Month: October 2021

Start: Dickey Gap (AT mi 520.2). Stop: Wise Shelter (AT mi 504.2). Today’s miles: 16 miles. Total AT mileage: 1688.9 miles.

We all woke up just after 7 and we could all tell none of us really wanted to start moving.. but, when a ride is showing up at 8, you kinda have to get a move on. Amazingly we were all 3 packed and ready, breakfast eaten by the time Jimmy, the shuttle driver, appeared at exactly 8! I was impressed with us, if no one else was.

Jimmy’s van has hikers names written all over it, along with advertising for the pizza place and the Mexican place in Marion, Virginia. He said they give him free food for free advertisement. Smart man. He drove us plus 2 other hikers to our destinations. We got out and started moving around 8:40-ish. Not too shabby.

The trail started off downhill in a calm meandering way, and pretty much maintained that level of smooth for a majority of the day, though the downhill definitely didn’t last. It was nice to hike with Finch and Lizard in the morning. We talked and walked for a couple hours before separating out a bit when someone would pause for layer changes or to stop at a privy.

At a beautiful creek crossing, I stopped to get water and to wait for them to catch back up to me (since I didn’t need to change my clothes or potty yet I got ahead). Bones ended up passing me so we talked a bit.. she was going farther than us today, so she didn’t talk long before needing to carry on. A couple minutes later, Finch appeared and we found a spot to sit and eat lunch knowing Lizard had to be close by. Once we sat and started pulling stuff out, she was there. So we got to enjoy lunch together with a few section hikers waiting to be picked up.

Because I have gotten so used to short breaks to make longer mileage days, I headed out the second I was done. I knew they wouldn’t be too far behind me either way, and I wanted to listen to my audiobook. I started the climb up Pine Mountain expecting it to be brutal. It was 5k elevation after all.. but honestly, it was less strenuous than the climbs Lizard and I did earlier this morning before splitting up. I was amazed at how quickly I managed to get up there!

Then, I walked through a gate that made me feel like I had just walked through a time portal into another world all together! The top of that mountain was absolutely stunning! The leaves had all changed colors, an explosion of brilliant oranges, yellows, reds. I took picture after picture because it was just so captivating. Then, a few miles later, I passed through some fencing that took me into a field with wild ponies and long horned cows, regular looking cows, and all their baby calves. I would say “steer” but I don’t think that’s the right term. I would take the time to google this, but I don’t have service.. so-maybe I will before posting this. Hmmm. Maybe I’m too tired to really care.. haha

I waited for Lizard to catch me so we could explore these big animals together. It makes me feel better that someone else shares my distrust of animals like these.. I mean, I like them, but I also think one would kick, bite, or charge me over a look.. sooooo.. you know, I’m a little uneasy with huge herds of these massive things around. She and I took pictures and had decided to wait for Finch. Shortly after deciding that, the wind picked up and storm clouds were rolling through, so we changed our minds and headed towards the shelter that was 3 miles away to attempt to beat the impending rain.

As we walked the colors just seem to erupt across the open ridge line. I told Lizard it felt like walking into a Thomas Kincaid puzzle. It was truly a magical experience for me. We also passed a few more cows and ponies in the distance. I stopped every 4 feet to take pictures. Within a half mile of the shelter, the sky dropped on us. We managed to get our water at a creek and then sought cover from the shelter moments later.

There was a little girl and her dad already there, eating dinner. It was a little before 5pm, so we didn’t start setting up or anything yet.. we just chatted with them a bit. They decided after eating they were going to continue on a few miles farther-maybe all the way back to their car to avoid a wet tent.

A bit later, Finch appeared and then a not long after him another hiker showed up, too. The 4 of us are in the shelter tonight, grateful for the cover, because the rain has ebbed and flowed all evening, only increasing as the day progresses into the darkness. We ate dinner together after setting up our stuff in the shelter. I’m happy it’s a nice one, as I haven’t been using them at all. As much as I love David’s tent, I didn’t want to test it out in this mess.

The shelter’s roof is metal, so it’s a nice sound to fall asleep to.. the pitter patter of rain. But it’s also worrisome that it’s not going to let up at all and this will be the future for us tomorrow. We knew it was going to rain, but there’s something to be said about starting in rain and it raining all day versus it starting to rain later in the day. I don’t know why, but the latter sounds way less miserable to me. Now that it’s cooler (we’re all a bit cold in here tonight waiting on our body heat to warm our sleeping bags and insulate us), rain can equal danger if you don’t play it safely.

As of now, it’s looking like we’ll be hiking just over 17 miles in this rain tomorrow, obscuring our views from Mount Rogers and probably of more ponies, too as we really get into the good parts of the Grayson Highlands. Oh well. We’ll get it done some how some way.. and then the following day will be a 16 mile day into Damascus for a hot shower and warm bed. As much as I love this trail, I don’t love the rain.. I pray tomorrow passes quickly and the crap weather passes, too.

It’s just after 8pm and it looks like everyone else is either already asleep or close to it. I’m just praying I don’t have to pee again, because I do not want to get soaked! Goodnight y’all!

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 🙂

Start: Lost Mountain Shelter (AT mi 486.7). Stop: Damascus, Virginia (AT mi 470.7). Today’s miles: 16 miles. Total AT mileage: 1722.4 miles.

It poured overnight, I was grateful for the shelter and the fact that I was completely dry.. and so were my belongings. Finch, Lizard, and I had the place to ourselves. When it came time to get up, I didn’t want to. I tossed and turned a lot of the night and I’m dealing with a stuffy nose.. which I’m blaming the frequent weather changes on.

I did, finally, get up and start packing. Once breakfast was eaten, packs were packed, and all three of us were ready, we headed out of camp close to 8:30. We ended up hiking together the whole day, something I haven’t done since-well-for a long time. I can’t exactly remember the last time I spent the whole day with other people and not just in passing!

We stopped at a cafe in the middle of nowhere on the Creeper Trail. The AT and the Creeper Trail cross paths and share a couple miles together in a few places.. it’s a bicycling trail along a beautiful creek. We all three made the choice to walk to Damascus on this trail instead of the AT, simply because of all the reviews saying this one was more scenic. It was definitely scenic AND had a cafe! It felt like a no brainer to me.

The cafe was technically closed, but the lady smoking the pork for the following day was there and she brewed us a pot of coffee, opened the bathrooms, and let us use the WiFi for a bit. It was then, sitting there sipping coffee, that Uncle Keith called to talk a bit. I talked until we were all ready to start hiking again, and then we said our goodbyes because I wouldn’t have service away from the WiFi.

We hiked along the smooth, flat Creeper Trail and played games after we ran out of things to talk about. Finch taught me a Lyrics game where one person sings the lyrics to a song, then picks a word from that song, then the other people have to come up with a song with that word in it and sing the lyrics to it.. and on and on.. it felt like we played for hours, but I doubt it. It did help the time pass though.. and it was so dang funny!

We made our way into Damascus, Virginia. The trail walks right through the middle of town. We stopped off into an open cafe the second we spotted it. I got a pulled pork sandwich with coleslaw on top-and it was by far the BEST sandwich I’ve had on trail! It put the others to shame. I literally don’t think I took a breath while eating it.

Once our bellies were full, we walked to Lady Di’s bed and breakfast. She had 3 twin beds for us and we graciously accepted. Once the tour was given we took showers, got laundry started, and unpacked. Then Lizard and I walked to the post office for her to get a package and then to the dollar general to grab snacks and stuff for a slack pack tomorrow. We also passed an outfitter.. they had a CNOC bag!! I definitely bought myself a new one, happy to throw the old holy one away!

We walked back to the B&B and crossed paths with Finch heading to the post office. We agreed to drop our stuff off and then return to the downtown area to eat dinner at the only restaurant open, The Old Mill. We made quick work of it all and were back downtown pretty fast. We sat on a patio overlooking the creek. It was gorgeous. There were twinkly lights and this looked like a great place for a date night or something. We were all in hiker loaner clothes, slightly out of place, but it wasn’t very busy so it’s not like anyone noticed-and we wouldn’t have cared if they did.

I had red wine with dinner, which was wild mushroom Bolognese. It wasn’t as good as I thought it would be, but it hit the spot all the same. I got chocolate cheesecake too.. and it made up for the lack of flavor with my entree. I shared it with Lizard, she seemed to enjoy it too. Her dinner was pecan crusted rainbow trout.. it was the whole fish. Head and all. Been there, done that with Andrea in Spain.. no thank you. She ate it like a champ. I was impressed, because I don’t think I could have eaten it.

Anyway, two other hikers ended up joining us at dinner. They showed up after we had already ordered.. RoundHouse and his friend who’s name I forget. I enjoyed the mixture of new friends with known friends. It really was a good time. Before we knew it, it was getting very close to hiker midnight and we all asked for our checks and got ready for the walk back.

And now here we are. Lights out in the bunkless bunk room.. typing the day up, getting ready to go to sleep. It’s a bit stuffy in here, even with the fan on. I have a feeling I won’t sleep well because of this, even though the mattress is nice and the linens are comfortable. I’ll be giving it my best shot either way. Goodnight y’all.