was a beautiful big pup that I had to pet. We became best friends, and his mom was out for her first overnight camping experience on her “own” to try out her gear. We talked awhile, sharing experiences and, well, her letting me love on her dog. I finally went back to my side of the huge field around 7:45.

I didn’t sleep well, but not because of my location. It was perfect. My tent was on soft grass, the night was cool and breezy, there were no bears.. but my legs itched so bad and no amount of scratching helped ease my discomfort. I scratched like a complete lunatic all night. When I’d fall asleep, I’d wake up after I rolled over and start the itching all over again. I have a mix of heat rash bumps and what I assume are mosquito bites, although I’m thinking they’re more along the lines of killer mosquitos. You could play connect the dots on my legs and draw out all the constellations in the galaxy. I’m doing great.

So, I finally got up at 7:15, irritable and cranky. Of course I slept good after 5. Uuuugh. I packed and chatted briefly with the lady across the way. She was up and had her coffee and built a fire. There are morning people, and then there is me. I’m not talkative when I first wake up, and especially not when I slept like crap and my legs are on fire.

I started hiking by 8:10am and my bad attitude continued. I started up a climb first thing. The views should have changed my ‘tude.. the trail was gentle and there was a previous controlled burn in this area, but it was awhile ago because fresh bright green ferns and other small plants were covering the ground over the majority of the black burned parts. It had it own magical look, the new growth popping through the damaged parts.

Then the trail went up to a grassy bald mountain top, Cole Mountain, gorgeous 365 degree views of other mountains and valleys and the sun shining over all of them.. this perked my mood up. The descent was kind, too, before going back up the next mountain, Knob Bald. It was steep and I sucked wind the whole way up. With my huffing and puffing, the humidity also showed up, along with all of the bugs in Virginia. I was back in my bug net, frustrated, and sweating profusely-setting all of my bumps on fire. And then there was the spider webs.

The absolute second my phone showed 1 bar of any type of service, I called the motel in town. To my delight, the guy running the place answered. He said he could get me from either spot, I picked the farther one so I’d get my mileage in for the day. He said to call back when I was 30 minutes away, and he’d be there. Again, my mood was lifted, considerably.

I decided to turn on an audiobook, and luckily it helped keeping my mood from sinking again. So, I was listening and hiking and swatting at bugs and pulling off webs continuously. The trail went downhill pretty steeply, and then continued on beside a creek for several miles. It was beautiful, but so covered in mosquitos that I literally almost screamed out in frustration when I tried to eat my lunch. I managed to get my peanut butter tortilla down, but it was scarfed down so quick I barely tasted it.

The book distracted me well enough to enjoy the rest of the day. I think it was because I knew a shower, motel room, and better food was coming. I called Leonard, the motel manager, around 4pm. I was already close to the parking lot at PunchBowl Overlook, but it was the first spot I got enough service to call. It took him until 4:45 to get there. He runs everything at the motel on his own, so he had to check in a couple before he could close up the front office to come get me. He even brought me a Mountain Dew! My savior!

My motel room in Buena Vista is one that, well, I’m glad I didn’t decide to zero at.. it could pass as what some might call “seedy.” Lauren and I have stayed in two motels worse than this one, but not by far! Ha! It doesn’t come with shampoo or conditioner, just a bar of soap. So, I showered with just the bar.. it is what it is. The sheets are clean, so that’s a plus. And the AC works, as does the TV with my SVU marathon on. All in all, I’m happy.

After my shower I ordered some pizza and then attempted to upload pictures to the blog.. to no avail. I don’t have enough service, and the WiFi won’t upload them either. It looks like I’ll have to wait another day! It’s almost 9pm and I already feel better. I do wonder if I’ll need to take a zero soon though. I think I might need a reset, to keep my attitude in check. But, it won’t be tomorrow.

Tomorrow I’ll have Leonard drop me off and I’ll hike 10 ish miles to Glasgow and stay at the hostel there, and do my laundry and resupply there. I also think I’ll see about slack packing the following day, but we’ll see what that hostel looks like before I decide.

For now, all I’m deciding to do is go to sleep! Sweet dreams!