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.

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!

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.