Start: Cross Mountain/TN 91 (AT mi 449.2). Stop: Damascus, Virginia (AT mi 470.7). Today’s miles: 21.5 miles. Total AT mileage: 1743.9 miles. States Completed: Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, West Virginia, Virginia
I slept poorly, but I’m blaming it on room temperature more than anything. Everything else was comfortable, but man-I like to sleep with it cool. Oh well. It can’t always be perfect. In a month or so when this thing is finished, I can have my room temperature be what ever I so choose. Ha.
We all got up, got packed and downstairs for breakfast by 7:30. Lady Di made quiche, homemade blueberry scones, sausage patties, potatoes, and smoothies. It was really good and just what I needed to fuel me for the morning. By 8:15, Lone Wolf was there to pick us up and drive us to the road crossing we planned to hike back from. Once we all loaded up in his SUV, he took us 30 minutes south of Damascus.
We started our slack pack at 8:45, in Tennessee, and hiked northbound through cow pastures. The rain that had been dumping all night and most of the morning had ceased by the time we really got going. I think the fields are some of my favorite scenery, I don’t know if it’s because I know there will probably be animals or if it’s because it’s so open that I can see farther, but I really like it.
Once out of the pastures, it was back into uneventful woods. They were slick and wet, with multiple ups and downs, but the colors weren’t as vibrant as they had been in the Grayson Highlands. Instead of intense reds and bright yellows, the leaves were more muted browns and dull oranges. Still pretty, but not exciting to report on. Although, really, I feel like all of this sounds repetitive and mundane for you readers. I’m shocked y’all are still around!
I did get to pass quite a few recent friends.. Zebra, Smash, and MashedPotato were the first people I saw, a bit spaced out from each other. I was happy Lizard was hiking with me each time we passed one of them, because I got to introduce her to them. No one else probably cared, but I had talked to them about trying to catch her, and I’ve told her stories about them.. Zebra told me about their plan to be at a certain hostel/brewery on Friday and that they’re doing karaoke there. I let her know that I definitely wouldn’t be that far by Friday, but since my mom is coming to visit, maybe she’d want to go to karaoke, too, and therefore be able to drive there (and probably Lizard and Finch, too, if they want to go). This suddenly got me very excited!
Lizard and I ate lunch at a shelter with some day hikers. I recently started eating cheese and hard salami on a bagel with spicy mustard. So far, I’m not sick of that yet. I wonder how long it’ll last. We talked with them while eating and answered all the typical questions about thruhiking. This area we’re slack packing is also an “aggressive bear” area.. 3 shelters in this stretch are technically closed, as well as the campsites between the shelters, because of recent aggressive bears coming to steal food. This was the main reason for wanting to slack pack through here, to make sure we’re safely out of this area before needing to camp. It just made sense. And the fact that northbound is mostly downhill compared to the mostly uphill of southbound through this section only helped solidify the choice to not carry a full pack out of Damascus.
I got ahead of Lizard after lunch. I passed PinePole and then Bones, too. Sometime around 3, I crossed the state line for Virginia and Tennessee. Since I was hiking northbound, I couldn’t claim to be done with Virginia until I hit the downtown Dollar General I got my drinks at yesterday. I was happy as hell when I did about an hour after crossing paths with that sign! I even went inside and bought a Gatorade to drink during the short walk back to Lady Di’s place.
Immediately after walking in the door, I grabbed what I needed and hopped in the shower. I used the other shower in the house, continuing my tradition of trying each shower in a hostel if I stay more than one night. I liked this one better than the one yesterday, although it didn’t have a window so it got hot in there. When I was clean, dressed and organized, I walked outside to sit on the porch. Lizard was already there!
When she went inside to shower, she ended up finding a dress in the loaner clothes. I said I wanted to wear a dress too, so we got to searching for another one.. and actually found one! So we both wore dresses to dinner, which I wished we would have done yesterday, too! Lol it would have felt nice to look semi presentable (I still had crocks on and the dress was ill fitting, Lizard’s looked adorable on her). Oh well.
I ended up walking to subway while she showered and then met Lizard and Finch at the diner in town once I had my lunch for tomorrow secured in my little day pack. It was a busy little restaurant. We sat outside at the sidewalk table. I ended up ordering the bbq platter, and was sadly underwhelmed by it.. but I ate it all anyway. This hiker hunger is no joke! I managed to eat all of the pulled pork, collards, corn, and baked beans! It’s going to be difficult to not eat like that when this is over.
The three of us walked back to the B&B together. I sat on the porch a little while, waiting for an appropriate time to get in bed. I didn’t want to lay down too early and be too awake.. we got 2 more roommates in our room tonight, so all 5 beds are taken. The room was hot and stuffy and the fan was over the window of the guy in the middle bed, and he had turned it off and was already asleep when I got up here. Dear God. It’s going to be a long night. More than just the stuffiness, I hate the quiet of the room.. no air circulating means hearing every little noise anyone or I make. Ugh.
Let’s pray this night goes by fast! One can only hope. Sweet dreams, y’all.