Day 49: 12.8 miles hiked (trail mile 558.6)
Today is Chris’s birthday! We enjoyed cereal and donuts for breakfast, with fresh strawberries.
After breakfast we gave the strawberry tops to the chickens, and Chris was sneak-attacked by the rooster a few times. We then spent some time ordering gear online—including new shoes for Chris, an extra battery pack for my phone (we’ve made it this far with a tiny freebie power bank that won’t even give my phone a full charge), replacement odor proof bags, and bug nets. We used the next hostel we plan to stay at as the shipping address.
At 10:30 we started out from hostel with ultra-light packs. We are camping in the woods tonight but returning tomorrow morning for our vaccines and planning to take a Zero at the Long Neck Lair. Because of this we were able to leave half of the stuff we don’t need from our packs at the hostel in a big cardboard box.
While hiking out of town the pharmacy called and is switching us to the Moderna vaccine because the J&J is being pulled due to reports of rare but severe blood clotting.
Today we passed a sign on trail indicating that we have now made it a quarter of the way on our thruhike to Maine! We’ve come a quarter of the way! We’ve only come a quarter of the way…
Towards the end of the day, we walked through some pastures, clamoring over the tallest fence ladders we’ve had yet. We didn’t see any cows and were grateful since some of the comments on our map app, Guthook, were about being chased by angry bulls.
We ended our hike at a campsite next to Possum Creek, a stone’s throw from a parking lot just a short distance from Bear Garden Hostel from which we will be getting a ride back into Marion for our vaccines. The campsite was excellent, although a bit close to vehicle access for our taste. Thankfully we were the only ones here.
Then, a man suddenly approached our tent just before sunset just as we were starting to doze off, bending over to peer into our tent and introduce himself. He said he was looking for a hiker named Victory Girl and was putting up flyers for her to call him so he could help her out. His story was hard to follow and the interaction shook us up a little bit. Weirdness like this is exactly why we prefer to camp away from roads/parking lots.
Day 50: 0 miles hiked (trail mile 558.6 (3rd Zero!)
We woke up early and walked a short distance to Bear Garden Hostel. Bert (short for Roberta) gave us a ride to Marion with a solo-hiker named Jiffy Bear, an older man who we first met just outside of the Greyson highlands, chain-smoking cigarettes in the shelter in the dark, but this was our first chance to meet him in daylight. Jiffy Bear had been shelter-sleeping the entire way, and carrying a machete, but must have decided that a tent would be more useful than a machete, so was heading to Walmart to pick one up. Jiffy Bear is one of many distinct characters we’ve met out here – it’s always interesting to meet people who break the typical thruhiker mold.
We arrived early in Marion but the pharmacist told us they could go ahead and administer our vaccines. A painless shot in the arm and we were free to go; we will have about 50% protection from Covid-19 in 2 weeks time. In 4 weeks, we will be able to get our second shot somewhere farther up the trail.
We tagged along with Bert and Jiffy Bear on their errands and got a bonus trip to Ingles out this arrangement and were able to pick up more fresh food for our Zero back at the alpaca farm. We knew we wanted to stay here post-vaccine because it was such a relaxing and clean environment where we could enjoy a tub soak and lounge all day.
Day 51: 20.6 miles hiked (trail mile 579.2)
This morning we got a ride from Ken back to Possum Creek, the campsite where we had left off on the trail. We had a nice morning of hiking, both fully aware of how much the day of rest had helped with recovery.
When we reached Lick Creek, we discovered the bridge had washed out so we had our first creek fording. The water was take-your-breath-away cold, and we caught sight of a crawdad scooting through the water around our feet.
Chris demonstrating how cold the water was!
Around midday we hiked through a burned section; a wildfire had ripped through the area only the day before. Although thruhikers were permitted to pass through the area, wildfire fighters were still combing the perimeter of the burned area. One of them told us they had been working nonstop since yesterday.
While lunching, perched on a log, we met Splinter and Turtle Power, a couple of retired guys who are platinum blazing the trail. Platinum blazing is where you hike during the day and sleep in hotels, Airbnb’s, etc. at night. They have two vehicles and always leave one at either end of the section they’re on that day.
Turtle Power and Splinter
From there we hiked up to Chestnut Knob Shelter where we were reunited with Blue Jacket, and Squirrel with his well-behaved scruffy dog, Texas.
Definitely one of the nicest shelters we’ve encountered
Determined to pull a 20-mile day today (and forced to move on due to the lack of water on the ridge) we decided to carry on hiking into the night. Just before dusk we encountered a few deer which acted unafraid of us. We night hiked for a couple hours as a surprisingly cold night set in, temperatures dipping below freezing. We also saw a speckled salamander by headlamp!
The deer blend in with the forest so well
At 20.7 miles, just after breaking our mileage record, we stopped at the first stealth campsite we could find. We hung our loaded bear bags, chugged some water, skipped dinner and got into our quilts. The night is clear, so we are sleeping without the rainfly.
Day 52: 16.8 miles hiked (trail mile 596)
We slept well at our little stealth-site although the temperatures fell into the twenties rather unexpectedly and in retrospect, we wished we had put the rain fly on for the 10 degrees or so of warmth it adds (but couldn’t be bothered to get up in the night to improve our situation). We are getting more confident with our bear bagging, too. Chris is skilled at flinging the rock bag over just the branch he’s aiming at, and I’ve developed a system for tying it off neatly, so we take on the task as a team each evening. In the mornings I’m usually the first to go retrieve the bag, driven by the promise of breakfast. We are eating more cold, ready-made breakfasts now to save on time and cover more miles.
We hiked until about noon and braked for lunch at a surprise picnic table near a road crossing. It is a rare treat to have a table or a bench on the trail, so we usually stop to enjoy these luxuries when they make an appearance. We rehydrated a pouch of freeze-dried chili, ate it with a side of Fritos and fresh spinach, then filled up 5 liters of water to carry us through until next morning, since there is no good water source to be had for the next 15 miles or so.
There was about a mile and a half of road walking today. During our road walk we met Rabbit, a fast-moving, young solo hiker who is going to law school at Berkeley when she is finished with the trail. We also saw a weasel crossing the road!
In the last mile of our hike, we ran into Hothands, who was planning to push on to Jenny Knob shelter. When we made it to our tiny campsite on a ridge line around 7:30 we got set up quickly, took care of camp chores, and were in the tent before sunset.
Day 53: 17.9 miles hiked (trail mile 613.9)
We had a good night on the ridge. The winds stayed fairly calm and temperatures hovered in the mid-thirties. On our hike we met Sunrise, a hiker who is starting at Harpers Ferry and hiking to Springer then flip flopping to hike Harpers Ferry to Katahdin. She assured us that Woods Hole, our next shelter, was sure to be an incredible experience. Dr. Who had also advised us early on in our hike, while we were still in Georgia, that Woods Hole was a special hostel.
Hiking down from the ridge we passed through a more open area, part field, part woods, filled with blooming flowers and trees. We then crossed a neat suspension foot bridge.
On the other side of the bridge, we ran into a dayhiker from Salem, VA, that we had seen on and off during her hike today and she gifted us a small tangerine. A burst of fresh flavor, however small, is so welcome on the trail, especially when we are toward the end of a 4-5 day section and subsisting only on processed foods.
We eventually settled down for the evening in a small unofficial campsite tucked in between rhododendron groves. Much of the end of our hike today was through long stretches of rhododendron tunnels which are quite dim and make us feel like the sun is setting even when we have a few more hours of daylight left. Long rhododendron stretches make me feel a bit broody, a bit like hiking in fog does.
Day 54: 11 miles hiked (trail mile 625.5)
Ranger, enjoying a pot of gruel (aka instant oatmeal) for breakfast
It was a cold morning, so we took the time to make some instant oatmeal we had found in a hiker box and wait for the sun to reach us. Our morning hike took us through a pine forest (always exquisite) and more rhododendron tunnels. We snacked next to a man-made pond with some lovely, well-maintained campsites around it before continuing the rest of our short 11-mile day to the detour for Woods Hole Hostel, then another half mile down a gravel road to the hostel. Even though we will stay at a hostel in Pearisburg, 13-miles up trail, we had heard wonderful things about Woods Hole and had logged it as a must-stay hostel along the trail.
At the hostel we met Singing Hawk, who is working at the hostel this season. He has a meditation podcast and is going to be returning to the trail in June to complete his hike from last year. Neville, the owner, led a free yoga class for all the hikers in a circle on the lawn. She is a mindful, creative, and sustainability-focused person with a magical touch for the hostel business.
Neville and her rescue dog
There are 3 friendly dogs and 2 cats at the hostel, and one of the dogs kept eagerly running from person to person during the yoga session to jam his nose under a hand or arm in search of affection.
The hostel is steeped in history and filled with interesting art and antiques and other knickknacks. You can tell that every little thing is given careful attention, including the systems that are in place to keep the hostel running smoothly. There are little hand-painted notes everywhere to provide guidance to newcomers.
Because there was a mix up with our room, we ended up being moved to a different part of the house: a private lofted space in the original log cabin part of the home before it was added onto. The space is so charming, and we felt as though we had our own apartment, complete with a dining room table, sofa, wood burning stove which exuded an incredible amount of heat and sleeping loft with a view over the farm and mountains beyond. We could hardly believe our luck. For dinner we had a loaf of homemade fresh baked bread and dipping oil from the hostel combined with some mashed potatoes and jam that we had in our packs.
A personal loaf for each hiker… heaven!
We received all our REI packages that we had ordered from the Alpaca Farm and Chris reveled in the feeling of having new shoes. His shoes had fully blown out on the sides by the time we hiked up to Woods Hole, fully exposing his sock in places, so he was well overdue for some new ones. We kindled a fire in our wood burning stove and checked out some of the interesting books in the little library in our room until it was time for bed. Chris found an anatomy book and I photographed some of the pages with my phone so I can study up on some basic anatomy knowledge while hiking to prepare for grad school.
Day 55: 11.6 miles hiked (trail mile 637.1)
Neville led us all in a gratitude circle after ringing the breakfast triangle on the patio. We all went around the circle and voiced our name, where we are from and something we’re thankful for. I’m thankful for this hostel, which is the perfect place to nourish body and soul.
Following, we enjoyed a huge family breakfast that fed about 20 people with peach cobbler made from peaches from the Amish community down the road, fresh baked bread with an assortment of homemade jams and hummus, farm fresh eggs cooked in a giant cast iron skillet, oatmeal with syrup and fruit and seeds, a salad with greens from the garden, and leftover homemade espresso cake. When we settled with Neville before departing, we left a donation for the Broke Hiker Jar. It’s a unique idea to allow hikers to pay it forward to one another and allow a hiker without the funds to still partake in a community meal or receive a bunk at the hostel. We receive so much kindness and generosity out here we were glad to partake.
After breakfast we headed back to the trail on the road, Chris wearing his new shoes and insoles, and with them a fresh outlook on life. We hiked awhile with 4 hikers that call themselves the Hikers Union, including Ninja Kitty and Mona Lisa. They are fast hikers, so we lost them quickly, but enjoyed their good spirits.
We hiked along a ridge for a while and ate pb&j tortillas while perched on a cliff overlooking Pearisburg, where we are headed. As we reached lower elevations the woods became vibrant green and coated with wildflowers of all different colors.
Doc Pepa, owner of Angels Rest Hiker Hostel where we are staying tonight, picked us up from mile 637.1 at the parking lot on-trail near an old cemetery. We are sleeping in a room inside the house, which has a fully equipped kitchen we can use. We ate an oily dinner at the Mexican restaurant across the street and later regretted not using the kitchen at the hostel to make something more nourishing. After dinner we did a resupply run at the Food Lion and Walgreens then returned to the hostel to repackage food for our trek to Daleville.
Chris chatted in the kitchen with the hiker staying in the room across from us, Sky, while I hid in our room and caught up with family back home. The trail can feel so social sometimes that when I’m at a hostel I find myself taking any moment of private time I can get.
Day 56: 18.1 miles hiked (trail mile 675.2)
This morning we had to shuttle around a 20 mile section that has been closed to hiker access for months now due to a storm that damaged some major power lines and blew down a bunch of trees. There have been rumors of hikers trying to traverse this section despite the warnings. One decided to turn back and exit the way he’d come. Another made it through, but it took her twice as long because of the blow downs and overgrown trail. We’d rather just come back and fill in this section at the end on our road trip back to Texas.
The last 20 miles
A note from the future: We did end up coming back to complete this section on our road trip back to Texas. We weren’t purists in the most rigid sense, but since we had the opportunity to not skip a whole 20-mile section we decided why not. The month after we summitted Katahdin, we pulled into Angel’s Rest Hostel with my sister, Andrea, and tented/hammocked in the yard. Early the next morning, Doc Pepa drove us to the far point so we could slack-pack back to the hostel. It was so much fun giving my sister a taste of the trail, and the gentle rolling hills of Virginia were a treat after the physical feats required by the most northern parts of the trail.
We woke up early to shower and eat some cereal before our shuttle arrived at 8:30 with a couple other hikers in it, Glacier and Bachelor Party. We were dropped off at mile 657 and began a steep ascent back up into the mountains. At one point we heard a fighter jet flying low through the mountains. You can’t help but stand still and observe when they do this because the sound is so powerful and reverberates throughout the mountains. After the first major ascent we stopped for a short break at a shelter where Chris found a neat, melted hunk of glass near the fire pit. Someone had installed a nonfunctional outlet in the shelter as a prank. Cruel and hilarious!
While lunching on an overlook, Chris saw a Black Hawk Helicopter which glinted at us in the light. The hike was challenging with our full packs, the steep elevation changes, and rocky terrain. It rained on us a bit about 4 miles from the shelter, but the sun went on shining, and we witnessed a vibrant rainbow through the trees.
When we finally made it to the shelter just before sunset, we were surprised to find the largest crowd we’ve encountered since the Smokies: 4 in the shelter and about 12 tents around it. It was not a great area for bear bagging, but we found a branch that will at least present an obstacle for the bear. We ate chili with Fritos on a log beside our tent in the dark, moon in half-waxing phase above us. Turns out we did just over 18 miles today… not bad, all things considered. We are falling asleep to the pleasant sound of light rain on the tent.