Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Out of Virginia, Finally!

On the 23rd I did 19 miles and stayed at Dicks Dome shelter (it is actually a geodesic dome). On the 24th I did 20.3 miles and stayed at Bears Den hostel. On the 25th I did 20.5 miles and stayed at the Teahorse hostel in Harpers Ferry. On the 26th I did 17.8 miles and stayed at Dahlgren Backpack Campground. On the 27th 18.8 miles and stayed at Raven Rock shelter.

I feel like I have to start blogs with a mountaintop selfie at this point.



The start of this section felt so luxurious. 3 of the first 4 nights out of SNP I stayed in a hostel. It just so happened that they were great distances apart (about 20 miles) and they were all very close to the trail. Not only that they all turned out to be quite nice too. Bears Den is a part of trail history and the people there were as nice as can be. It didn't make me want to take a week off there like someone I talked to before my first hike but it was nice.


It felt strange to shower basically everyday and sleep in a bed most nights. I guess it's prepping me for my upcoming break from the trail. For those that don't know, it looks like I'm going to visit the Outer Banks in NC for a few days. I don't know the details but someone I met on the trail this year has access to a house there for a week. When he asked if I wanted to go there was no way I would say no. After that my plan is to swing into DC and see Greta. The logistics of these side adventures are a bit up in the air but worst case scenario I get to try a long distance hitch for the first time. I'm out here to have adventures, this sounds like a fantastic opportunity to find a new one and give my feet a little rest. This will end up being my first zero mile days since I started hiking this year. It's hard to believe I'm going to do half of the trail without a single zero.

Some other things of note, I finally left Virginia! I also have since left West Virginia and Maryland. Virginia is outrageously long and it feels good to be done with it. It seemed like it would never end.



While in Harpers Ferry I went into the ATC headquarters and got my photo taken and got my thru hiker number. This year I am the 240th hiker to claim they got to Harpers Ferry from Springer. Not to bad but since I know there are a ton behind me I wonder how high the number will go this year. I even went and found my photo from two years ago.


Well I am finally north of the Mason-Dixon Line once again. The coming days will hopefully see me making my way to a beach for a little break before tackling the northern AT with renewed vigor.


Friday, May 23, 2014

Shenandoah National Park

On the 18th I did 21.6 miles and stayed at Blackrock Hut. On the 19th I did 21.4 miles and stayed at Hightop Hut. On the 20th I did 23.9 miles and stayed at Rock Spring Hut. On the 21st I did 23.4 miles and stealth camped close to Range View Cabin. On the 22nd I did 14.6 miles and stayed at the Front Royal Terrapin Hostel.

Now that I have both aqua blazed (cable the Shenandoah River) and hiked the AT in SNP (Shenandoah National Park) I would recommend aqua blazing to anyone who asked. It is not easier and it takes more time to do the miles but I found it far more interesting. SNP was just not that entertaining. The trail was quite easy which made it good for getting miles done but also made it less entertaining. There were a lot of fantastic views but I have seen a plethora of mountain views and they all kind of run together at this point. The best thing about SNP are the animals.

Apparently the animals just don't care about people in the park. This allows people to see and photograph a lot of critters that would normally run away from you. I'll start with a deer. It clearly doesn't care about one bit.


Next up is a rather bold rabbit. It never even moved as I walked by. There have been a ton of rabbits in the trail.


Lastly, I saw a couple black bears in the park and they are the one animal that seems to fear humans still. This little cub heard me and ran uphill. Then as it was hiding behind a tree it just couldn't help but peak out and investigate. Utterly adorable.


All of those photos were taken in the same day. Besides that the AT in SNP is marked by a lot of road crossings, constant traffic noise from Skyline Drive and many day and section hikers. I don't think the animals make up for the easy, busy atmosphere of the trail there. I'm glad to be moving on. I guess I can provide a few of the views. 



This one might tell you why I think the trail in SNP is so easy.


Well my original plans for Harpers Ferry are completely gone. I have to wait a little while longer to go into DC and see Greta. That means I guess I'll be doing at least some of PA. I also might be taking a break in the Outer Banks of NC but that idea has potential planning difficulties. We shall see what happens in the next couple weeks. I either just keep walking or I go experience something new and interesting, either way I'm okay with it.

Saturday, May 17, 2014

Some Rain, Worries and Great Times

On the 14th I did 20 miles and stayed at Brown Mountain Creek shelter. On the 15th I did 22.4 miles and stayed in The Priest shelter. On the 16th I did 22.3 miles and stayed on top of Humpback Mountain. On the 17th I did 12.4 miles and stayed at Stanimal's Hostel in Waynesboro.

Typical mountaintop view selfie...


The first day out of Glasgow I hit a section of trail that made me think of my moms Underground Railroad bike trip. The AT followed along a mountain creek and had some informational signs talking about how this area used to be a settlement of freed slaves. It was nice having some history of the area that the trail now occupies. I think this is something that could be expanded on quite a bit. There has to be other areas of the trail that had other things going on in the past. There are plenty of times I hike past what is clearly old ruins from a long time back. It is a shame that for the most part I have no idea of what was there before the trail got established.


Here is the view from that sign to let you know what it looks like now.


After a nice day out of town it decided to rain 3-4 inches on me. It wasn't the worst experience but it was a bit sad then the shelter 16 miles into my day was full and instead of setting up my tent in a downpour I just did 6.6 more miles. Luckily the next shelter was basically empty. If it had been full after almost 23 miles in the rain I would have been rather upset.

The day after the rain was fantastic though. It started with Nitrious (a guy I hiked with two years ago) doing some awesome trail magic and erasing any hard feelings I had for the trail after all that rain. Then after that I spent a fantastic day fording outrageously flooded mountain streams and climbing through a gorge. It really reminded me of Maine.


Last thing this blog I want to just mention how I am worried for the future of the trail. I'm sure many of you have read A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson. It is a comedic narration of his attempted thru hike that does a decent job of portraying what a part of the trail is like. This book exposed a lot more people to the idea of the trail and because of that more people have been hiking it. This in and of itself is a fantastic thing but the southern section of the trail is getting pushed to its limits. The ATC is already trying to push people to do non traditional thru hikes that don't involve starting in Georgia in March or April.

Why this is worrying is that they are currently filming the movie adaptation of that book. It is not some small budget thing either. Robert Redford is playing Bill Bryson and Nick Nolte is playing his fictional hiking partner Katz. This is a big Hollywood adaptation with big names. It is slated to get released in 2015 sometime. What will the trail be like in 2016 and 2017. I'm all for more people experiencing this amazing thing but there will be a point where the trail itself can't handle the load of people. Hopefully this never happens and it remains as glorious as it is now for decades to come but it has me worried all the same.

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Flowers Truly Mean Spring

On the 11th I did 11.2 miles and camped at Wilson Creek shelter. On the 12th I did 20.8 miles and stayed at the Bryant Ridge shelter. On the 13th I did 24.8 miles and camped in the parking lot next to US 501 along the James river.

First I should address why I camped in a parking lot last night. My original plan was to stay at the shelter two miles before the road, hike two miles in the morning and go into town to buy some food. I assumed many people would be doing the same thing. Early that day someone informed me that Matts Creek shelter, the one before the road, might still be closed. Apparently a hiker had stayed there a few days and then another hiker found him dead in the shelter. Until cause of death was figured out they closed the shelter.

I was pretty sure that the shelter was reopened and continued past a campsite to get the shelter. About a quarter of a mile from the shelter I saw my first black bear of the year just down slope from me. It quickly ran off into the woods and I kept going. When I got to the shelter there was no one else there. I decided I would push to the road instead of sleep alone in the potentially deadly and definitely bear infested shelter. Unfortunately that meant I hit the road after dark and hitching a ride in the dark is incredibly unlikely. I found a nice spot in the back of the parking lot and set up camp. In the morning it only took me 15 minutes to hitch into town. Sometimes everything works out on the trail.


Besides that interesting day not a lot has happened in the last few days. The trail has truly entered spring though. The trees finally have a full leaf cover and the mountain flowers are out in force. Even the rhododendron are blooming finally. I'm glad there are still some around me while they are blooming. I was a little worried that I would hike past them all and miss out after walking through them for almost two months. The photos of the trail side field of flowers does not do it justice at all.




I have continuely forgotten to put this in my blogs for weeks now. In Damascus I found a lightweight hammock in a hiker box at the hostel in town. For those that don't know, a hiker box is a box at a hostel or outfitter usually where hikers put things they don't want anymore. This can range from food to clothes and sometimes even gear. I decided it could be fun to carry a hammock to take naps in during the heat of the day. Since then it has been fantastic. It allows me to stop in the middle of the day next to a nice water source and take a long break through the heat of the day. I have tried sleeping overnight in it to get a better sense if I like it but I like to roll around too much to be happy in a hammock all night. It does work perfect for an hour or two though.


I'm almost to Waynesboro which is where I started canoeing the Shenandoah River instead of hiking through Shenandoah National Park. I am looking forward to a section of trail I haven't done yet.

Saturday, May 10, 2014

Views, Snakes and Sweat! The Joys of the AT

On the 6th I did 15.9 miles and camped at "The Captains." On the 7th I did 17.3 miles and camped at Laurel Creek shelter. On the 8th I did 21.2 miles and camped along VA 620. On the 9th I did 18.3 miles and camped at Campbell shelter. On the 10th I did 15.4 miles and stayed in Daleville, VA.

The weather has been outrageous this last week. It has been almost always sunny and in the low to mid 80's. It is a little too early in the year for me to be ready to deal with heat like this. I've changed to drinking 5 to 6 liters of water everyday and taking a long nap during the heat of the day. These changes mean I need to pay more attention to where water sources are throughout the day and I have been getting up earlier then normal so I can hike while it is at least a little bit cooler.

Besides the weather this last week has been moderately eventful. One of those events is that I went over McAfee Knob which is the most photographed location on the trail. Last time I hit the knob in the afternoon with amazing weather. It was not quite as nice this time around. I got there around 7:30 at night on an overcast evening. This didn't make the views any less amazing.




Another thing that happened is that I saw my first rattlesnake. I was just walking along and daydreaming about something when I heard a rattle from right next to me. I just almost had a heart attack as I lept backwards.


Today was also the day that a guy, Wet Stray Dog, that I have been hiking with since the Smokies got off trail for a week and will be jumping to Delaware Water Gap after that week so he can finish the northern third of the trail before med school. It reinforces the fluidity that is the AT community. There aren't too many places where you can pretty much live with someone for 4-5 weeks and then have them disappear. It is odd but just part of the trail. I may see him again but there is also a decent chance I won't. Hopefully his remaining trail experience is a pleasant one.

Lastly, I ran into some section hikers 400 miles ago. This week someone said I was quoted on their blog. On their blog there is a pretty humorous conversation so I think I'll put a link here. http://harperanddad.blogspot.com/2014/04/on-appalachian-trail-hot-springs-nc-to.htm

Double lastly, in the last two weeks I've done roughly 250 miles which is pretty awesome. I'm taking an easy day today letting my feet feel a little better and then I'll knock some more miles out.

Monday, May 5, 2014

Feeling a Touch Under the Weather

On the 1st I did 16.7 miles and stayed at Chestnut Knob shelter. On the 2nd I did 14.8 miles and camped at Fort Bastion off of VA 615. On the 3rd I did 20.0 miles and camped a mile after Jenny Knob shelter. On the 4th I did 20.4 miles and stayed at Woods Hole hostel. On the 5th I did 15.0 miles and camped at a spring 5 miles outside of Pearisburg.

For the last few days I have felt a little under the weather. In the morning I usually feel pretty good but by the middle of the day I start to feel sluggish and just not quite with it. Today it was only mild so hopefully it was just a small little bug of some sort and it is gone now.

Below are some examples of what the trail looks like in Virginia. To people only used to the rocky and remote trail that is northern New England it hardly looks like the same trail. Both types of trail have their nice points and it is lovely that this one trail allows hikers to see such a variety of landscapes.




Besides my strange sluggish feelings the last few days of trail have been marked by two interesting off trail locations that I stayed. First off was Fort Bastion. This is a spot that an ex British SAS member is trying to turn into an outdoor wilderness survival school and so much more. So far he is just working on his own cabin and a bunkhouse for thru hikers but his vision includes everything from an equestrian center to "in the shit combat paintball." It was an interesting place to stay the night and the pizza guy delivered to it! Below is some of the work he has started.



The next spot that deserves a mention is Woods Hole Hostel. It was fantastic last time through and I definitely wasn't going to miss it this time. The food was absolutely fantastic for both dinner and breakfast. It came at a perfect time to lift my spirits as I was feeling a little down about how I was feeling. It always amazes me how the trail is able to provide the exact right thing at the exact right time. None quite like when I hiked out of town forgetting to buy toilet paper but meeting someone trying to give away toilet paper the first night. Woods Hole isn't THAT amazing but man did it hit the spot.


Oh and while there a hummingbird perched for me to take a picture. I don't think I've ever seen one just sit there and wait like that.


Well that's all for now. Onward towards the north!

Thursday, May 1, 2014

The Beginning of Virginia

On the 26th I did 16.1 miles and stayed at Lost Mountain shelter. On the 27th I did 17.3 miles and stayed at Wise shelter. On the 28th I did 20.0 miles and stayed at Trimpi shelter. On the 29th I did 10.6 miles and stayed at Partnership shelter. On the 30th I did 17.9 miles and camped at a stream.


So things are finally starting to bloom. This photo amuses my since it is almost identical to one taken a few weeks ago except then the white ground cover was snow and now it is little mountain flowers. It changes the whole atmosphere of the woods.

Once again there were ponies that were quite friendly. This time instead of interacting with them on the the trail the herd decided to hang out with us at the shelter. I think it was intentional since right around dinner time 12 or so suddenly showed up and were rather incistent on food. Unfortunately for ponies thru hikers value our food extremely highly. They moved off after a while but showed up just as some people started cooking breakfast. Silly ponies.


The last few days have been less then ideal weather but not nearly as bad as I had expected. The weather report showed thunderstorms Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Over the course of those days I experienced thunderstorms at some point but most of the day was just overcast. I have been able to keep my stuff dry mainly with the use of nice shelters like the one below to duck out of the worst weather. I chatted with someone who did the PCT last year and is out here this year and they are not impressed with east coast weather. Apparently he had two days of rain during the 1700 miles of trail in California and the air was dry. Out here it rains at least a little most nights and even when it doesn't it is humid enough that your skin is kind of sticky. Needless to say, he is wondering why people live in this weather. 

Even though the mountains of Virginia are less impressive the North Carolina there is more history on the trail. This is an old school house that is now part of a museum that is open to hikers. The list of punishments and rules for the teachers.



Well Virginia is going smoothly so far. I haven't decided if I am definitely going to Trail Days this year but I think I will. It should be fun. I don't know quite yet how I am going to be getting back down to Danascus but a couple hundred mile hitch might be the solution. It's only two weeks away now.