Day 152: Lost Mountain Shelter

Start: Wise Shelter (AT mi 504.2). Stop: Lost Mountain Shelter (AT mi 486.7). Today’s miles: 17.5 miles. Total AT mileage: 1706.4 miles.

I ended up sleeping pretty well, considering sleeping in a shelter for the first time in awhile.. the first time since flipping southbound actually. I got up and made my breakfast before packing up. Finch was already up, and graciously got the food bags for everyone. Lizard was the last to start moving, but we were all up and mostly ready to go around 8. I left before the other 2, and then had to run back to get my pack cover I left. I sure suck at being an early bird.

I saw 2 ponies right outside of camp, I even pet the snout of one. Ballsy for me.. I really don’t trust animals this big to not nip at me. This one didn’t though, and after a few pets and pictures, I was off. The rain misted off and on as I climbed Mount Rogers. At one point it full on poured and I got chilly enough to actually put on my rain jacket. I knew toting it all this time would eventually come in handy.

The views at the top were beautiful, with the rain clouds passing one way and the sun shining through the clouds the other way. There were a few scattered ponies about here, too.. but not close enough to the trail to pet or get good pictures of. I did love how the rain water made the leaves seem to shimmer, like they had been sprinkled with glitter.. even the ones on the ground. I’m starting to think autumn might be turning into my favorite month. I’m just so fascinated with all the color. So much so that I keep having thoughts of wanting to paint the scenery I’m seeing, so the colors can be as vibrant as they are to my eye-although I’m no painter, so that’s a problem.

During some of the more pouring rain, I got to a shelter that Finch and Lizard had stopped at for reprieve. They had each passed me sometime during the climb. We ended up eating an early lunch to wait out some of the rain, hoping it would ease up. Luckily, it did. And then surprisingly it stopped completely. The trail was already turned into a river by this point though, so the shoes and socks were going to stay soaked no matter what.

Since I don’t do long breaks, mostly for fear of losing motivation, I set out before them. There was a long, ambling descent. There were fields and gorgeous views, miles and miles of colors in every direction.. pops of oranges and reds against bright green grass. When the trail went back into the woods, they even seemed prettier than before.. more vivid shades of greens with taller trees and bright yellow leaves.. moss and pine straw. I think the last few days here, in and around the Grayson Highlands has been the highlight of scenery for me. I’ll be honest, I’ve loved these views more than anything in the White Mountains.

There was a slow uphill that didn’t seem too difficult, followed by a long downhill before getting to the shelter we were aiming for. Lizard caught up to me in the last 20 or so minutes, so we hiked into camp together chatting the whole way. We decided to set up shop in the shelter, to avoid wet tents/hammocks in case it decided to rain again overnight. I prefer the tent, but I didn’t feel like setting up and being so far away from the shelter where they were going to be.

Finch came a long a little bit later and once he set up we all made and ate our dinner. Some section hikers came over to use the picnic table and we talked with them a bit before settling in for the night. We talked about the plan for the trail for the next few days, and our hopes to finish in Georgia together if it all works out with the extra zeros I have to take for Lauren’s bachelorette weekend. I think we’ve got it worked out pretty well.

I do have an end date in mind, but I don’t think I’m ready to put it out there just yet.. a lot can change with 487 miles left to go. These miles do seem to be flying by though, and I’m happy as hell about that. I’m ready to say I did it. I accomplished this huge goal that I set out to do.. it feels simultaneously so close and so very far away. Here’s to praying the rest goes as well as it has been going.. that we all finish, and we all stay healthy and injury free.

And with that, I think im heading to sleep. We get into Damascus tomorrow, and the day after that we finish the state of Virginia! It feels so incredibly unbelievable! Goodnight 🙂