AT Days 64-71

The morning of day 63 found us rising early in the Abingdon Gap Shelter. Bullfrog wanted to get into Damascus early to be assured of finding a barber, so he an Angel left out about 7:00 AM heading for town. Snow Cream left a little while later, around 7:30. Gavin and I are the slowest to get out, but we were on trail by 8:08 AM. The trip in would be 10.4 miles. I looked at my watch and at the terrain and I told Gavin that this would be a great chance for us to make 10 by 12. That is trail lingo for getting ten miles in by noon. Generally, this indicates a great start to a long day of hiking, but the ten is all we needed to make it into town to a hostel. I am pleased to report that at just a few minutes before noon Gavin and I walked under the archway on our way through the town park in Damascus.

A few days earlier we had made reservations for us to stay at Woodchuck Hostel, a place Gavin and I had stayed before on a family trip. We didn’t realize that Woodchuck had sold the business, but it was a nice place to stay nonetheless. I will say that now, under new ownership, the place has a far more feminine touch. The front room of the house used to be filled with antiques and AT memorabilia. Now it has six twin beds with matching bedspreads and pillow shams. The second room back used to be a dining room. I remember the corner cabinet, filled with every variety of cereal imaginable. Now it has four twin beds, also with matching spreads and shams. The other front room must be an office now for whomever is watching over the place. It used to have beds and a stairway to the upstairs, another sleeping area, but it is now marked “Off Limits.” The only thing that hasn’t changed much is the kitchen, but for whatever reason, hikers no longer have kitchen privileges. That really threw a wrench into the works when it came to me cooking supper for the group. Oh well, the vegetable soup will have to wait for another day.

Instead of a home-cooked meal, we got the lady who is watching over the hostel to take us into Abingdon for an AYCE Chinese buffet. AYCE is also trail lingo, and one of the most important terms. It stands for All You Can Eat. At this stage of the hiking game, hikers can eat for lengthy periods of time without guilt. We are likely burning in excess of 5,000 calories a day, and it is quite difficult to carry enough food to satiate the hunger. For that reason, hikers almost always make a hard turn off the trail when they see AYCE. On the way back we had to go through Bristol for Angel to have some cell phone maintenance. Apparently, the rain we passed through on Friday did hers in. When we got back to the hostel, we walked a block or two into town and visited Adventure Damascus, Mt. Rogers Outfitters, and the local Dollar General. Afterward, we came back to the hostel and settled in for the evening.

What an evening it was. The five of us and one other hiker we had met previously occupied the six beds in the front of the house. Lucky for her, Angel fell asleep fairly quickly. Then Snow Cream started snoring. Then Gettin’ There started snoring even louder. Bullfrog chimed into the chorus as well, and I had a most difficult time getting to sleep. I’m sure that once I did, I did my part to raise the roof. I am not sure any of us slept very well that evening.

After a so-so night of sleep, we woke up early Sunday morning for an 8:30 breakfast at the Damascus Diner, which was included in our stay. It was there that I had my first waffle on the trail. I have to say, it felt mildly cannibalistic. After breakfast we headed back up to the hostel to await a great day. Not long after we got back, Hippie, Drop Bear, Respect and Haywood dropped by the hostel looking for a place to stay. For whatever reason, they didn’t want to stay at Woodchuck’s so they used my phone to call around. It wasn’t long before Hippie’s girlfriend was able to find an Air B&B for him and Drop Bear. Respect stayed at the hostel at the Methodist Church in town. They were going to be in town for a day longer than we were, so we’ll likely see them again when they hike past us in the coming week or so.

Around 11:30 we started getting visitors. First were Gavin’s friend Emma and her parents and brother. It was great to chat with them and answer their questions about life on the trail. A couple of hours later, I looked down the road and saw my friends Bill and Vicki walking up. I hadn’t expected their visit, and it was great to reconnect. Not long after, we transitioned to the park and were joined by Beth, Griffin, my mom, and the youth group from church. There were cupcakes, a pug-shaped cake, and cold drinks. To top it off, my friend Fred and his family came up for a brief visit as well. It was an awesome day of visiting with family and friends.

After all the festivities, we went back to the hostel to gear up for supper. Since Hippie and Drop Bear were staying out of town, Respect hung with us. We headed uptown for pizza, but the restaurant had closed. Not wanting to walk clear across town (0.6 miles) we decided to try the Damascus Old Mill. I had a chopped steak with onions that was pretty good. Gavin had wings and apparently he enjoyed them because he ate them all. It was good to talk more with Respect. Generally he is sort of quiet, but we got to know him a bit better over dinner.

Sunday night was much quieter in the snoring department. I think we all slept much better, though I did have to get up once during the night. When I stepped out of the bathroom in the dark, I almost knocked Angel down because she was coming in as I was coming out. Before I made it back to my bed, Snow Cream was in my path. I suppose great minds (or bladders) think alike.

On Monday we arose and went back to the Damascus Dinner for breakfast. Afterward, we got a short ride down to Food City to get food for the week. We were packing for six nights, so my food bag was as heavy as it has been yet. It was almost filled to capacity. After packing, we loaded up and hit the trail. The AT goes straight down through town in Damascus before cutting left back into the woods. Gavin and I stopped to talk to Brant at Adventure Damascus. He has several hiking videos on YouTube including one that Gavin and I have watched about the psychological aspects of thru-hiking and I wanted to meet him and tell him thanks. Back on the trail, we missed the turn up into the woods and had to backtrack a few hundred feet.

Our destination Monday was Saunders Shelter, 9.3 miles ahead. We had two fairly significant climbs on Monday. The first was up about 1,000 feet to a crossing of the Iron Mtn. Trail. Near the end of the day we had a second long climb to Saunders Shelter. We were all fairly exhausted by the time we got there. We were nervous upon arrival because there were a passel of hikers sitting around outside the shelter. Though there was plenty of room to tent, I really didn’t want to bother with setting mine up. Fortunately, only three of the other folks were staying in the shelter so we were able to cram in. Gavin wound up sleeping longwise at our feet in the back of the shelter. We figured he’d be the least likely to have to get up in the night.Thankfully, we were correct.

Tuesday morning we left out around 8:15 heading for a campsite near Whitetop Mtn. Gav had a tough morning, but he eventually worked himself through it. For whatever reason, I never did stop to eat lunch on Tuesday. It didn’t take long for my honey bun and instant breakfast to wear off. By the end of the day, I was bushed, and that was where the trail was the most difficult. We had a 2,000 foot climb up to Buzzard Rock, nearly at the summit of Whitetop Mtn. The trail stretched along over huge rocks and roots that made the trip up even more difficult. At one point, Gavin and I both were about completely out of gas and about to melt down. Thankfully, God put a section of level, dirt trail in our way so we were able to relax our legs and stride out and regroup before making the final push to the top. The views from Buzzard Rock were outstanding. It was a perfect afternoon to stretch out in the grass and rest, which we did. The climb got to Snow Cream as well, and he was about 30-45 minutes behind us to the summit. We were grateful that the campsite was just a little over a mile away over level terrain.

We tented in a grassy area beside the trail, just up from Whitetop Rd. We had a great view of the mountains to our south. The only down side to tenting in grass is the condensation that collects inside the tent. There was also a heavy dew, so my rain fly was soaked on both sides. It is never fun packing a wet tent.

Wednesday was a great day of hiking. We broke camp and got on trail fairly early. Without sharing too much information, I had my sights set on getting to Elk Garden as quickly as I could so that I didn’t have to stop and dig a cat hole. I covered the 2.5 miles in about 45 minutes and was rewarded by being the first to make use of the privy.

Elk Garden is where we ended our southbound hike of the Grayson Highlands area a few years ago. Having hiked in that area twice before, I was really looking forward to this section of the trail. It is an area of the trail that is often remembered by hikers as being a favorite because of the views and the wild ponies that inhabit the area to control growth on the balds. We saw our first ponies just south of Thomas Knob Shelter. The mother of a week-old colt came up and started licking the salty sweat off my legs. I tried to walk away, but she followed me a few hundred yards up the trail to the shelter. Before long, there were four or five ponies impeding our ability to sit at the picnic table and eat. In fact, Bullfrog had hung his hat on a limb to dry and one of the ponies grabbed it with his mouth and started to chew it. It was quite comical to see Gavin try to wrestle the hat out of the pony’s mouth.

Thomas Knob Shelter is the first shelter in the Grayson Highlands area, and it has a history of bear problems. In fact, last summer, the Appalachian Trail Conservancy and the park prohibited camping on the trail between Elk Garden and Wise Shelter because of problem bears. For the past two days we have heard stories of hikers who had lost their food bags to bears at Thomas Knob. I have to interject that there are now bear boxes in place at the shelter, so I have no idea why a hiker would tempt fate by hanging or sleeping with their food. Even a day or two after leaving the area, we kept hearing stories of bear vs. food encounters.

After a hearty lunch in the shelter (to avoid the ponies), we pressed on. Just behind Wilburn Ridge we crossed the 500 mile mark on the trail. Oddly enough, Angel, Bullfrog, and I missed the 5-0-0 spelled out in rocks because we came across the area on a slightly higher trail. We were lucky that I stopped close by to wait on Gavin and Snow Cream and that they saw it. Just after, we climbed up on top of the rocks on Wilburn Ridge. The weather was gorgeous and we could see forever. It truly is a beautiful section of the trail. As a side note, it is less than two hours drive from my home to the Grayson Highlands State Park, and there are day hikes you can do there to see all the sights— I highly recommend it!

After sunning and playing on the rocks, we headed down toward Massie Gap. The trail down is quite rugged over and around rocks on top of rocks. Some of the steps down are 18-24” and they can be quite tricky in places. Along the way we saw more ponies and some longhorn cattle. There were several jokes made about the “cheeseburgers on the hoof.” When we got to Massie Gap, we left the trail and headed toward the parking area. The Grayson Highlands General Store and Inn runs a shuttle to and from the park so we headed in for a meal. It was somewhat pricey, but it beat the heck out of another Knorr Pasta Side. After we were fed, we got a ride back and headed about two miles into Wise Shelter where we stayed the night. We were all surprised that there was only one other hiker staying there, so we had plenty of room to spread out and sleep comfortably.

Thursday was a 10.9-mile day that was roughly divided into thirds. Wise Shelter is about 3.5 miles from the Scales, a corral where livestock is herded. It has a privy and there is a spring nearby so it is a great place to stop and eat lunch, which we did. The second “third” was onward to Old Orchard Shelter. When we got there, a gentleman called Gavin by name and wished him happy birthday. It took me a minute to realize that he wasn’t wearing hiking clothing, and it registered with me that he was Terry Little, a 2014 thru-hiker from home who has recently moved to Virginia. He had offered us trail magic via the blog, and he was at the shelter to deliver. We walked on down the trail to his car and he took us to the General Store in Troutdale for a wonderful lunch. We greatly appreciated his generosity. He told us multiple times along the trip that when he was hiking, he was frequently on the receiving end of trail magic, and he really enjoys giving back to the trail. The last part of our hike Thursday was onward to Hurricane Mtn. Shelter. Once again, we arrived and were the only inhabitants, but that changed quickly. The shelter filled up and one guy even laid down crosswise to the rest of us on the outer edge.

Friday morning was one that I will not soon forget. It started about 5:15 or so with the sound of Snow Cream shouting profanities in the distance. Apparently, when he went to retrieve his food bag, he disturbed the bear who had already gotten it down from the tree for him. I don’t know what all he yelled, but there was something about sunny beaches, and I think he questioned whether the bear’s parents had had a Christian wedding or not. He came back up to the shelter and told everyone else what had happened, and we all bolted up to go get our food out of the trees. There were two victims of the bear’s foraging that night: Snow Cream and Peanut. The perplexing thing is how the bear got Snow Cream’s bag. He had a perfect hang, 6’ from the tree, 10-12’ below the branch and 12-15’ up off the ground. The only thing we could figure is that the bear climbed out on the tree limb and pulled the food bag back up using the rope until he could tear the bag open.

One of the things I’ve read about time and again while preparing for this trip is how hikers go out of their way to help others out. It is one of those things you can’t really appreciate until you are out here to experience it for yourself. We all pooled our food and got Peanut and Snow Cream a good breakfast. We were only a few miles from a road crossing, so Peanut was able to get a hitch into Troutdale to get a few food items for the next day or so until she was zeroing in Marion. We had the same plan for Snow Cream, but when we reached the road crossing, Angel and Bullfrog went through their food and realized that they had plenty to spare, so we hiked on.

Friday was one of our shortest days of the week at 9.2 miles. For the most part, it was an easy day of hiking, though we did have to contend with rocks and roots for some of the way. It was our goal to get to Trimpi Shelter as quickly as we could because the forecast was for rain. We arrived around 1:30, before the rain started, but not much before. We were able to hang our clothes inside the shelter, and they dried a little before the downpour. It wasn’t long before wet hikers started showing up. We had the shelter full and there were several folks tenting nearby. One of the nice things about this shelter is that there was at least one resident black snake, which meant there were very few mice. We are grateful that the snake didn’t crawl around on anyone during the night. That is a surprise nobody wants to have.

Our hike Saturday was one we were looking forward to. It was a fairly easy 10-mile hike to the Partnership Shelter and the Mt. Rogers National Recreational Area HQ. We are grateful that even though the morning looked dismal, the weather burned off quickly and it turned out to be a nice sunny day. Most all the hike was along a ridge line with little ups and downs, but it was fairly pleasant except for some areas that had rocks. Along the way, we crossed the Comer Falls bridge, which was marked as unsafe. We had already encountered several southbound hikers who said the bridge was fine, so we took our chances. Bullfrog went across first and he got along just fine. Just on the other side, we encountered trail magic from the AT Hiker Ministry. I’m sure I have seen videos of the gentleman who provided us with drinks and snacks. He has a small bus that has been outfitted as a camper and he really had everything a hiker could need. I am looking forward to being able to come out next spring and give back.

For whatever reason, after the trail magic, the five of us got quite spread out along the trail. Bullfrog was in front and he hiked out like there was no tomorrow. We lost sight of him fairly quickly. Angel and I stayed together for a while, and Gavin and Snow Cream fell behind on some of the uphills. After a while, Angel and I decided that Bullfrog wasn’t going to pull up and wait on us, which is quite unusual, so we waited on the others.They caught up in less than ten minutes, and Angel said she was going to bolt on forward to find Bullfrog and make sure nothing was wrong. Not long after, I walked on ahead of Snow Cream and Hawk Eye with the thought of trying to catch Angel and Bullfrog myself. After a while, though, I realized that it wasn’t going to happen, so I switched to meander mode so that the others could close the distance to me. I kept thinking about stopping to wait, but this was the first time in a while I had been able to hike completely by myself so I enjoyed myself, lost in thought and prayer.

When I arrived at Partnership Shelter, there was a southbound section hiker there having an Arby’s lunch. He had just been dropped at the trailhead and was heading out for a week. His eyes were bigger than his stomach and he had an extra roast beef sandwich which he shared with me. I enjoyed talking with him and while I was there, Gavin rolled in only about five minutes behind me. He went on to the visitor’s center to see Angel and Bullfrog. Snow Cream was another 10-15 minutes in coming, and by that time, I was done with my sandwich and the section hiker had hiked out. I gathered a bit of trash that had been left in the shelter and hiked a few hundred yards to a dumpster near the visitor’s center and deposited it. I really don’t understand why folks left trash when there was a dumpster so near.

Bullfrog had arranged a shuttle from the visitor’s center into Marion which arrived not long after we all were gathered together again. We settled into the EconoLodge for Saturday and Sunday nights. This is a fairly nice place to be, with many restaurants and a WalMart within walking distance (for a hiker). One of the things I have been needing is a new pair of shorts. The hiking pants I started with now fall off my hips, and when I pull the webbing belt tight, the creases in the waistband of the pants get caught under the hip belt of my pack. I also needed something to wear around camp in the evenings while my hiking clothes dried. As luck would have it, WalMart had just what I was looking for. We enjoyed a great Mexican dinner with a couple of other hikers. The only problem was, while we were dining, it started raining like nobody’s business. It was about 0.5 miles back to the hotel and we were fairly soaked when we got back.

Unfortunately, there are no laundry facilities at this hotel, so we got up Sunday morning and walked about 1.5 miles down the road to a laundromat. I have to say that laundromats are interesting places. While we were there, a fairly creepy looking guy came in and sat down. He made some mention of needing an ATM to get money for the machines, but he never left to get any. He just sat down on a bench and hung out. I never did figure out what he was doing there. Maybe he was homeless, who knows.

That gets us to Sunday evening, where I’m sitting on the bead finishing up this post. We are out again around midday on Monday for another 6-7 days in the woods. We appreciate you for taking the time to check on our progress. Also, please know that I’m doing my best to get videos uploaded. Unfortunately, not all WiFi is alike and I have spent two consecutive weekends in places with terrifically slow upload speeds. Have a good week and remember to just keep taking the Next Step.