Month: October 2021

Start: Stealth Site (AT mi 574.6 miles). Stop: Bear Garden Hostel (AT mi 558.5). Today’s miles: 16.1 miles. Total AT mileage: 1634.6 miles

I slept great, once I fell asleep.. it took some rolling around to get comfortable. Then I slept so well, I pushed snooze until 7. Dammit. I was supposed to get up early and knock out a lot of miles. Strike one.

I did, however, try out Cactus’ routine and get my food bag first-and eat breakfast and have coffee in my tent before packing up, aka: snuggled back in my quilt. It really is all it’s cracked up to be. I’ve always had this mentality of packing quickly and eating afterwards, but with these cold mornings, it makes breakfast miserable. As much as I care about getting to Georgia and finishing this thing, I’m not in favor of suffering for no reason. So, my mornings will probably take a little longer, but it’ll give me a better start to the day. Like it did today..

I got on trail right before 8am and less than 5 minutes later, Smash came rolling by! He and his tramily camped 2 miles back.. and he mentioned they were all headed to Bear Garden Hiker Hostel and had a cabin rented.. it sleeps 6 and they only had 5. He invited me to be their number 6. I told him I’d think on it for a little while and let them know, since I was supposed to be hiking more than 16 miles today to stay on schedule to meet up with Lizard. He laughed and agreed, but then said if the others catch up to me they’ll probably all invite me, too.

As I hiked I played with numbers and mileage.. all of the what if’s for stopping early today. By the time LongShot came up on me, I mentally decided I was in.. I just waited to see if he’d say something about it. He did after a bit of pleasant chit chat. I told him I was more than likely in. I was suddenly excited.. I kinda like being randomly adopted into other tramilies.. I was with Soundscape, TwoHats, and Bookworm awhile, with Butterfingers and Blueberry, and then Cactus and Bones are always great to be around, which they’re kinda sorta with this group, too.. it makes trail life so much more enjoyable!

Anyway-the trail was a bit harsh on some of the climbs today. The first real climb came early on, and was roughly 900 feet of elevation gain in just over a mile. Which, it was during this climb that Sunshine and MashedPotato passed me, too.. and invited me to the cabin. They were all sitting at the shelter on top of the climb, Chestnut Knob shelter, eating snacks and looking out a the incredible view. The top was mostly grass and had great views of the farmland below. I stayed a bit, ate some snacks, soaked in my surroundings.
I got up to get ready to go before the others, and as I was started to head downhill, Zebra appeared.. she had seen 2 bears this morning! I was a little jealous I didn’t have a sighting of my own. She invited me to the cabin.. haha Smash was right, I got invites by all 5 people! I told I was coming, but since they’re faster than me, I was going to get a move on so I wouldn’t be hours after them getting there.

The next few miles we’re simply lovely. I was walking downhill through grassy fields. The mountains looked majestic off in the distance in their different hues of blue. The vastness surrounding me gives me a feeling I’ve never been quite able to explain-but I think it’s because of longing for this feeling that I have such a hard time sitting still in real life. I’m always on the move, always on another adventure, because I love the way this feeling feels. It’s truly beyond words for me.

Eventually the fields turned to woods and even that was beautiful. I stopped for lunch and a water fill up at Lick Creek. The bridge washed out some time ago, so there’s warnings all around about needing to fjord it.. but for us, that water so low my feet didn’t even get wet. I sat and ate on the banks of the creek that surely used to be submerged, not that you’d be able to tell that now. The water through Virginia has not been the easiest to come by. It was also part of my decision to stay at the cabin tonight, so I wouldn’t have to fill up and tote more to camp.

The group caught me while I was eating lunch and they hung out and rested and filtered their water. LongShot was ahead of us, we all laughed that he was probably already showered at the hostel. I got my head start on them again, and I pushed along my last 5 miles. Eventually, one by one, they all passed me on the last uphill of the day, which was long and steep in parts. Zebra technically caught me on the start of the downhill, but same difference.

At the bottom of the downhill there was a road crossing with a sign to the hostel heading left. As I walked up, the 4 of them were resting at a picnic table and when they saw me they popped up so we could walk the rest of the way to the hostel together to check in.. LongShot was definitely already there, but they wanted to make sure I didn’t miss it. It was within eyesight of the picnic table, but I was happy they waited for me.

The Bear Garden Hiker Hostel is on a little farm that has chickens, and they grow their own veggies. There was a bunkhouse with all the snacks and goodies, I had a Mountain Dew.. everyone got their loaner clothes, and then Bert drove us the quarter mile down to the cabin we were renting. It was only 3pm, so it felt like we had tons of time to kill. Bert brought us fresh eggs from her chickens and told the guys that whatever potatoes they dug up they were free to have.

We took turns showering, and after I was clean I went to help dig. Sounds a little backwards, I know, but I was cold from the wet sweat so I wanted the hot shower. They showed me how to look for the potatoes and between all 6 of us (mostly everyone but me, I maybe contributed 6-8 lol), we had two big bowls of small to medium sized potatoes! It was pretty cool. One by one people showered that hadn’t already. Smash, Sunshine, and MashedPotato taught me how to play Euchre.. a card game like spades but with only the high cards and some slightly different rules. I think I caught on relatively quick. We also started popping frozen pizzas in the oven, one at a time until all 4 pizzas were cooked.. we shared and then some of the group at other things too if they weren’t full on the pizzas. We drank soda like it was beer and played cards while listening to music. I let Zebra and MashedPotato use my hairbrush, and the dreads in the back of MashedPotato’s head ended up breaking the handle off! We all laughed hysterically!

Later into the evening, after laundry was done and everyone just sat around sorting their stuff and talking, MashedPotato made up a song about my brush. Then, he told me and Zebra a story about his grandparents’ farm and his grandpa taught him how to make a turkey caller. He pulls out a piece of paper and sets to work, both of us watching him closely. After 5 or so minutes of folding, poking holes, and making a barrel on one end, we follow him outside to see his handiwork. He takes a huge breath, and as he goes to blow into his little paper contraption, he instead yells, “HERE TURKEY TURKEY TURKEY! HEEEEEERE TURKEY TURKEY TURKEY!” I am still laughing about this now. Talk about being gullible.. we ate it up! Hahahaha

Eventually, I headed to bed before the rest, to lay on my top bunk and write this out. I’m going to pop in my earplugs and get some shut eye. I have a feeling I’ll be up and out before them.. they have intentions of cooking a big breakfast with the potatoes and the eggs.. and as enticing as that is.. I need to get between 20 and 24 miles tomorrow.

They’re faster hikers than I am, so they could probably leave at 9 and still make it before dark, but I definitely don’t see me doing that, or wanting to risk not making it at least 20 miles so I can stay on track to meet Lizard the following day. Technically, I’d still be able to meet her if I did fall short any, but then I wouldn’t be able to hike out with her the following day.. and that’s my priority. While I really enjoy hanging out and meeting new people, knowing she’s so close seems silly for me to not try to catch her, at least for a little bit anyway. It’s not like we’ll be able to hike the rest of the way to Georgia together.. mom is coming in a week from now, so that’s a zero Lizard probably won’t take, plus I have Lauren’s Bachelorette weekend the following weekend, so that’s 3 more zeros.

Depending on when Lizard takes her zeros, there’s hope of me catching her again, but I’m trying to keep reality in check that I may not be able to. Also, Sauce, FarOut, and Towelie are just a bit ahead of Lizard, so depending on their zeros, there’s a very slight chance of catching them.. although I believe they’re wanting to finish before November, and I don’t see me being able to pull that one off. Even still, I won’t let hope die! I can still keep my fingers crossed that I’ll see them again! Curmudgeon on the other hand is like 170 miles ahead of me—sooooo I’ll just have to see him and Cholula some day off trail LOL, I’m not that completely unrealistic that I think I could catch him!

Anyway, I’ll quit rambling. Today was incredible. Let’s hope tomorrow is too, and that I meet my mileage goals! Goodnight!

Start: Bear Garden Hostel (AT mi 558.5). Stop: Campsite on Glade Mountain (AT mi 536.5). Today’s miles: 22 miles. Total AT mileage: 1656.6 miles.

My bunk wasn’t the softest mattress in the world. Actually, it really sucked. But I made due, and every time I rolled over I was scared I was waking up LongShot in the bunk under me-I imagined him feeling like he was on a small boat at sea, that thing felt rickety and moving didn’t help.

I got up at 6:45, LongShot was the only other person awake.. thankfully the man made coffee and shared with me. He claims my moving didn’t wake him, but I think he’s lying.. neither one of us apparently slept well. Oh well, easier to get a move on then. I quickly packed up, once I tiptoed around Sunshine to grab my stuff from the living room. I attempted to be quiet while packing-LongShot just went for it.. haha. Whoops. A few minutes later, in slow increments, Sunshine was up, then MashedPotato, then Smash. Zebra was the only one I didn’t say bye to this morning. Good for her for being able to get some good sleep!

I had a microwaveable breakfast sandwich with my coffee and then promptly started the short road walk back to the hostel’s bunkhouse. Bert was there, LongShot and I paid her for our stays and all of our food and goodies. When we went in to settle up, to my complete surprise, Cactus and Bones were there!! They did big miles yesterday to catch up, and got to the bunk house late. I wish we would have had service down at the cabin so we would have known! I’d have walked up there to see them last night!

I said my byes and hit the trail at 8:10. Yikes. So much for early.. Lord. But thankfully, the trail this morning made for my favorite day of hiking in Virginia! I saw so many deer leaping away from me (these deer are used to being hunted, unlike the deer in the Shenandoah National Park.. these deer do not sit still for pictures, sadly for me), I saw a bunny that did let me get a picture, I saw cows in the distance, farm after farm, pasture after pasture.. it was stunning! The trail would weave through a pasture then out through a gate, then into the woods with the leaves showering the trail with all the different shades of autumn. Man. I was loving it.

I didn’t see a bear, but I’m certain I heard one crashing about down below the ridge I was walking up. I tried to search for him (knowing he’d be way below and probably a safe distance to spot him and get a picture), but had no luck. LongShot passed me in one of the fields and told me about a bear he saw yesterday.. that he literally woke the bear up from a nap on the side of the trail! He said the bear woke up a little dazed and looked around, then lazily sauntered off away from him, though never actually seeing LongShot-just hearing him.. because he was behind a tree. How cool!

There was some wooded climbing involved today-but as always in the great state of Virginia, climbing here just means hiking uphill, not the physically hand over hand climbing of New Hampshire and Maine. Every single time I go to mentally complain about a “climb” here, I cut myself off mid thought and remember the challenges of those crazy states I’ve already conquered. Surprisingly, that turns into motivation and I truck up those mountains with a new lease on life. It also helped that today was cooler than it has been, so even though I was doused in sweat, head to toe, the wind was refreshing and the air was crisp. I was happy.

After a long downhill, and hours of not seeing a soul besides LongShot when he passed me and an older gentleman having a rest break sitting practically in the middle of the trail (I asked if he was ok, he said he was sitting to check his phone.. uh, okie dokie.. lol), I came to an intersection along a highway. Like a legit highway with exits and tractor trailers barreling by. When I went to turn left onto the road to go under the overpass, Bones caught up to me! That girl is fast, and she’s with the Army Warrior Expedition! I swear, I’m forever impressed with the people I get to meet. Everyone has different stories, and I find every single one so damn fascinating.

We walked to the corner together, one side had a gas station and a Mexican restaurant, the other had a restaurant that just said “home cooking, BBQ, Open!” So, she waited at the Mexican place for Cactus to catch up, I went to BBQ. And man I’m happy I did! I got a pulled pork sandwich with Coleslaw on top, smoked Mac and cheese, and a baked potato loaded with sour cream and cheese. I asked for baked beans but they didn’t have any. The owner also gave me his own special “sweet water” to drink, it’s a combo of fresh squeezed lemons and oranges with local honey. It was delicious!

I ate my food like a lunatic, barely coming up for air. They checked on me a couple times, the owner and his wife, and every time I had a slap full mouth of food and couldn’t speak. They got a kick out of that! Once I finished, I loaded up my pack on my back and headed down the road. I was thankful when the trail went back into the woods away from all the cars and trucks. It wasn’t busy per say-but it was too much compared to the emptiness in the woods.

The trail went by more grassy fields, but slowly continued up a mountain instead of through the fields themselves. Which was totally fine by me, because there were switchbacks. When I made it to the shelter, half way up the mountain, I was grateful I had decided to push forward. It was very dark and dank there already, with the sun on the other side of the mountain, and there were rocks absolutely everywhere. I’d have had to sleep in the shelter more than likely, because there wasn’t much to call a campsite. I did fill up 3 liters of water here though, from a pipe sticking out of the stream.. luckily it was still flowing pretty well, so it didn’t take too long.

Once I filtered 2 liters and packed the third (in the new liter bag I got back in Daleville), I continued uphill. The rocks were starting to get on my nerves, but I had also already hiked over 18 miles at this point, so my feet were sore. Speaking of feet-I’m loving the cushion in my new shoes! They’re almost perfectly broken in too! At the top of the mountain, I could hardly make out the sign saying this was the summit of Glade Mountain, elevation 4—something. The trail went across the top through some grassy areas with trees all around, but not so dense that I couldn’t see the sun shining through. It was gorgeous.

I almost stopped to camp at the first site I saw, because it really was beautiful up there, but when I looked at the app, I realized I’d be pushing my luck getting to town at a decent hour (and to watch Hannah’s band play). So, I pushed on. I went down hill a while, then back up a steep rocky section, then back downhill.. it was somewhere between this valley and the start of the next incline that I spotted the next campsite. It sucked. It was already dark here, the little spot was right on the trail basically. So, that answered that question-onward!

As I climbed what was hopefully my last climb of the day, I was praying the next campsite area was a nice one, so I wouldn’t regret skipping the first one I came across. I was walking up on a ridge line with the sun cascading down through the trees ahead of me when I spotted the site, just before 6pm. It was down a little makeshift trail to the left in an almost grassy area. The sites were flat and it was beautiful! I was thrilled! I quickly set my tent up, unpacked, threw my bear line, and then sat down to decide what to eat for dinner.

At the time, I wasn’t hungry in the slightest. The idea of instant mashed potatoes had me wanting to gag, and since I was still mostly full from lunch, I just ate a honey bun instead of cooking dinner. I drank a good bit of water with electrolytes.. and then hung my food bag. I walked back over to my tent and then changed into my warm clothes.. used the bathroom, and got inside my tent. I’ve literally gotten out twice to pee now, thanks electrolytes, and my stomach just made its first protest about skipping dinner. Ugh.

I’m too tired to walk over there in the dark to fish down my food-so it’ll have to wait until breakfast.. which is kind of a good thing! Maybe I’ll get hungry enough to actually get my butt up earlier so I can leave earlier and catch a ride to town to meet Lizard! Ha, we’ll see.

For now, it looks like I’ll have to go pee again and then snuggle up in my quilt to get some shut eye. Sweet dreams, y’all.

Start:Campsite on Glade Mountain (AT mi 536.5). Stop: Dickey Gap (AT mi 520.2). Today’s miles: 16.3 miles. Total AT mileage: 1672.9 miles.

I woke up around 7 and got my food bag to eat breakfast in my tent. It seemed even sweeter today, for some reason, to eat my hot oatmeal and sip my coffee all cuddled into my quilt. It wasn’t particularly cold, but it didn’t matter.. I was taking in the ease of it all.

I packed and managed to get ready by 8:05.. late by 5 minutes, but I wasn’t too worried. I was on a mission to get to Dickey Gap by a decent time today, no matter what! My goal was to be in town, clean, resupplied, and full bellied by the time Hannah’s show started. Not to mention the absolute delight of knowing I’d be meeting up with Lizard and Finch in just a few hours!

The sun was coming up through the trees, it was just so serene. I was on the ridge so I could watch the colors of the sky change as the sun rose, but couldn’t capture it on camera with the trees blocking the overall view. As I continued downhill off the mountain, it got darker, almost like the sun hadn’t come up at all. The walking was easy though. Two miles in, I passed the Mount Rogers Visitor Center. It was closed because of the weekend. I followed the trail to the shelter I would have gotten to last night if I had made my miles the day before yesterday, but as nice as it was, I was happy I camped where I did last night and that I shared the cabin with the others the night before. It worked out like it should have.

At the shelter, I passed MashedPotato! I stopped to chat a minute with him.. I was shocked he was ahead of me since I ever saw anyone pass me yesterday, but he told me of a blue blaze they made when getting their resupply, so that made sense. The others had already left for the day, so there was a small possibility of meeting them again if they stopped for lunch or something, but it was unlikely. We said our byes and I kept moving.

At some point I had a pretty decent climb with a view of Pine Valley off in the distance (I only know that from the sign that said so..). It was pretty enough, I paused to snap a picture. From there it was quick downhill trail, smooth and perfect for making up some quick mileage. I eventually went through a field with cows and had to dodge cow patties for a bit before getting back into woods.

I stopped for lunch and water at a shelter around 12:30, but I was irritated because I had been making great timing and had I kept going I’d have made it to the road crossing by 2, and now it would be 2:30. I knew I had to fuel my body to make it there, but I’m so sick of peanut butter tortillas now that one more just seemed like it would be the end of me. I ate it anyway. When I was packing back up MashedPotato appeared to eat his lunch! I lingered chatting with him until close to 1pm and then decided it was time to truck it up the last climb of the day and get down the mountain to the road crossing. I was ready to be with my friends!

The last climb wasn’t bad at all. My app made it look so much more dramatic than it was. I finished the last 4 miles to the road crossing by 2:30 and quickly set to work trying to hitchhike to town. I didn’t have service to call a shuttle, and while I could have used my Garmin Inreach to text, it some times takes a while for things to go through. I decided just to try hitching for about 20-30 minutes, and if I had no luck, then try the texting thing. The 7th or 8th car stopped for me! It had been less than 10 minutes!

Cheri (pronounced like Shurree. Sorry for misspelling here) and John picked me up and drove me the whole 25-30 minutes to the Red Roof Inn in Marion! We talked the whole way, about all types of things. I really believe we meet who we’re intended to meet. This sweet couple was so completely kind to me and I enjoyed being with them. When they dropped me off they even made sure I was at the right motel before driving off! Sometimes the kindness of strangers really does blow my mind, especially with how cruel people can be these days. It’s refreshing to meet genuinely good people.

I all but ran to the motel room and Lizard let me in! We hugged and chatted a bit before I unpacked and got in the shower. Once I was all clean we caught up some more and Finch returned from his resupply, so we caught up, too! Man, I’ve really missed these folks so much! It was getting close to 4, so I left my reunion to walk down to Walmart and resupply myself. I text them when I was done so they could meet me at the Mexican restaurant between Walmart and the motel.

We ended up eating an early dinner on the patio, margaritas included. I was having such a good time! I was in such high spirits! When it was close to 6pm, we hurried to pay the tab so we could get back to the hotel’s WiFi so Lizard could pull up the livestream of Hannah’s band on her phone. Sadly, our tv wasn’t able to stream it for us, so we watched on Lizard’s phone as Hannah and her band mates jammed out. Hannah plays the bass guitar and it was awesome to see her (and her band mates too, really) completely in her element. It was also ridiculously cute to see the way Lizard watched her, too. She definitely has found her person.

After Hannah’s band finished, I packed up some stuff and organized as best I could, and then the three of us watched some tv.. we channel surfed awhile before landing on HBO and enjoying “She’s All That.” It was such a good day! Eventually we all retreated to our separate beds and are close to shutting the lights off to get some sleep. Tomorrow we have a shuttle arranged to take us back to the trailhead at 8am. I’m thrilled it isn’t 7! Here’s to “sleeping in!” Ha! Goodnight y’all!