Thursday 6/1/00 23 miles/2277 total. 140 Trail Days. Mt. Rogers Headquarters to VA 42.
Zippitty Do Da, Zippitty A
My, oh My, What a wonderful day
Zippitty Do Da, Zippitty A
I think I’m gonna like ole V-A.
The thick canopy in the forest keeps the sun at bay and gives the effect of dawn lasting several hours. Only occasional rays reach the forest floor. The cool dappled sunlight makes for good hiking. Lots of little critters scurry around and birds sing for hours each morning. A gray squirrel peers over a limb to watch me pass, another is upside down on the side of a tree trunk watching. A small chipmunk dashes down the trail in front of me and I am beginning to think I’ve wandered into a Walt Disney animated movie. Later, I saw Bambi’s mother; she is alive and well in southern Virginia. She was not killed by the hunter. That was just a ruse; she has been hiding out under the witness protection program all these years. The old doe loped a few yards off the trail and stood for pictures before disappearing into the underbrush.
I met “Baby Ruth” (the lady who is supporting her husband, “Rascal” and her daughter, “Sunny”, with a RV). She had hiked out a few miles with them and was hiking back to move their RV forward. About an hour later, I caught up with “Rascal” and “Sunny”. They told me there was a Dairy Queen at the point where the AT crosses I-81. We all agreed that sounded like a proper place for lunch.
Over lunch we compared notes and filled each other in on how we happened to be on the AT. “Rascal” thru-hiked the AT in 1998 and the Continental Divide Trail in 1988. Just this past April they started the Pacific Crest Trail, but terminated that hike after a few hundred miles when “Sunny” had sinus bleeding.
Later, I met “Just Plain Dave” and “Kid Biscuit” at Davis Path Shelter. The trail led through several fields, some of which were on easements across private property.
There is a community pavilion at our selected finish point. Roger was there chatting with “Baby Ruth” and Jason, and Mr. Doyle, Warren’s father, was there waiting on Warren.
After some pleasant conversation, Roger and I drove back to get the RV. Roger had scouted the most direct routes and, thankfully, ruled them out. We drove east to I-77 to avoid some small, twisting mountainous roads. We got back to a wide spot along VA 42 beside an old church, it was after 10pm.
Note: On Roger’s hike today he encountered his first rattlesnake. A timber rattler threatened him, by rattling, as he was crossing a stile over a fence. Since Roger was out of harm’s way, he got some pictures.
Friday 6/2/00 17 miles/2294 total. 141 Trail Days. VA 42 to VA 623.
Roger had me at the trailhead by a few minutes after 7am. The trail was an easy path with gentle rises and descents. After a couple of miles I caught up with “Fennel” a young female thru-hiker that Roger had met the past few days. We talked for a minute and I moved on up the trail. It was still early and I was moving at a good rate, so I was surprised a few minutes later when “Fennel” started talking to me. She was carrying a medium sized pack with all her overnight gear and food, but was staying right with me. We started the steep climb up Big Walker Mountain. Conversation continued the entire 4000 foot climb that was about five miles long. An interesting young lady: graduated from Dartmouth in Environmental Geology, works as a Nordic Ski Coach at Cole College (I think), is from Maine and she wants to do the International AT if she can work it into her schedule. At a spring fed pond she introduced me to “B & B”, a couple from Tampa that Roger had told me about. “B & B” said they were considering “Flip-Flopping” to do the IAT this year. After a few minutes, I moved on toward the Chestnut Knob Shelter and lunch. This shelter is made of stone and has four walls, a door and small windows across the end wall over the door. The view from this site is great.
Sometime during the early afternoon, I startled a deer that made a hasty departure. About 1:30pm I saw Roger hiking toward me. We hiked back to his van. On the way he showed me a large rock outcropping with a sheer drop of several hundred feet and a great view of Burke’s Garden, the large valley below. The valley contains several dairy farms with hay fields extending up the mountain slopes. Many of the 180 folks living in the valley are descendants of the original settlers who came here about 1750.
Roger and I moved the RV to Deer Trail RV camp to dump our tanks and take on fresh water. Lewis Cooke, the RV park owner, recommended the Ocean Bay Restaurant in Wytheville. It was a “happy choice”!
Saturday 6/3/00 17 miles/2311 total. 142 Trail Days. VA 623 to VA 612 at I-77 bridge just north of Bland, VA.
The morning hike down into Hunting Camp Creek was pleasant. The views of Burke’s Garden Valley were hazy and not as impressive as yesterday. It is interesting that Burkes Garden was named after a frontiersman who camped in the valley in the early 1700’s. The Shawnee Indians made life uncomfortable for him and he left. A few years later, early settlers found potatoes growing from peelings left behind in the fertile soil by Burke; hence Burke’s Garden.
For lunch I stopped at Little Wolf Creek. “B & B” and “Fennel” were already there. Eating lunch with your bare feet in a cool stream is akin to hiker heaven. While there, many other thru-hikers arrived: “Cool Hand Luke”, “Mr. Pringle”, “Schick Cat”, “Maca Moose” and Scott and Nora. All were in agreement, life is good!
About mid-afternoon, I took a break to identify some of the local trees. With the help of a couple of small reference books, I have been hiking thru: White Oak, Northern Red Oak, Chestnut Oak, Pin Oak, Sycamore, Sweet Birch, Shag Bark Hickory, Eastern Hemlock, Eastern White Pine, Mountain Laurel, Rhododendron, Sassafras, Dogwood, White Ash, Yellow Poplar and lots more. The Mountain Laurel, Rhododendron and Flame Azalea are all still in full bloom all over the mountainsides.
“Baby Ruth” parked their RV at a trailhead and was hiking in to meet “Rascal” and “Sunny”. She told me “Boca Pete” had hiked in a few miles before returning to the trailhead. Shortly after arriving at Roger’s van, a stream of hikers appeared, one or two at a time. In addition to most of those who were at the stream for lunch, I met “Sling Blade”, “Dandelion”, “Mule” and “Rainbow”. Roger gave them all thewater he had in the van plus granola bars. Hikers were sitting on their packs all along his van in a gravel parking lot on the side of some mountain. Later, Roger ran a shuttle for hikers going to town or to a motel or to the Dairy Queen.
We parked the RV in a community park in Bland, VA. There was an old guy in a pick-up, Mr. Ingram, who said it was OK and that he knows everyone in town.
Sunday 6/4/00 18 miles/2339 total. 143 Trail Days. VA 612 to VA 606.
Quiet, the woods are very quiet this morning. It is a little before 7am and foggy. I don’t hear any birds chirping and there is no wind. The only sound is an occasional drop of dew falling through the trees. The elevation changes are less than 500 feet, so it is easy to make good time hiking. The miles slide by quickly. On the way up a hill I overtake “Slow Go” and her husband “Dover Rover” from Tampa. We talk as we are hiking. Soon we come upon “Blue Bird” and her friend “Soft Path” from Maine. They are thinking of quitting the trail.
During lunch I got out a wild flower reference book to identify some new friends. Goats-beard and Galax are the latest entries.
Roger hiked in to meet me. Later, we moved the RV to Pearisburg, VA. I called Betty to tell her where she could find us. She will depart Iowa tomorrow, Monday, and should be here Tuesday afternoon.
Monday 6/5/00 26 miles/2365 total. 144 Trail Days. VA 606 to Pearisburg, VA. (US 460).
It was foggy when Roger dropped me at the start point and it got thicker as I climbed up Brushy Mountain. Rain started as I started the steep 1500 foot climb on up Sugar Run Mountain. My pack cover protected my gear and I did not use my rainsuit because the condensation inside it is as bad as the rain. The result of all this is that I was wet all day.
The wet leaves on the trail and the noise of the rain in the trees enabled me to slip up on some critters: two deer, two ruffed grouse, six squirrels, some chipmunks and a couple of rabbits.
The 2000 foot descent into the New River Valley was steep and slippery. The New River is, reportedly, the second oldest river in the world (the Nile River is the oldest).
Roger hiked from the end point along the New River up the steep trail for a couple of hours, got really wet, and returned to the van to wait for me.
Tuesday 6/6/00, D-Day, 22 miles/2387 total. 145 Trail Days. Pearisburg, VA to VA 635.
The climb out of the New River Valley was only 1500 feet, but the first few hundred feet put me in the clouds. It rained off and on and the trail was wet and muddy. It was a cool, wet day and by the time I was on the crest of Peters Mountain the wind was about 15mph with gusts to 25mph. There was so much noise from the wind that I walked right up on two different deer. One time I was within 10 feet of a doe. We both froze for a minute or so, but she saw my hand slowly reaching for the camera and she was gone.
Finally, I met “Anonymous Badger”, a super hiker with the Warren Doyle group. “AB” was lying down on a large flat rock resting. We talked a few minutes before I moved on up the trail. At Swamp Branch Shelter, I saw “Loon” and “Spring Fever”. The last time we met was about three weeks ago. They said Warren had not yet gotten this far, but he may hike it this afternoon and evening.
Roger met me at VA 635 on the Dismal River. Betty was waiting at the RV. Roger had already packed most of his things and departed for his mother’s home in Ohio.
Betty: Well, I’m back on the trail. Sounds like Roger and Chuck had an exciting time. We’ve been fortunate enough to be able to work our schedules out so that one of the two of us is usually here. Roger is going to a family wedding and also his mom is going to have some surgery and he will stay to see her through that and the recovery. We wish her well. My trip to Iowa was fun. I have lots of relatives and friends in Iowa and Minnesota and it was fun to spend time with them. We had lots of rain. I drove through rain all the way back and then while I was there it rained most of the days. Monday, we attended the Memorial Day program and had lunch at the Legion Hall. Thursday morning we found out that the monstrous rains we had the night before had caused Nancy (my sister) and Terry’s creek to flood and their horse pasture was completely filled with sand and boulders that had been carried down stream by the flooding waters. This horse pasture normally looks better than most people’s yards. The flood took out part of the fence and the gate, and the horses ran for high ground, but stayed in the yard. We had lots of closed roads in the area due to washed out bridges. What a mess. It will take a long time to repair the damage that one storm caused. Don (my brother) called Thursday morning and said he spent the night scooping water out of his window wells so their basement didn’t flood. Friday was mom’s birthday and we went to a new restaurant in Decorah. Saturday, we all took off, compliments of Don and Fran, and went to St. Paul, MN to see “The Buddy Holly Story”. It was great and we had a wonderful day. Monday, I started my drive back – in the rain. Today (Wednesday) the sun is shining and the weather is beautiful, we’re at Riverview Campground in Narrows, VA. We will move from here up to Salem, VA which is near Roanoke. We’re getting closer to Susan, EJ and our grandsons.
Wednesday 6/7/00 18 miles/2405 total 146 Trail Days. VA 635 to Va 42.
The rain stopped and the sun was trying hard to peek through the clouds. The 1300 foot climb up to Bailey Gap went quickly then it was eight miles along the ridgeline at an elevation of 4000 feet. The trees are thick and the leaves are all full grown, so viewing points are rare. Too bad that when mountains are so beautiful and lush with growth, we can see so little of them. The AT is often called the “green tunnel”. The Trail along this ridgeline on Big Mountain and Potts Mountain is very rocky. The rocks slow progress and are hard on feet. Most hikers comment that their feet get sore when hiking through a lot of rock, and we have been going through lots of rock the past few weeks. My left foot is fine but the right one is complaining.
Lunch at War Spur shelter was pleasant. “Pushma” and “Pullya”, thru-hikers a couple of years older than I, were just finishing their lunch break. They are from Annandale, VA and once biked 4100 miles across the United States. Just after they departed, “Lost Sailor” arrived. He lives in Indianapolis and is also posting his journal on a website. We had a lot in common and talked until I was behind the schedule I had set for myself.
The climb up out of Johns Creek Valley was long and rocky. I did not catch up with “Pushma” and “Pullya” until we reached the top. “Pullya” and I talked as we walked. He recently retired from the dreaded GAO (Government Accounting Office). Military leaders often fear them more than the enemy.
I arrived at the day’s ending point nearly an hour later than anticipated. “Fenway”, from Boston, and “Nails”, a young lady from New Hampshire, were resting in the grass by the highway.
Betty arrived a few minutes later. She had been there an hour or more before and had shuttled a couple of hikers, T.J. and Stan from Kissimmee, to a little store about five miles away.
We moved the RV from Pearisburg to Salem, VA.
Betty: When I got to the day’s ending point, it was in front of a farm house with a circular drive that went down past the pasture and right to the trail. The trail cuts across one of their fields. There were “Private Drive” signs posted, so I went up to the house, where I could see several people lounging in the yard, to ask permission to wait out in their drive. The folks that own the farm were very pleasant and said I could wait there. It turns out the people resting in the yard were from Warren’s AT expedition, taking a break before heading back on the trail. The farm owners have sodas and some snack items that they will sell to hikers and they also will give water to hikers. When I returned to the car, TJ and Stan were just coming down the trail. They asked if I knew about the grocery store up the road. I told them I’d take them up to it. They are both retired school teachers. They are both from Tennessee and taught in Tennessee, but recently retired to Florida. When we got back from the store, Chuck had finished his day.
On a side note and added much later – TJ died some years later and Stan still says that they were ready to leave the trail the day I gave them a ride to the store. He said that kept them going and they were really thankful for the assist. It’s always nice to hear that things like that are appreciated.
Thursday 6/8/00 26.3 miles/2431 total. 147 Trail Days. VA 42 to VA 624. (Dragons Tooth)
A 1500 foot climb up Stinking Creek Mountain then five miles along a rocky ridgeline; sounds like a repeat of previous days. The ridge was flat limestone slabs that had been pushed up to a 45 degree angle. A steep drop or overhang was on the north edge and a rock slab extended hundreds of feet steeply to the south. Lots of broken rock and the steep angle made walking tedious and slow. However, the large expanses of rock on the high ridge provided extensive views of the mountains to the south. While getting a picture of this impressive area, I saw that three goats had come within a few feet of me. They appeared to be domestic goats that have been living freely in the mountains for years. They jumped from ledge to ledge and had little fear of me. They tried to lick the salt off my hiking stick before I rescued it.
I plopped down on the ground beside Niday shelter for lunch. “Pushma” and “Pullya” joined me. Two night hikers were sleeping in the shelter so we tried not to disturb them. “Fenway” and “Nails” arrived just as I was leaving.
In the afternoon, on top of Brush Mountain, I found a memorial for Audie Murphy. He was killed when a plane crashed on this mountain in 1971. During his 47 years, this Texas farm boy, became our most decorated soldier in WWII, wrote the best seller “To Hell and Back”, and was a movie star loved by millions of Americans (including my wife). The memorial was erected by the Veterans of Foreign War chapter in Christiansburg, VA.
Late afternoon descending into Trout Creek valley, I met Warren Doyle hiking up the trail toward me. Even though he and his group have been about a day ahead of us for the 40 days since we left Springer Mountain, we had never met on the trail. I did see him one time for about 30 seconds as he drove by in his van. This time we had the opportunity to talk. Warren gave me some good info about the tough Dragons Tooth Mountain portion that I would be crossing during the next few hours.
Dragons Tooth Mountain was another 1500 foot climb, then about five miles along the sharp curved spine of the Dragon. Plenty of rocks provided a suitable finish to a long day. The descent down from Dragons Tooth was steep and over large broken rock formations.
Betty picked me up and we dashed to The Home Place, just a few miles away near Catawba, for a great, all you can eat, home style dinner. This is a large old farm home that does a booming business as a quaint restaurant.
Betty: Today, if it hadn’t been for Chuck meeting Warren Doyle, Chuck might have been waiting for a long time for his ride. I was on my way to pick him up and had left the RV about an hour ahead of schedule. I was driving up Hwy 311 and after several miles I saw the Appalachian Trail sign and a parking lot and pulled in. Some of Warren’s folks, whom I’ve met along the trail, were there so we started chatting. I wasn’t expecting Chuck until 7PM and he said “maybe 8”. So when 7PM came and went, I wasn’t concerned. About 8PM Warren showed up. He said “Are you meeting your husband here?” I said, “Yes”. He said, “Well, he thinks you’re meeting him on 624”. I just about died a thousand deaths – it was 624 that I was supposed to be on. So off I went, with Warren shouting after me, “I think I just saved your marriage”. I got to 624 just minutes before Chuck did. Anyway, it all turned out OK, but if Warren hadn’t said something about his chat with Chuck, who knows how long it would have taken me to realize that I was in the wrong place.
The Home Place is quite an experience. They are very “hiker friendly” and invite hikers to come and dine, and to pitch their tents out in the yard. Children who had tired of eating and visiting were playing outside. The restaurant has a set menu and the portions are enormous. They ask if you want to take the leftovers home with you and most of the people we saw leaving were carrying styrofoam containers.
Friday 6/9/00 26 miles 2437 total. 148 Trail Days. VA 624 to US 220.
What a long, grueling day. As usual the early morning hours were fine, but as the day went on, it got hotter and the miles dragged. I stopped to put out a campfire someone must have thought was extinguished. When I arrived it was burning well, and no one was nearby. After stomping and kicking sand at it, I realized all those hot logs were going to continue to burn unless doused. Reluctantly, I poured the better part of a one liter bottle of water on them. This fire was less than a half mile from a trailhead with a well marked parking area. Usually, the litter, trash and vandalism is most prevalent in areas with easy public access.
The trail left the Jefferson National Forest and went east then south through an easement that is about a quarter mile wide and nearly 25 miles long. A highlight of this area is McAfee Knob with large slabs of rock cantilevered out over a vertical drop of several hundred feet.
Tinker Ridge also had spectacular rock formations. Large chunks of rock the size of a house were littering the entire ridgeline. As the trail moved south, I couldn’t help but think that this probably was not the most direct route to Mount Katahdin, Maine. I ran out of water about 5PM and still had over seven miles to go. It was a very warm day.
Earlier in the day, I met Linda Taylor and her daughter, Elizabeth. Linda is a Florida Trail member from the Halifax-St. John’s Chapter. She had seen our RV back at the campsite.
When we returned to our RV camp, we were met by Wayne Howell who is supporting his wife, “Virginia Bluebird” and his brother, “Mississippi Hiker”. Wayne and Betty promised to talk more at another time.
A couple of beers, a pizza and the journal write up, put the time past midnight.
Saturday 6/10/00 21 miles/2478 total. 725 miles on the AT. 149 Trail Days. US 220 to VA 43 (Bearwallow Gap).
Betty drove me to the starting point on US 220 just outside Daleville and Troutville, VA. She was then on her way to Charlottesville, VA to visit our daughter, Susan, and family.
While taking a break on my way up Fullhart Knob, a hiker stopped to talk with me. It was “Bones” from Mobile, AL. We continued to talk and walk the ten miles to Wilson Creek. “Bones” and I had a lot of interests in common and the miles went by quickly. He is 31 years old and a strong fast hiker. Carrying a full pack, he was matching my pace and I was only toting a day pack. At Wilson Creek we caught up to Warren Doyle’s Expedition 2000 group. They were relaxing along the cool creek and some were soaking their feet.
It was a hot day. Someone said it was over 90 degrees. This slowed my pace a bit in the afternoon. The last eight miles were along or near the beautiful Blue Ridge Parkway. The AT crossed the parkway several times.
After Betty picked me up, we moved the RV to a Truck Stop along I-81. The Interstate noise and trucks running their generators combine to make more racket than we really need.
Betty: I drove into Charlottesville this morning. It’s about 119 miles from where we left the RV. I made it there in time to go to Bobby’s baseball game. What fun!! After the game we all went out to lunch at the Brick Oven. I posted my journal at Susan’s house, we discussed the upcoming hiking plans, then I hustled back to pick up Chuck.
Sunday 6/11/00 21 miles/2499 total. 150 Trail Days. VA 43 to Thunder Ridge Overlook on the Blue Ridge Parkway.
We were at the Trailhead by 7AM and most of the Warren Doyle Expedition 2000 folks were starting their hike. Betty and I chatted briefly with Warren and “Anonymous Badger” (“AB”), then I was off with them. It was obvious right away that it was going to be a hot humid day. I wondered if the three quarts of water I was carrying would be enough.
Initially the trail descended about a thousand feet to Jennings Creek, then it was a long three thousand three hundred foot climb up Apple Orchard Mountain and Thunder Ridge. This was spread over 12 miles and lasted until mid afternoon. Climbing in the heat and humidity resulted in being totally drenched with sweat.
I met a southbound hiker, “Flip Flop”, he tried to start at Mount Katahdin, Maine on 15 May but the trail was covered with snow. He decided to flip-flop by beginning at Harpers Ferry, WV, hiking south to Springer Mountain, GA then flipping to Maine and hiking south back to Harpers Ferry, WV.
It was long, it was hot, and Betty was waiting at Thunder Ridge Overlook with water and a Pepsi on ice in the cooler.
We moved the RV to Buena Vista. The sign entering town says: “Welcome to Buena Vista, Home of 6002 Happy Citizens and 3 Old Grouches.”
Betty: After church today, I quickly changed into shorts, headed to the nearest store for ice and drinks and headed up to the parkway. The RV sitting in the hot sun in a truck stop was not the ideal place to be. It was cooler up on the ridgeline. “Levi” and I waited there for Chuck. Nothing like this kind of weather to remind you how nice it is to be in an RV park.
Monday 6/12/00 14 miles/2513 total. 151 Trail Days. Thunder Ridge Overlook on BRP to US 501 (Bridge over James River).
Knowing that we had an easy day, we had a second cup of coffee and caught up on some chores before hitting the trail.
Betty walked out to the Thunder Ridge Overlook with me. We met “Scarlet” and “Lizard” at the overlook. They are with the Warren Doyle group. They said their group calls themselves the “Doylies” and these two women are the “Decadent Doylies”.
The trail was mostly down, dropping 3000 feet to the James River. The miles went by quickly, but it was hot and humid again today. They say that hikers moving northward on the AT are “hiking with spring”. Guess I’m not moving fast enough because summer has caught us.
While taking a break at Motts Creek Shelter, some of the hikers sat in the cool creek. A four foot water snake was swimming by “Foxtrot”. When I told her she let out a loud scream and came to a hover over the water. We all had a good laugh.
Later, I overtook “Dusty” and “Cowpie”, both are from New Zealand.
Betty: We are in Glen Maury Park and Campground in Buena Vista. This is a 315 acre park with swimming pools, playgrounds, ballfields, a river, skating rink, tennis courts, picnic shelters and special event facilities. We got here after the office was closed, and the sign said, park and put your money in the door. So we did. We have a nice grassy, level spot. When we first arrived, there were a few people down here on the lower level, but most campers were above in some shaded sites without any grass.
Chuck:
Correction Correction Correction
On 12 Feb 00, I reported on a tour we took at the Stephen Foster State Folk Cultural Center. The tour guide, or possibly someone in our group, stated that Stephen Foster was never in Florida nor Kentucky. This struck me as strange since both the Florida and Kentucky state songs were written by Foster.
Now the correction: Kentucky’s good reputation is still intact. My cousin, Barbara Huttsell Morris, and her husband, Clay, live in Louisville. They have many generations of Kentuckians in their ancestry and their research revealed that Stephen Foster was in Kentucky at least two different times. Apparently, Florida’s song heritage is still on the shady side of questionable. This is only fitting, since most Floridians are not from Florida anyway.
My apologies to all from Kentucky and those who wish they were.
Betty: Tuesday – Things have changed in the last couple days. More and more folks are moving into our area. Our little haven now has hundreds of RV’s. There is a Fiddler’s Convention this weekend and it is such a “hot” item, that folks come from all over Virginia to join in the festivities. As so often happens on our trip, they start on Thursday night and we leave Thursday. Hopefully, we will have a chance to hear them warm up on Wednesday evening. In chatting with my neighbors, Jake and Fennie (short for Josephine), who are musicians, they will have a concert on Wednesday night for the local folks. Fred and Helen Fix, our other neighbors, are natives to this area. They came over when they saw I was putting out my awning. They helped with the awning and filled me in on the local history. There is a large plantation home sitting on the site about 100 yards from our RV. Fred Fix’s uncle lived there when Fred was growing up and he and Helen said as youngsters they used to go up there and trade comic books.
There was just a knock on the door. It was “Lion King” from Boca Raton/Ft. Lauderdale. He was stopping to say “Hi”. He is a thru-hiker, suffering terribly from the heat. I invited him in to sit and visit and cool down and have a cold drink. He told me he hitched a ride into the campground yesterday. He has been having a lot of trouble with the heat. He said he didn’t sleep at all last night and he tried to hitch a ride out today, but the guy took him the wrong direction, then it was so hot he just came back to the campground. Someone told him about us being here in the campground and he thought he’d stop by. When he appeared at the door he looked like he was near to having a heat stroke. It is incredibly hot out today. He stayed about an hour then it started to rain. He hadn’t anticipated the rain and didn’t have the fly (rain cover) on the tent, so he headed out to secure his tent. I think he’ll do fine now. The rain has cooled the afternoon off, and it’s time for me to head out to the trail.
Tuesday 6/13/00 22 miles/2535 total. 152 Trail Days. US 501 to US 60 on Long Mountain.
Betty dropped me at the start at 7:30AM and by 8AM I was sweat soaked. It was another hot, humid day so I was wet all day. I have been carrying one quart of water for every 5 mile increment after the first one, eg. today was about 20 miles, so I carried three quarts. That formula has worked well until the last few days, so I will start carrying a quart for every five mile increment.
The hike today was uneventful, I did catch up with “Blister Sister”, she is now hiking with one of her friends, “Limbo”. Also, at one point I noticed that the nature of the forest around me had changed dramatically. The trees were much larger than normal, both taller and thicker. There was less underbrush. Eventually, I came to a sign which explained that this area was a stand of virgin timber. It is being monitored by foresters doing research work. Included in this virgin area are large beech and hickory trees, a 300 year old chestnut oak, a white pine that is 157 feet tall and a 40 inch thick hemlock.
When I first started the AT, I said it was like a four-lane trail and had a steady flow of hikers. That “cluster” thinned out a few miles north of Springer Mountain. The pathway is usually about 18 inches wide and the brush is normally cleared to make a passageway about four feet wide at shoulder height even in thick areas. Of course, much of the trail winds through open woods with a thick, high canopy. The shade provided by the canopy limits the amount of underbrush. On a typical day, I usually see about a half-dozen other hikers. On weekends, maybe a few more local day hikers and those spending one or two nights on the trail. Almost everyday, I see at least two deer, three or four squirrels and chipmunks and a ruffed grouse or two. Today was typical.
Thursday 6/15/00 8 miles/2543 total. 154 Trail Days. US 60 on Long Mountain to Mountain Road 633.
Yesterday we took the day off and drove to Charlottesville, VA to visit our daughter, Susan, and her family. We were invited to speak to the first and third grade classes (our grandsons’ classes) about our trip. What a good experience, we loved it.
When we returned to the RV, my cousin, Linda, and her husband, Sam, had arrived and were enjoying performances by many of the fiddlers who were there for the regional convention.
This morning, Betty dropped us at my start point. The weather was cooler, the humidity seemed lower and we were flowing easily along the trail.
Sam has an interest in trees and birds and Linda is good with wildflowers, so we had a lot to discuss as we made our way down the trail. We were up Cold Mountain, across the bald and down to Salt Log Gap, before 2 PM, where Betty was waiting.
We moved the RV to Waynesboro then had a great meal at Captain Sam’s Seafood restaurant. It was a pleasant, relaxing day.