Fun & Sick Times

Day 66

We woke up and left quickly to hike the 1.8 miles to US 60 where we tried to hitch. Two cars passed going the direction we needed in fifteen minutes. We feared it might take awhile. Then Yote showed up, also to hike into town, on this, his twenty-first birthday. We were also joined by a young brown dog from a side road where it looked like some kind of construction was going on. He was overjoyed to see us and we were happy to have his company. The third car that passed stopped for us and a kind, though hard of hearing, older gentleman took the three of us down the winding road to the town of Buena Vista, over nine miles away. Nepsis and I went to the Blue Dog Art Cafe where we had yummy cinnamon rolls, coffee, and hot chocolate. We used the local library some and resupplied at Family Dollar and the Amish Cupboard, the latter of which had some awesome snacks and fresh baked bread. We ate at the Blue Dog Art Cafe again for lunch where Yote was celebrating his birthday with some surprise family and friends. He offered us some of his birthday cake. A lot of locals talked with us and wished us well. So far it was the friendliest town we've stopped by at. On the way out we bought some strawberries from a farmer's stand. It didn't take too long before we got a ride back to the Trail. It was early evening as we headed up a steep incline that lasted almost three miles. From the top we hiked a little down to Cow Camp Gap Shelter where we spent the night, eating our strawberries before we went to sleep.

Miles hiked today: 5.6 Total AT miles completed: 806.4 Total AT miles left to hike: 1378.9

Day 67

We woke up a bit late after a cold evening and started hiking, as always. After a few miles we walked through a stretch of meadows with good views. The terrain wasn't too bad since we stayed up on the mountain tops. During the second half of our day we reached Spy Rock, a rock outcropping we had to climb up. The views were great, but there were lots of tourists. In fact, all day, we had seen more day-hikers and weekend-hikers on the Trail than ever before. When we arrived at The Priest Shelter we found the place teeming with tourists. Thankfully we still nabbed a spot in the shelter. There is a tradition at this shelter to write confessions in the trail journal, usually associating with Trail-related crimes such as yellow-blazing, using a vehicle to bypass part of the Trail, or washing dishes near where hikers get their drinking water. For most of the evening I played Taboo with a group of weekend-hikers before going to sleep.

Miles hiked today: 16.8 Total AT miles completed: 823.2 Total AT miles left to hike: 1362.1

Day 68
We woke up early and hiked a bit before heading down four miles off of the Priest. We hiked fast and stopped by the next shelter in the late morning. There were so many weekend-hikers milling about. We then hiked the three miles up Three Ridges Mountain, passing many weekend-hikers on the way. We felt good to hike so much faster than them, but anyone would after hiking every day for over two months. Once we were at the top it was just a few quick miles to Reed's Gap where we hitched a ride from a woman. She drove us five miles down winding roads to the Devil's Backbone Brewpub which was in the middle of a large piece of open property. The woman was surprised that the large parking lot was completely full. She claimed the most she'd seen was ten cars. Near the entrance was a gathering of packs where we placed ours. The place was packed as we filed in and pushed ourselves to the bar where we found Oconee, North Star, and Dawg. We arrived here around 2:30. We stood behind them and enjoyed beers. Although the building was huge the seating area was quite tight. The walls were covered with stuffed wildlife. After a couple hours and beer at the bar Nepsis and I sat at a table for dinner. A former thruhiker had recognized us for what we were and bought us another round of beers. Then Voodoo showed up and the six of us thruhikers got a table outside  at the beer garden. We had a great time and eventually got to playing corn-hole. Then a family of thruhikers arrived. The couple have a boy and a girl a year or two under ten and they are all thruhiking together. The kids were smart and friendly and North Star played with them a lot. We all stayed there until it was dark and then walked across the lawn and behind a building where the owners of the Brewpub let thruhikers camp. It was well past hiker midnight and we all fell asleep as quickly as we could.
Miles hiked today: 15.5 Total AT miles completed: 838.7 Total AT miles left to hike: 1346.6

Day 69

We woke up, packed up, and walked to the road to hitchhike back to the Trail. Hardly any vehicles passed, probably because it was early morning on a holiday, and soon Dawg joined us. After a bit a Guy in a pick-up truck picked us up. Nepsis rode in the front while Dawg and I had a chilly ride in the truck bed. When we got to the Trail we started hiking fast on flat terrain until we got to a road where there was trail magic. A middle aged couple and their friend offered us pancakes, sausages, coffee, powerade, watermelon, and homemade chocolate chip cookies. After we enjoyed this second breakfast we hiked on, fast again up the very gradual Humpback Mountain and down to a shelter where we had a late lunch. When we started hiking again we were very slow, even though the terrain was pretty easy. After a few miles we arrived at US 250 where Dawg was standing next to the guardrail. There was a sign posted on it with about thirty Waynesboro residents' phone numbers, all willing to come pick thruhikers for free. As Dawg was about to dial a number, a yellow pick-up truck pulled over and we all squeezed in the messy truck. He drove us to Waynesboro and gave us his card in case we needed to be driven anywhere else. He informed us that the hiker hostel in town was closed for a few more days so Nepsis and I went to the Quality Inn to check-in and clean up. At the hiker box there we found the shirt Nepsis had lost! On our way to dinner we ran into North Star, Dawg, Voodoo, Hoops, and Rough Bananas and all went to a local buffet-style restaurant together. After, we went back to the hotel room and relaxed by watching TV until we fell asleep.

Miles hiked today: 19.2 Total AT miles completed: 857.9 Total AT miles left to hike: 1327.4

Day 70

We woke up, ate continental breakfast, and hung out in the room until we had to check out. Since we were taking a zero, we walked over to a park where the town allows thruhikers to camp and set up our tent. We then had lunch at a cafe and bookstore where I was finally able to obtain a good book to read on the Trail, a collection of short stories by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. We then caught a bus to the other side of town and got off at Walmart. From there we walked a mile to a movie theater where we saw X-Men: Days of Future Past. Once it was over we walked into the lobby only to find it was pouring rain outside. After deliberating, the manager offered to let us use their phone and Nepsis called the man who had picked us up the day prior. In ten minutes he came and dropped us off at Walmart so we could resupply and eat a cheap dinner from their deli area. We took the bus back to the other side of town and walked to the park. It was raining and we decided to stay at the hotel another night instead of camping out. It was easy to persuade me to do so because my stomach had felt weird for the past few hours. So we took down the tent and walked back to the hotel. Very soon after arriving in the room I rushed to the bathroom with diarrhea. I collapsed on the bed. A little while later I had to rush to the garbage bin to throw-up dinner. And more diarrhea. And then I threw up whatever was left. Nepsis went out to buy Gatorade and a small pack of crackers for me. I stayed in bed and watched bad TV with my stomach hurting. It was hard to sleep, but I did. I felt extremely dehydrated, but could only manage a few tiny sips of Gatorade during the night. Every few hours I made a trip to the bathroom for more diarrhea.

Day 71

I woke up feeling better, but still weak, so we decided to stay another night at the hotel. I stayed in bed all day, eating only the pack of crackers and drinking the Gatorade. I didn't have much of an appetite. Again, we watched whatever was most tolerable on TV and rested all day long until we went to sleep.
              

Cooler Weather

Day 60

We stayed in bed for quite some time before eating the continental breakfast and returning to our hotel room where Nepsis, North Star, and I rested until noon when we had to check out. Nepsis and I went back to the outfitter where she bought a new pack on sale to replace her cheap pack which was falling apart. After, we went to the coffee shop. While I was using the restroom a young guy standing behind Nepsis in line decided to buy her drink for her. You know you're beautiful if someone is willing to buy your drink when you're in hiker mode. After finishing the drink we started hiking just over a mile to a road we turned on. This road took us to another road that winded back in the woods to the Flying Mouse Brewery. We enjoyed their craft beer, which we were spoiled with in Grand Rapids. All the hikers ever buy is cheap beer which we're not so fond of. After having our fill, we wobbled back to the Trail and hiked up a mountain, passing the point that marked a third of the AT, a day before being out here two months. We hiked on to Wilson Creek Shelter and arrived just before dark.

Miles hiked today: 11.2 Total AT miles completed: 735.2 Total AT miles left to hike: 1450.1

Day 61

We slept next to a middle aged hiker named Symphony who kept waking us up with his snoring. As a result, we were tired all day. It was pretty cold in the morning and we stayed under our quilt for quote some time before getting to hiking. The terrain was pretty easy and the Trail started to follow along the Blue Ridge Parkway, switching back and forth, and crossing the road at scenic views. At one such place a car was parked and a couple were taking photos with their tablet. When they saw us they bombarded us with questions about our hike and took a photo of us as if we were a tourist attraction. Further up the Trail someone left a small pile of snacks so we took a few. All day long we passed through a tunnel of green interrupted by the pink and white blooms of the rhododendrons and mountain laurels. Ever since the rain in Daleville the days had been cooler, making hiking easier and more enjoyable. However, since we were tired we hiked a short day and stopped early at Cove Mountain Shelter for the night. We rested, talking to other hikers who passed through and I started reading Treasure Island which I found in a hiker box on Daleville. We went to sleep early, thus ending two months on the Trail.

Miles hiked today: 13.8 Total AT miles completed: 749 Total AT miles left to hike: 1436.3

Day 62

We woke and hiked quickly downhill, and up and over Fork Mountain. A couple of miles later we started a long ascent that lasted the next ten miles. It was all up, but not too steep and gradually became less so. We went up Floyd Mountain and Apple Orchard Mountain that had an FAA tower on top that looked like a giant soccer ball. Just past the summit was a giant rock squished between two rock walls we had to go under. It's known as the Guillotine. A mile from there was Thunder Hill Shelter where we spent the night. Since we hiked fast there was still several hours of daylight left, but we decided to stop all the same.

Miles hiked today: 17.2 Total AT miles completed: 766.2 Total AT miles left to hike: 1419.1

Day 63

We were the last to get up, but the first to start hiking today. We hiked fast, mostly downhill with one small uphill. We hiked all the way down the elevation we had just hiked up yesterday. Once down from the mountains we followed Matt's Creek to James River and followed that a mile to the James River Foot Bridge, named after William Foot, the longest footbridge on the AT. Right after crossing the bridge, we hitched to Glasgow to resupply. First we went to the one restaurant in town and bought a pizza. We ate half of it and brought the rest with us in a box to the library. We left our packs out front like we usually do and left the pizza with them. After a couple of hours on the computers we came out to find ants all over the pizza. Despite this, Nepsis found two slices she considered safe and ate those. I chose not to partake. Instead we bought some food to eat along with resupply items and ate our dinner on a picnic table outside the grocery store. After, we felt too full to hike the 1.7 miles to the next shelter and opted to stay in town the night. An Eagle Scout constructed what is practically a shelter in town, except it has electrical outlets that didn't work, a port-o-potty instead of a privy, and an outdoor shower with cold water.

Miles hiked today: 14.6 Total AT miles completed: 780.8 Total AT miles left to hike: 1404.5

Day 64

I woke up and Nepsis informed me she felt sick all night and barely slept, so we took a zero. Fortunately, we were in a town with a free shelter to stay in. Nepsis pretty much slept and read all day in the shelter while I spent most of my time at the library. At first I felt bad for taking another zero so soon after the other one. We see a lot of hikers going fast and there is some pressure to go fast too. But we don't have to go that fast. I think we should slow down a bit, take a bit more of the Trail in. It is a difficult balance to achieve. Some people meander along the Trail and I don't think many of them will reach Katahdin. If we stopped every time we hurt or were tired, we'd never make it. We have to push ourselves toward the goal without losing our sense of the present. We have to choose to stop for a couple hours at a nice swimming hole, but push ourselves to go another five miles after.

Day 65

We woke up and Nepsis was feeling much better, but not completely ship-shape. Another hiker scheduled a shuttle to take us back to the trailhead at 8:30, later than we usually begin. The first part of our hike was up Bluff Mountain, a big ascent, but not too steep. We hiked slowly, especially uphill, all day. Thankfully, our big climb of the day wad right at the beginning and the rest of the day wad either downhill or quite flat. We hiked slow, but steady and the last several miles was alongside Brown Mountain Creek where there were ruins  of a small community of freed slaves who had settled there in the early 1900s. We passed the eight hundred mile mark just before arriving  at the Brown Mountain Creek Shelter where we fell asleep to the rushing waters of the creek nearby.

Miles hiked today: 20 Total AT miles completed: 800.8 Total AT miles left to hike: 1384.5

Cliffs

Day 56

We woke up and after a couple of miles climbed the big Brush Mountain where there was a memorial to Audie Murphy, the most decorated American soldier of WWII, who died in an airplane crash nearby. There were also some cans of beer on the ground near the momument we enjoyed. We then walked across the ridge and down the mountain. The next mountain climb was gradual and rocky, but we still went very slow, tired from yesterday's hike. At the top of Cove Mountain were monoliths, which are massive single stones, known as Dragon's Teeth. We climbed on top of the biggest one for the views and photos. From there we had a steep rock scramble down. We had to use our hands a lot and at some parts they had metal rods stuck in the rock to form ladders. It was fun, but slow, and felt like bouldering. When the path became normal we passed through woods where rhododendron bushes were blooming and down to Newport Road where we walked down the road to the Four Pines Hostel which was just a big three bay garage on a man's farm. Inside the hostel it was very cluttered and smelly. On one side was a line of old Army cots and one bed covered with hikers' gear strewn all over them. A couple of hikers were still sleeping in them even though it was evening. In the middle of the room was a table with several old tattered couches. Other desks and tables and chairs were everywhere covered with tools, books, and other junk. There were also two fridges and a few microwaves. In the corner was a small bathroom where we took showers with used towels. Most of the hikers sat outside on benches talking and playing cornhole. It was a donation only place and the owner was very relaxed. He spent most of the time telling tales to the hikers outside and let anyone with a license drive an old blue van to the local convienance store. We rode with some cross country bicyclists who were also there to resupply and get some pizza for dinner. Since all the cots and the bed were taken they were sleeping in the barn behind the hostel. They offered to let us sleep there as well. The walls of the barn were lined with plywood where we could sleep, but Nepsis and I didn't fit together on it so we had to seperate. She had the quilt and I used my down jacket as a blanket. We tried to sleep despite the fact that there was a giant, loud fan right above us.

Miles hiked today: 16.8 Total AT miles completed: 698.3 Total AT miles left to hike: 1487

Day 57

I couldn't sleep because the fan made me too cold and Nepsis couldn't sleep because the fan was too loud. After trying for a couple of hours we finally gave up and took our sleeping gear outside for some cowboy camping. It took me awhile to fall asleep even then, and when we did wake up very early our sleeping quilt was wet with dew. We got up and ate leftover pizza for breakfast. When we left to get back to hiking, only one other thruhiker was awake. We walked a couple of miles and passed the 700 mile mark. It was pretty easy going up Catawba Mountain to McAfee Knob where there were great views and photo opportunities on cliffs that stuck out. This is the most photographed place on the whole Appalachian Trail. Dark clouds were forming so we hiked fast down the mountain and had lunch at a shelter before it rained. We left just as the rain stopped and hiked a few miles before going up a small mountain. At the top we hiked for a half mile along the Tinker Cliffs which also had great views. Just down the mountain we spent the night at Lamberts Meadow Shelter.

Miles hiked today: 16.3 mi Total AT miles completed: 714.6 Total AT miles left to hike: 1470.7

Day 58

We woke up early and rushed along through an easy, though sometimes rocky, nine miles down to the town of Daleville. Just before arriving it began to pour rain, but luckily there was a hotel right where the AT entered the town. We checked in for two nights and cleaned ourselves up before heading to an AYCE pizza buffet for lunch. Later we went to Kroger to buy some cereal, a gallon of milk, a gallon of chocolate milk, a large bottle of root beer, and a carton of white grape juice. These are all things I'd been craving the past few days. Other than those two outings and doing laundry at the hotel, we stayed in the room all day and watched whatever was on television. I also started writing this blog post and started sending ourselves all of the photos we've taken so far to our email just in case something happens to our Smartphone.

Miles hiked today: 9.4 Total AT miles completed: 724 Total AT miles left to hike: 1461.3

Day 59

We woke up for our zero day and went to eat continental breakfast. Dawg was there and he told us that couple did take him back to their home and he had a wonderful time eating home cooked meals, drinking moonshine, and resting. After breakfast we went back to the room to relax with more television, blog writing, and photo sending. This is pretty much what we did all day. Around lunch we went to a coffee shop and an outfitter to buy a new pocket knife and sock liners for Nepsis. We resupplied at Kroger, ate dinner at a Mexican restaurant, and spent the rest of our time in our room. Later in the day we found North Star in the lobby and invited him to share our room since all the hotels in town were fully booked.

Opportunities Taken and Missed

Day 52

We woke up and hiked a very fast six miles on flat ground before making a two mile climb up. At the top we hiked a couple more hours across a ridgeline and a bit down to Sugar Run Gap. From here we journeyed a half mile down a gravel road to the Woods Hole Hostel. The hostel was on an organic farm right next to the owners' old wood cabin. As soon as we got there a worker named Stone Bear made two delicious giant smoothies for us in giant mason jars. The bunkhouse was very rustic. The first floor had a small enclosed room, a big porch with a hammock, chairs, and benches, and a common area with a table, couch, fridge, and bookcase. Up a ladder was a large room crammed with small sleeping cots and one bed for couples we nabbed. Next door was an outhouse and an outside shower. The owners' cabin had a porch wrapped around it covered with rocking chairs and chair swings for us to relax in. They had some old fashioned clothes washing tools so after showering and resting for awhile we went to work on our filthy clothes. We were also able to fill a box with a bunch of gear items to send home that we felt like we didn't need anymore like our baselayers, mittens, and cup. This saved us four pounds of weight total. The scale at the bunkhouse told me I had now lost twenty pounds. At a random point during the day, the owner Neville came outside, yelling "yoga" with a basket full of mats and a few of us gathered for her twenty minute session on the lawn. I spent quite a bit of time playing with their dog. Nepsis and I, along with a few others helped with getting dinner ready for the many of us staying at the hostel. We had to set three tables squeezed in their small living room to accommodate everyone. Each place was set like a family style dinner and we enjoyed a freshly picked salad with greens from their garden, tahini dressiny, and homemade bread. Our entre was rice with ground meat and pesto and marinara sauces. After dinner I went with Neville and three other hikers to quickly clean up the kitchen and afterwards we had peach ice cream on cones. We went to sleep quite happy.

Miles hiked today: 13.1 Total AT miles completed: 620.9 Total AT miles left to hike: 1564.4

Day 53

We woke up early and made our way to the porch and soon we got the morning smoothies and fresh ground coffee we had ordered the night before. Unfortunately our order of bread was not quite ready for awhile so we didn't get to leave as early as usual. We ate more than half the loaf and headed out. It was fairly easy terrain across Pearisburg Mountain with some excellent views down to town. It started to rain a few minutes into hiking all the way down the mountain to the town of Pearisburg. We walked into town and ate lunch and blizzards at Dairy Queen. After we walked across the road to Food Lion to resupply and saw Dawg inside doing the same. As we always do, we stood outside the store taking food out of their unnecessary cardboard packages and putting some of it in Ziploc bags. We then sort them into snacks, breakfasts, lunches, and dinners, put them in individual bags and each take two. I was trying to hurry up because it was later in the afternoon and we still had seven miles to hike. As we were trying to figure everything out a couple approached us and asked if we were hikers. They said they were good friends of the owners of the Woods Hole Hostel and that they take hikers in when the local hotels and hostel are full. I was still trying to figure out our food situation and was only half listening, but they offered us a stay in their home. I thought it was some kind of hostel we would have to pay for so we declined and they went inside the Food Lion. We walked back to the Trail and started hiking on slowly. We talked about the couple outside Food Lion and Nepsis informed me that they wanted us to stay at their house for free. We immediately regretted our decision to decline the offer and slodged on in the rain. We hiked on across a bridge next to a busy road and past a huge, ugly power plant. Then we had to climb a mountain and the entire way up we talked about how we could be out of the rain in a warm house with a home cooked meal. We were not happy and went very slowly, imagining the couple finding Dawg in the Food Lion and him enjoying everything we had missed. To top it off, when we went to get water at a stream, I slipped on a big rock and fell on my back. We didn't get to Rice Field Shelter until just before dark and ate a quick dinner under moonlight before going to sleep.

Miles hiked today: 18.2 Total AT miles completed: 638.1 Total miles left to hike: 1547.2

Day 54

When we woke up it was real misty out so we didn't leave too early. We thought about doing some big miles so we could rush to the next town for a zero. The first several miles of our hike looked easy in our guide, but it wasn't as flat as it looked. It was a lot of difficult small ups and downs. Then we hiked down the mountain and spent a lot of time resting at a shelter. We gave up on our plan to hike far, but pushed on up the next mountain to Bailey Gap Shelter to spend the night.

Miles hiked today: 16.4 Total AT miles completed: 654.5 Total AT miles left to hike: 1530.8

Day 55

We woke up early and hiked across a ridge line  that looked flat in the guide book and was actually flat. Halfway across we reached a campsite near a road where North Star had spent the night. He called us over to share donuts with him. Someone had left a cooler with a large box of glazed donuts, raspberry danish, and a half gallon of orange juice inside. Greg showed up soon after and the four of us devoured almost all of it. We walked across the rest of the easy ridge line and down for a little break at a shelter. It was there we thought we might push our intended 21 mile hike to six more miles away. The six miles looked like it would be pretty easy. We hiked on fast up a big, tiring mountain and down through some pasture land and past the second largest oak on the Trail. After, we hiked up a steep mountain that seemed bigger than we thought it would be. It was very tiring, but it was the last up for the day and we had to move on. We hiked very quickly across the ridge line that looked like it was going to be flat which was great because it was evening already. It rained for about ten minutes which felt great in the heat. Right after the rain stopped, the terrain turned into diagonal rock slab cliffs that were now wet and very slippery. We carefully placed each step. The trekking poles helped a lot. I kept looking behind my shoulder to make sure Greg was still behind us. He is in his forties or fifties and I kept picturing him falling off a cliff and us not noticing until we got all the way to the shelter. It began to pour rain again as the terrain changed between the rock slabs and mud. Greg fell twice and Nepsis fell once in the mud, but they were alright. Finally the rock slabs were gone, and we walked faster and faster across the rest of the ridge. We were extremely tired, but we still hiked fast down to the shelter. We made it there about an hour before dark and were disappointed to find it full, so we set up our tent and went to sleep.

Miles hiked today: 27 Total AT miles completed: 681.5 Total AT miles left to hike: 1503.8