AT Days 72-77

Before I start my “weekly” update, I want to mention a few things. First, my YouTube channel is marvelously out of date. The past couple of places we’ve stayed have not had good outgoing WiFi, so uploading videos has been a challenge. I was able to get one out last night, and I’m about 55% uploaded on another. I was really hoping to get several more uploaded today, but it may not happen. Second, the little photos that are in the margins are “clickable” if you’d like to see a larger version. I have tried to include pictures that represent the stories I’m telling, but at some point I’ll create some albums here on the blog. Now for the week’s story…

Monday was a short day. We lazed around the hotel and got a shuttle back to the Mt. Rogers Visitor’s Center. We only had a 6.8 mile hike to get to the Chatfield Memorial Shelter. The trail was extremely rocky in this section. Not little gravel, but rip-rap sized rocks with lists of sharp edges and corners. It made putting your feet flat on the trail nearly impossible. By the end of our trek, I was punchy and sarcastic about the terrain. I was so looking forward to writing my longest entry in the shelter log; I kept going over it in my head along the journey. Unfortunately, the shelter log was completely full so I didn’t get to express myself. Allow me to do so now:

Dear Appalachian Trail Conservancy,

I have most thoroughly enjoyed hiking the section between the Mt. Rogers Visitor’s Center to the Chatfield shelter. I look forward to coming back and rehiring this section when it is completed. I must have traveled over at least 150-200 feet of trail today that had not had the sharp, pointy rocks installed. Hopefully the trail maintainers can get on this quickly. Also, some of the rocks that have already been put in place have ad their edges and sharp, jagged corners worn off due to heavy travel. When you come back out again, please have a look a these and replace them with fresh rocks.

Sincerely,

Waffle

Needless to say, I am greatly disappointed not to have been able to share my sarcastic thoughts with others on the trail who had just hiked the same stony path.

There were two other remarkable things that happened on Monday. First, Snow Cream told us that he would be parting ways with us. I think he was at a point where he needed some alone time, and he also wanted to hike longer miles than we are currently able to do. It was sad to know he was leaving our trail family, but I’m sure we will see him up the trail somewhere. Second, this was the first day that we’ve passed multiple rhododendrons that were in bloom. They were gorgeous. I hope that in the coming weeks we’ll pass through large areas of blooming trees, as they add so much beauty to the trail. I believe one of my first projects when I get home will be cleaning up the creek bank behind the house and planting some rhododendron. I’ll have to look into rooting them from the bushes behind mom’s house.

Tuesday had several big events in store. The shelter where we stayed was only about two miles from the historic Lindamood School, a one-room schoolhouse from 1894. Perpetual Trail Magic is provided by West End UMC of Wytheville. They leave cold drinks, chips, health and beauty aids, and pretty much everything else a hiker needs. I’m disappointed that we arrived too early in the day to visit the Settlers Museum, but it isn’t too far away from home to go back one day. The second treat of the day was passing by The Barn restaurant just before we crossed under  I-81.I was really hoping for a steak, but they were still serving lunch when we arrived. No matter. They had a hamburger steak and potatoes. It was awesome! I think easy access to whatever food I want to eat is one of the things I miss most about being in the woods. On the other hand, I wouldn’t trade anything for the things I’ve seen, the experiences I’ve had, and the people I’ve met while I’ve been on the trail.

Today’s hike included some out of the ordinary hiking conditions. For one thing, we crossed over a railroad bed. We were sure to stop, look, and listen before crossing. Almost immediately after, we went through a boggy area across a boardwalk. I appreciate that it was nearly 3’ wide, because sometimes I tend to drift off to one side or the other. Finally, we hiked quite a ways through pastureland. Though we’ve done that a few times before, it has only been recently. We were blessed that it is still spring, so we weren’t in the hot baking sun. I think that treat is reserved for northern Virginia and beyond.

We camped at the Crawfish Trail campsite, just a few hundred feet short of the ¼ way mark on the AT. It is hard to believe that we’ve come this far. It is also daunting as well, because we hope to finish our hike before mid-August. If we’re going to do that, we really need to be hiking longer days. I have been trying to remember to do some calculation to see what our daily mileage average should be, but I’m almost afraid to do so. It was a treat to be back in my tent for a night. I suppose I could be setting it up at shelters when we arrive, but it is just easier to throw out my bedding and crash on the shelter platform.

On Wednesday morning we got out of the campsite a little late, but we did eventually get going. We had set our sights on the Chestnut Knob Shelter, some 17.4 miles away. By late in the day, we realized that even though the climbs on the trail didn’t look like much on the map, they really took the wind out of our sails, so we settled for a shorter trip to Lick Creek. Even though the AT Guide doesn’t show a campsite, there is plenty of room for several tents there, so we pitched right beside the creek.

The creek is, in my opinion, a bit large to be called a creek. It was wide enough to require a well-constructed footbridge to cross, and it was deep enough that one could jump in and cool off. Or cold off. I waded into about ankle depth and remembered hearing stories of middle-aged men who have had heart attacks from submerging suddenly in cold water. Having already had one of those, I decided not to chance it. I did, however, get my bandana wet and washed off some of the hiker funk. I’m not sure it did much good, though. Angel and Bullfrog, being younger and less susceptible to sudden coronary issues, did brave the cold and talked about how refreshing it was. Gavin just hung out along the bank and searched for crawdads.

The only two bad things I can say about the campsite are, (1) the mosquitos were out in swarms, and (2) there were precious few places to hang our food for the night. I looked for 15-20 minutes and had to eventually “settle” on a tree nearby the creek. I wasn’t completely confident about the bear hang, but I chanced it. I was hopeful that all the neighborhood bears had found out about the buffet at Hurricane Shelter several miles south and had gone down to join in.

It rained a little bit Wednesday afternoon, but fortunately we had already set up our tents and such. It was kind of peaceful laying inside listening to the creek noises and hearing the raindrops on the fly of my tent. I’m really glad that the rain stopped after a short time and we didn’t have to break camp in a storm. I am pretty sure that some folks came in and camped across the creek after we had retreated to our respective tents, but they were either farther back in the woods that I had imagined, or I imagined the whole thing, because there was no sign of them the next morning.

One highlight from Tuesday that I must mention is Gavin’s reintroduction to Pringles, a lady hiker from western NC. We were on a shuttle in Hiawaswsee together months ago, but I had forgotten her. We passed her fairly early in the day while hiking the uphill section through a cow pasture. Gav was a bit behind Bullfrog, Angel, and me, and he started up a chat with her. It turns out that she listens to the same D & D podcast that he likes, so they hiked together and takes for several miles. When we stopped at Knot Maul Shelter for lunch, I really thought she looked familiar and finally it hit me: she was in some of Amanda Bess’s trail videos from last year. Pringles shuttled Amanda Bess around in Hot Springs, NC, and now she has her own YouTube channel to document her hike.

Our Wednesday plans of hiking a long day aborted, we regrouped and decided to make Thursday a long one. According to the guide, it was 16.4 miles to the Jenkins Knob shelter, and it would be extremely easy-going after a 2,500’ climb in the first five miles. In fact, the last six miles of the trip are the flattest looking of any I have seen on the AT Guide’s elevation profile. What we didn’t account for, though, was rocks. Lots of rocks. Big ones, little ones, sharp ones, and pointy ones. The trail went up and down 30-50’ at the time (fairly flat), but always on rocks. Aaugh! This was our longest day of hiking and by far the least comfortable on the feet. The rocky trail from a few days ago had nothing on this section of the trail.

The other trail highlight from the day was the many stiles we had to cross over fence lines. I really prefer cattle gates because they don’t involve the rest of falling or breaking your leg. Essentially, a stile is an A-frame “ladder” that is set up over the fence. In theory, there are handholds secure enough to stray a topheavy hiker, but in practice, it is still a dicey crossing. There was one in particular that stood about 8’ tall that really made me nervous, but we all made it up and over safely.

Jenkins Knob shelter was a fairly busy place Wednesday. We ran back into Snow Cream, though we’re still not hiking together. Pringles was tenting there, as was Blue from Mass. I did have one new experience. Someone had left a horseshoe at the shelter which I used as a weight to throw my bear line into a tree. Eventually. To hang the line, you tie something heavy, usually a bag of rocks, to the end of the rope and throw it up and over the target tree limb. I am pleased to report that the rock bag works much better than a horseshoe, and if it gets stuck on some small limbs, the rock bag is much less deadly when you’re pulling hard on the rope trying to free it from its obstruction.  It is difficult to believe that in a forest there would be few trees with suitable limbs for hanging food, but that was the case again on Wednesday. After finally finding an “okay” tree limb and getting the horseshoe up and over, my food was hanging a little low and close to the tree, so I tied the tag end of the line out to a second tree to pull the bag up and farther from the trunk. I am not a fan of using this method because some bears have learned that ropes tied to trees are often connected to food. Fortunately, the bears in our area have not been so informed, so my food was still there the next morning.

As our feet were being tortured on Thursday I had time to think about Friday’s hike. I also had cell service so I checked the weather ahead of us on the trail. The forecast was for rain on Thursday night (it didn’t), showers Friday, and rain on Saturday. We had been shooting for Trent’s Grocery, about two days out. I noticed in the guide that we’d be passing by a road crossing to Bland, VA on Friday. What if we did our 11.3 miles to Bland, took a zero day to heal our rock battered feet on Saturday, and slackpacked to Trent’s Grocery on Sunday? I pitched it to the group and we were all in agreement that a day off would be much appreciated, so that is what we did.

The hike Friday was fairly easy, even with a few uphills. One notable trail feature from Friday was all the switchbacks that made our largest climb quite manageable. It was definitely the longest trail section for a short climb we’ve experienced. In most places, we hardly felt like we were going uphill at all, the grade was so gentle. I really hope the “overkill on switchbacks” trend continues.

We ended our hike at the Brushy Mountain Outpost, a deli/resupply store right on the trail. Since we had not arranged a shuttle to get us to the hotel, we decided to go ahead and have lunch while we sorted that out. I had a cheeseburger with chili, slaw, onions, and mustard that was out of this world. It was definitely the best cheeseburger I’ve had on the trail so far. Not quite Crossroads Grill back home, but close. Snow Cream was also at the Outpost and he had arranged to get picked up by a nearby hostel. The driver was willing to take the rest of us with him since he had to drive past the hotel anyway. We arrived at the hotel around 2:30 and set about the task of relaxing.

The Big Walker motel is right on I-77 just outside of Bland, VA. Across the street is a Circle-K/Dairy Queen truck stop that I’m pretty sure we’ve stopped at before for gas and snacks when traveling to Pittsburgh. There is also a Subway and Dollar General about 0.5 mile down the road. Everything a hiker needs.

Saturday morning I went down to the motel office around 8:00 to get coffee. News was stirring that there had been some sort of disturbance on the trail overnight. This was not the first disturbing news we’ve heard while on the trail. When we were a few days north of Hot Springs, NC, stories broke about a hiker on the trail who had reportedly assaulted some hikers with a large knife. He was arrested a day or two later, charged with minor crimes, plead guilty, and was released. Though details are still unfolding, apparently he got back on trail and stabbed at least two hikers near the Knot Maul shelter, only a couple of days back from where we are now. We have heard that one of the two died as the result of the injuries. The perpetrator is in custody and a 16-mile section of the trail north of Marion, VA is currently closed while the investigation continues. We are prayerful for the hikers who were attacked and that all of the rest of us can hike safely on to Katahdin.

It has been a very restful day here at the hotel. We’ve hit the DQ, Subway, and Dollar General to satiate our food needs. We did laundry in the tub and in the sink and hung our clothing out under the gazebo to dry, even though it has been rainy most of the day. Other than that, I have been writing and waiting for another video to upload to YouTube. Angel and Bullfrog are eager for my videos to catch up to the point where we all met. WiFi willing, that should happen fairly soon. We have arranged for a shuttle to take us back to The Outpost and our packs to Trent’s Grocery tomorrow morning. We are all hoping that whatever rain is left in the area will pass over tonight.

And that’s the way it was… I will again thank you for following along on our journey. I will also ask you to continue your prayers for us and other hikers. Even in light of the news from the trail today, the AT is much, much safer than day-to-day life in “civilization.” Thanks again, and remember to just keep taking the Next Step.