Better than Expected

May 27

Miles: 17 (777/2189)

Weather: Warm and sunny (surprisingly)

Complaint of the Day: That “humidity” is the worst I can come up with is saying something

Today was supposed to be pretty crummy. For the last several days the forcast has been calling for rain and thunderstorms on Saturday. It seemed unavoidable. I steeled myself for the inevitable. But then… It didn’t happen. No rain. No thunder. Hardly any clouds. I have no idea what happened, but I am not complaining.
Tomorrow is still calling for rain, but that won’t be as bad. I won’t be on the trail nearly as much tomorrow, regardless of the weather. I need to head to town again for food. I still have a good day’s worth of food in my bag, but that if I don’t go into Glasgow tomorrow, the next chance to buy food won’t be for at least another two days. So I will need to hitch a ride into town despite still having food in my bag. Logistics is still tough.

Taking Advantage

May 26

Miles: 20

Weather​: Cloudy and a little cool, but otherwise quite nice

Complaint of the Day: None. Great day.

Today was good. I took full advantage of the good weather. I had a little trouble getting myself out of bed, and I felt a little groggy for the first mile or so on the trail, but otherwise I did quite well. And the trail was pretty easy– a few hills but nothing serious. And no rocky sections. And then, right before the biggest hill of the day, there was a trail angel handing out sodas and cookies. By the end of the day I had hiked a full 20 miles and didn’t even feel that tired. And the shelter I am staying at is a lovely shelter, much larger and better designed than most, and situated close enough to a little stream that I will fall asleep to the lullaby of water dancing over the rocks. If only every day could be this nice.

Tomorrow won’t be nice. I will have to start the day climbing a very large hill going up a couple of thousand feet. And I will likely be doing it in the rain. The forcast for tomorrow looks downright crappy. I doubt I will make it 20 miles tomorrow.

Recuperation

May 23 & 24

Miles: 16 & 0 (728/2189)

Complaint of the Day: The upcoming forcast is pretty crummy. I got off the trail in large part because I was tired of dealing with the rain, and now rain is predicted pretty much for the next 5 days. Argh…

Yesterday I got up and I hurried down the mountain into Daleville, VA. It was still a 16 mile hike into town so it was no easy feat, but I made good time. Arguably the hardest part was dealing with the fact that I had very little food left despite having gone shopping at the gas station convenience store the day before. I had a pair of Pop Tarts for breakfast, a granola bar for snack, and a small container of tuna salad for lunch. That is hardly enough food for me on normal day, let alone on a day with significant hiking. I was quite hungry by the time I got into town. The first thing I did in Damascus was stopping at a convenience store and bought a ton of snacks to hold me over for a few hours.

From there I walked across the street to check into my hotel for the night. I promptly took a long hot shower and took a nap. Once I got up I did laundry. Then dinner. I got a large take out pizza from the Pizza Hut across the street and managed to eat the whole thing in under 30 minutes. It wasn’t even a struggle. I really needed the food.

I only reserved one night at the hotel because I thought I might feel ready to go back onto the trail today, but I changed my mind pretty quickly once I got out of bed this morning. I was still quite sore all over, the blisters on my feet still hadn’t healed, and the forcast called for rain most of the day. I paid for a second night here right after having breakfast. 

Other than walking down to the local Kroger for groceries and going out for lunch and dinner, I have done nothing all day and it has felt great. I’m still tired and sore, but I feel much better than I did yesterday. I NEEDED this rest day. I took zero days in Hiawassee and Hotsprings largely because the weather was terrible. I took a zero in Damascus mostly because it seemed like the thing to do. But this zero day was totally necessary. Hunger, fatigue, and various hurts combined with an overwhelming need for a shower and laundry to make this day totally mandatory. I hope to get back to making serious miles tomorrow.

Pelted

May 20

Miles: 19 total (17 north, 2 backtracking south.) 

Complaint of the Day: Hail. Rain. Wind. Etc.

First, good news: It’s cooler now. The day started off hot and painfully humid, but the temperature has dropped considerably since this afternoon. So that’s nice. Also good news: I didn’t get struck by lightning. That was a distinct possibility this afternoon. I’m happy I avoided that. 

Bad news: That storm really sucked. Easily the worst weather I’ve seen on the trail so far, and that is saying quite a bit.

I started off early this morning, hoping for a big day. It quickly got just too hot and humid to move too fast. But I was moving. This afternoon the dark clouds started moving in. About 3:00 the rain and thunder started. It wasn’t bad at first. The light rain felt good after two days of sweaty heat. About 30 minutes later the trail came to the edge of the forest and opened up into a big open field. Crossing an open field during a thunderstorm, even a mild one, did not seem like a good idea. So those of us that were there (myself, Fry, Up & Down, and Tattoo) decided to just wait it out. We were pretty sure that the storm would pass quickly. We were wrong. 

After about 20 minutes of standing around, the storm suddenly got a lot worse. The wind picked up, the rain started pouring, and we started getting pelted with marble sized hail. Not fun. Our options at that point were to continue standing there in the rain and hoping things improved quickly or to set up our tents in the pouring rain on the side of a hill or to backtrack the nearly two miles back to the nearest shelter. We decided to backtrack. Hiking through the pouring rain/high winds/pelting hail was not fun at all, but doing something was better than doing nothing. 

It took us about 45 minutes to get back to the shelter. We were all soaked and sore at that point. And, as these things always seem to work, the rain pretty much stopped within minutes of reaching the shelter. 

According to the weather forecast, we are looking at a decent chance of rain the next three days. It will be cooler, thankfully, but probably rainy. Also, it is a solid two days hike to the next closest grocery store. I still have enough food to make it that far, but I would have felt much more confident about that had I been able to make it to the next shelter like I had originally planned. If another storm comes up and forces me to spend another half a day hiding in a shelter instead of hiking, I may end up having to ration my food a lot more than I would like.

Sweaty

May 19

Miles: 17

Complaint of the Day: My own body odor. I’ve been on the trail over a month and a half and yet I think that today was the first time that my own stink has bothered me. The weather is so warm and humid now that I am never not sweaty. Next chance for shower and laundry is Troutville, four long days from now.

Today​ was tough, but it could have been a lot worse. I woke up at 6:00 in order to try to beat the heat, but by the time I got on the trail at 7:00, I was already starting to sweat. Plus, the day started with a solid 10 mile stretch with no water. I was really worried that it was going to be as hot as yesterday which would make those 10 miles really really tough. So I prepared by loading up with three full liters of water. All that water was heavy, but running out of water on a hot day is miserable if not dangerous. 
As luck would have it, it rained briefly about around 9:00, which brought the temperature​ down a bit. It was still quite warm and absurdly humid, but not nearly as bad as yesterday. This meant that I wasn’t as thirsty and didn’t drink as much water as I thought I might. This was good– I still had a little over a liter left when I got past the dry stretch. But this meant that I had been carrying a full liter of water– 2.2 pounds of weight– all day without really needing to. And with my food bag still quite full from Pearisburg, my bag was quite heavy. 

Tonight I am exhausted again. Tomorrow I want to make some serious miles– I need to do at least one day over 20 miles soon to make it to a grocery store before my food runs out. But then I am also concerned that it will be hot again tomorrow. I will try going to bed even earlier than I normally do so that I can get up and be on the trail by 6:00 tomorrow to beat the heat.

Damp

May 21

Miles: 21 (694/2189)

Complaint of the Day: Moisture of all kinds: wet shoes and socks, humid air, heavy fog, and now rain.

Hanging out with the Keffer Oak, the largest tree on the Southern A.T.

Today could have been easier. After having my day cut short yesterday, I wanted to push myself hard to try to get back on schedule. I set my goal at 22 miles, which is hard enough on a good day but I had the extra fun of doing it with wet socks and shoes. The first half of the day went well enough. There was a large hill to climb and lots of large wet rocks to climb around, but I was still feeling pretty good around lunch. 

After eating lunch I started feeling a little sluggish. At 3:00 I seriously considered calling it a day when I passed a nice little campsite right next to a creek, but I decided to push on. That meant going at least 7 more miles to the next water source. 

It took me a long while to get over that next hill, especially when it started raining  around 5:30. When I finally made it to that next water source I decided that I was just done. I quickly set up my tent in the rain and cooked dinner under my vestibule. I didn’t quite make it all the way to the shelter like I had planned, but I have no regrets. Going another mile and a half tonight would have been too much.

My original plan tomorrow was to try to do another 20 miles just so I could make it into Troutville early the following day. That isn’t going to happen. I am currently too tired, sore, and damp to even think about another really big day. Instead, I will let myself sleep in a bit and limit myself to 14 or 15 miles. I will figure out the rest later.

Bluesy, and then Not

May 22

Miles: 18 (712/2189– Passed 700 miles!)

Complaint of the Day: Moist-ness. Everything was moist– shoes, socks, pants, shirt, the grass I had to walk through, the air I had to breath… Damp doesn’t describe it well enough. It was moist. Moist, moist, MOIST!

The day started off a little annoying. After putting on shoes and socks that were still damp, I had to walk for a couple of miles through grass and plants that were covered with water. My feet stayed wet for quite some time. Then I got to “The Dragon’s Tooth” which is one of the most famous overlooks in Virginia. I’m sure it is nice, but when I got there all I saw was a wall of fog/clouds. From there I had to climb down the steep, STEEP hill to go down to the road.

This rock wall was literally then trail that I had to go down. More of a bouldering route than a backpacking trail…

After dealing with that I was not feeling great. I was tired and sore and cranky. An my feet were really tired of being in wet socks– I had several small blisters forming on several different toes. The tortuous humidity was making me miserable. By noon I had gone eight miles and didn’t want to go any farther. Virginia was breaking me. I was definitely not happy.

At that point I was at a road crossing. There was a small grocery store less than half a mile from the trail. I followed a couple of other hikers over there for snacks and resupply. Once there, I found all the ingredients for happiness: Mountain Dew, Snickers, and a jumbo ice cream sandwich. All that caffeine and sugar really brightened my attitude. From there I put a fresh layer of moleskin on all of my blisters and put on my slightly drier pair of socks and I was good to go. I was like a new man.

From there I had to decide how much farther to go. I had originally planned to stop at a shelter at 16 miles, but it turns out that that particular shelter was just before McAfee Knob, arguably the most iconic and photogenic spot on the entire trail. Now theoretically I could have gone up to see that spot tomorrow morning, but the weather was pretty good this afternoon and would likely be foggy/cloudy/rainy tomorrow morning which would ruin the view. Plus, I was still on a sugar high. I decided to push on and stay at the shelter right after the knob. I made the right choice.

Getting this photo meant pushing a lot harder and hiking a lot later than I intended, but I have done far crazier things for far less impressive photos.

Tomorrow, I am going into Dalesville and getting a hotel​ for the night. I REALLY need a shower. Plus laundry and a warm bed would be really nice.

Fried and Frazzled

May 18

Miles: 15

Location: Just north of Pearisburg

Complaint of the Day: It’s hot! Also, crappy trail markings led to me going almost a mile down the wrong trail

I got up fairly early today and hurried down the trail and on into town. Once in town I picked up some groceries and then got lunch. I ate a giant bacon cheeseburger at Hardee’s and went across the street for a Blizzard from Dairy Queen. So many delicious calories. From there it was back to the trail. 

It should have been simple, but it wasn’t. First I had to find the spot where the trail left town. Then I had to figure out how to cross the highway– turns out I was supposed to follow the bridge all the way across the river, but the trail markers were pretty limited and it took me a while to figure that out. From there I went up the hill. It should have been a fairly simple two mile hike up to the next shelter, but I missed a turnoff somewhere and ended up going close to a mile out of the way before I noticed my mistake. I was not happy about this. Did I mention that I did all this when it was really hot and I was carrying a full pack loaded with several days worth of food along a section of trail that had very few water sources? 
By the time I made it back to the trail is was just about 6:00. There was a decently flat spot and a water source right here at the intersection so this is where I set up camp. It should be only about half a mile to the shelter, but I REALLY did not want to go any further. I was done.  I might just allow myself an easier day tomorrow.

Warmer

May 17

Miles: 16

Location: Just south of Pearisburg, VA

Complaint of the Day: Really hot today. Not really that much warmer than yesterday, but it sure got to me more. It didn’t help that there was also a 9 mile stretch with no water source. Got a bit thirsty this afternoon.

Today was tough. Not nearly as long as yesterday, but it sure felt tougher. The heat just wore me out. And it is only mid-May. June and July should be fun.

Tomorrow I will be in Pearisburg for a quick resupply and then moving on. I’ve decided to give up on going back to Damascus for Trail Days. There is just no way I could pull it off without taking at least two full days off the trail. It just isn’t worth it. I’m heading north. I’ve got bigger goals than Trail Days.

What is a little strange is that many of the people that I have been hiking with over the last few weeks are planning to go. People like Old Soul and Log Jam and many other people that have been a regular part of my life for quite a while will be leaving the trail for a few days to go have fun in Damascus. That means that I have got to find a whole new set of people to hang out with. Everyone is heading north, but we all have our own pace. Some people end up in the spots at the end of the day for many days in a row, but eventually some end up getting ahead or falling behind. 

Good Day

May 16

Miles: 20 (610/2189– crossed 600 miles!)

Complaint of the Day: Today, nothing to complain about other than the heat. But I should complain a bit about a terrible choice I made yesterday. While in Bland I stopped at a Dairy Queen and got myself an Oreo Blizzard. It was absolutely delicious. My complaint is that I foolishly only ordered a medium. Why would I be such a thing? I am a thru hiker! This is not a time for moderation. The excessive calories would actually be good for me. I have been craving another Blizzard all day and kicking myself for not ordering at least the large, if not even two mediums back when I had the chance. I will not make that mistake again.
Today was good. After getting an early shuttle ride back to the trail this morning I was off and hiking. Today was quite warm, hot actually, but it didn’t seem to bother me much. The trail had a few good sized hills but nothing too serious. I even got some trail magic this morning from a Trail Angel named Ron Jon who had hiked the trail last year. He had a bunch of snacks and told me to take all I wanted. I only took a granola bar and a Snickers because I had just filled my food bag yesterday.

I had worried that I would be dead tired by the time I finished this 20 mile stretch of trail today, but I was still feeling pretty good when I got here today. If I had needed to, I could have pushed on another 2 or 3 miles without hating myself. But there were no good camp spots anywhere in the next couple of miles, and this spot had an actual waterfall that I could attempt to swim under, so I stayed here. Besides, it isn’t like I am in a big hurry to get to Parisburg

Dismal Falls: not big, but nicer than the name suggests

The big question I need to answer soon is what to do about Trail Days. This weekend is the big celebration back in Damascus that everyone has told me I should try to get to. But that is easier said than done. There are supposedly some free shuttles taking people from Parisburg to Damascus this weekend but I am not sure how to find them. And if they don’t leave until Friday night, that would mean I would have to wait around a day in town doing nothing. And then once I am in Damascus, I will have to find a way back to Parisburg on Sunday morning because I have no desire to spend two full days in Damascus. That could be complicated. I will try to make some calls tomorrow and see what I can figure out. If not, I may just skip the festivities and keep hiking north.