Up, Down, Up, Down, Up, Down

Day 47

We woke up and walked over to VA 16 to hitch into the town of Marion. One vehicle passed in the few minutes we stood there so we started walking the six miles. Very few vehicles passed, probably because it was early Sunday morning, but after awhile an older retired man picked us up and drove us down the mountain to Walmart. We resupplied there and walked across the road to McDonald's to blog with their wifi. We walked around the town a bit and went to a Japanese restaurant called Yummy Yummy for sushi. That was a good break from the typical American fare we find ourselves eating. For dessert we got ice cream bars at a gas station and headed back toward our mountain path. Soon, a middle-aged woman picked us up and dropped us off at the Trail. Just a couple of miles down the Trail we had to go up a short, steep incline, back down and up Glade Mountain. As we hiked I noticed tbat everything around me was green. Spring had definitely arrived and the brush was growing thick and when it was close to the Trail it poked and scratched me. We made our way down to an old one-room schoolhouse called the Lindamood School that was stocked with trail magic. There was cold sodas, any kind of supplies a thruhiker would need, and a bunch of snacks including full-sized candy bars. We pushed on fast to try to get to the Barn Restaurant before they closed, although we didn't know when they closed. Along the way were rolling green hills. We arrived at the road crossing a little after seven o'clock and although the sign said they were open until eight o'clock, they were not. We noticed across the road was a motel and so we easily convinced ourselves to just stay there the night. There was also a Sunaco gas station that was there, but everything inside just looked like trail food. Another thruhiker told us a pizza place would deliver to the motel so we had another pizza night and an actual bed to sleep in. Eating dinner and breakfast here would also mean we could go further before resupplying again.

Miles hiked today: 11.7 Total AT miles completed: 542.7 Total AT miles left to hike: 1642.6

Day 48

We woke up and walked over to the Barn Restaurant for a big country breakfast. We left with full bellies and started hiking on pretty flat land past the mileage for a fourth of the AT. Then we walked up the short, but steep Little Brushy Mountain. Then down and up the larger Walker Mountain. Down from there we headed up hilly green pasture land. To get over fences in this area stiles are erected as a sort of ladder for hikers to get over. At one such stile there was a cooler with sodas so we shared a root beer before moving on to the base of Brushy Mountain. It was also short, but steep and it was hard to convince ourselves to go up once again. Halfway down, we stayed at the Knot Maul Branch Shelter even though we had planned to go as far as possible before dark. We just weren't feeling it. As I rifled through my pack I discovered that I had accidentally left my camp shirt at the motel. Oh well! Less weight. At the shelter was a Cosmopolitan Magazine so we read some of it just because it was there and something to read. Most everything in it made me cringe. I don't really want to go back to the kind of culture depicted in that magazine. The values are way out of whack. North Star, Wiseguy, Gordon, and his dog Jack showed up right before dark and spent at least a good hour flipping through the magazine and making fun of the ridiculous content. We fell asleep to the constant screeching of a whippoorwill.

Miles hiked today: 13.9 Total AT miles completed: 556.6
Total AT miles left to hike: 1628.7

Day 49

We decided to do a big mileage day to make up for yesterday and got going pretty early. In a couple of miles we had to hike up another short but steep Lynn Camp Mountain before a couple of miles of relative flatness. As I walked my foot got caught on a short, thick stick and instead of being kicked away it stuck in the ground, tripping me. I fell hard on my side and flailed around like an overturned beetle as I tried to stand up. I had to take off my pack before I could stand. After we had to hike up four and a half miles. The beginning was steep, and gradually became less steep, but it was still up, up, up for a long time. We ate lunch at the top and accidentally left our Swiss army knife there, which we didn't realize until days later. After lunch westarted to hike across the ridge line which we thought would be easy. It wasn't. We had to hike across a series of steep ascents and descents during the hottest part of a very hot day. We became soaked with sweat. Eventually there was some more gradual elevation gains and losses and at long last we hike a couple of miles straight down to Jenkins Shelter where we spent the night.

Miles hiked today : 19.1 Total AT miles completed: 575.7 AT miles left to hike: 1609.6

Day 50

We woke up and almost immediately started hiking up a short and steep incline and across a flat area for a few miles. We went down again and filled up on water at Laurel Creek, right next to a road. As we filled our bottles a van pulled up and the couple inside told us they were about to set up some trail magic at a parking lot a little bit down the Trail. When we got there they were hurriedly setting everything up. In no time at all they were cooking hot dogs while we were eating applesauce, fresh fruit and vegetables and drinking cold Gatorades. They also had a bunch of snacks we took with us like poptarts, oreos, pastries, and full-sized candy bars. They also had nice toilet paper and wet wipes we restocked on. They had free outlets so we could recharge our phone from a generator and they had a stack of cards so we could write a Mother's Day card for them to send out. They thought of everything! They even had nice dog food for when Gordon showed up with his dog, Jack. They came to provide us with this amazing trail magic during their vacation time in honor and memory of their daughter's fiance who thruhiked in 2010. The following year he was diagnosed with colon cancer and passed away the next year. We stayed almost two hours before heading out. We hiked briskly over some pretty easy terrain for the next seven miles to US 52 where there would have been incredible views of the valley if there weren't power lines right in front of us and a huge roaring highway winding through the valley. We turned right on US 52 and hitched into the small town of Bland. We got dropped off at Dairy Queen to combat the heat with a couple of medium blizzards. As we ate, we walked over to Subway and picked up some subs to take with us for dinner and on to the library to use their computers awhile. We then hitched back to the AT and hiked a couple mote miles to Helveys Mill Shelter where we spent the night.

Miles hiked today: 14 Total AT miles completed: 589.7 Total AT miles left to hike: 1595.6

Day 51

We woke up with the birds. They always sing loudest at sunrise and sunset. The day started with a stretch of very small ups and downs and then up the sizeable Brushy Mountain. On the way down we passed the 600 mile mark and went over a short and steep mountain and crossed a wooden suspension bridge. It was another scorching day so at a road we walked a half mile to a small country grocery store that sold more fishing gear than anything else and got some cold sodas and cold ice cream. We hiked a couple more miles and pitched our tent on a side trail. We haven't set that thing up since Day 34. The side trail led to Dismal Falls and we immediately waded into the river at the top of the small waterfall. I proceeded to climb down the falls to the swimming area. Unfortunately there was a lot of largw rocks in the water and I slipped, landing hard on my knees. Since it was also pretty cold I ended my swim there and climbed back up the falls. When I got out of the water I noticed a bunch of tiny black squiggles squirming all over the bottom half of my body. I freaked out and jumped aroung swiping them off with Nepsis' help. I think they were baby leeches. After that excitement we ate dinner and went to sleep.

Miles hiked today: 18.1 Total AT miles completed: 607.8 Total AT miles left to hike: 1564.4