We rose at 5 am this morning. The house is super quiet. We talk quietly about how nice it is to have a big quiet hostel to ourselves, but we really both enjoy hiking closer to the bubble of hikers that hike north in big waves. We like the camaraderie of a trail family and seeing familiar faces over time. Not to mention the warmer weather is so wonderful to walk through. I miss my familiar plant friends, few of which have woken from their winter slumber so early in the season.
Appalachian Trail Day 52 - Dickey Gap to Partnership Shelter - (Mile 520 to Mile 534)
GG and I took a short hiatus from the trail to take care of things at home, but we are back for another section. We made the eight hour drive yesterday. We didn't want to spend more money for a hotel since there are a lot of great hostels in the next section and we are budgeting for those. So, we parked the truck on the road and walked into the Partnership Shelter, a two-story shelter which is about one-quarter mile from the road, behind the office of the Mount Rogers National Recreation Area.
We arrived in plenty of time to set up in the shelter and eat dinner. The weather remains cold and windy, so we each picked opposite corners of the shelter to avoid the occasional frigid wind that blows in. A few other hikers arrived before bed and they chose to sleep upstairs, so we have the downstairs to ourselves. We were in bed by dark, which is around 8 pm.
We woke up quite early at 5 am. We make coffee, but we don't want to pack while the gentlemen are sleeping upstairs, since it may wake them. We have so much time to spare before our shuttle, I decide to drive into town and get a hot breakfast, and GG agreed to join me. So we grab some breakfast burritos and a fresh coffee from McDonald's, which is the only thing open in Atkins, Virginia right now, other than the truck stop.
I came up with a cockamamie (and slightly complicated) plan for the next week. I arranged a shuttle with Cole to pick us up at Partnership this morning. Cole was unable to do the shuttle himself, but he will send a friend to take us back to Dickey Gap (mile 520). We will hike the 15 miles back here tonight, pick up the truck, then drive ahead to Weary Feet Hostel off mile 610, where I will leave my car for the next section. We will stay at Weary Feet tonight, then get picked up tomorrow by another shuttle driver to bring us back here tomorrow morning to continue on from here north. Whew! I should get into logistics!
Appalachian Trail Day 51 - Comers Creek Falls to Dickey Gap - TTFN (Mile 519 to Mile 520)
I had another lovely night on the ground. I am glad I explored and experimented with it; ground dwelling has some advantages, such as lighter pack weight and easy set-up. However, I am definitely not ready to give up my hammock just yet! Although my hammock kit adds an additional pound over the ground sleeping set-up, I think my hammock is much more comfortable, and I appreciate the saddlebag storage and roomy bug net. I think 16 ounces is a small price to pay for the additional comfort.
GG and I are up at first light, eating and packing very quickly. We backtrack to the AT and walk to the base of the falls, where we pick our way over the stream. Within 30 minutes we are at Dickey Gap. I turn off airplane mode on my phone, hoping we can call Cole for a pickup, but of course there is zero service here. We start the three mile walk to the truck. Thankfully it's downhill. Unfortunately, this road doesn't really have a shoulder, and the strip of grass between the road and a drop off is only feet wide in some spots. Semi-trucks whiz by at alarming speeds, as do a number of pickup trucks. No one stops to ask if we want a ride, but that is okay; we only have an hour walk to town.
We are halfway there when a car passes us going the opposite direction. It looks like Cole. I can't ask GG because she is up ahead. A few minutes later, the car returns and pulls off on the edge of the road. Cole jumps out! He says a friend of his gave him a call to say two older lady backpackers were walking down the road. I guess everyone in town knows about the crazy women hiking around the highlands in the bad weather!
TTFN!
Today's stats: One embarrassing mile, 151 feet gain, 150 feet loss
Trail Stats: 520 miles, 130K feet gain
Appalachian Trail Day 50 - Old Orchard Shelter to Comers Creek Falls (Mile 510 to Mile 519)
March 22 I slept surprising well last night on the ground, which is a remarkable admission from a diehard hammock camper. I did take some ibuprofen before bed, knowing that the tumbles I took yesterday would cause some aches and pains today. The one upside to the lower mileage is that my bruised hips are the only thing that hurts; I haven't hiked enough to have sore legs and feet!
We have no real plans for today. We are only 10 miles to Dickey Gap, which is where we need to get off the trail in order to walk to Troutdale and pick up my truck. We originally planned to hike to Partnership Shelter 15 miles further than Dickey Gap this section, but we covered such little ground this week due to the precarious weather and trail conditions, there is no way that is happening. We must return home by tomorrow night, as GG has a trail race next week. She enters them months in advance, and this was a last-minute trip while I had a gap in my schedule. She was able to accompany me with the caveat that she has time to prepare for her race.
GG and I break camp and sit at the picnic table, where we eat breakfast, and we linger to talk to the couple. Last night was his first night ever camping, and they really enjoyed the fellowship and campfire, as did we. I say my goodbyes and walk down the trail before GG, as I want to warm up with the effort of walking.
Less than two miles later we arrive at Fox Gap, which we have now driven by several times on our many shuttles with Cole. We cross the road and Fox Creek on a small footbridge. The creek looks like an inviting spot to soak our feet, but only if it were warmer!
While we walk, we talk of our options. We were planning to walk to Dickey Gap and into Troutdale this afternoon, then brave the traffic around Washington D.C. to get home tonight. Plan B is to stay on the trail tonight near Dickey Gap, then walk into Troutdale tomorrow morning, where we can get an early start and hopefully pass through DC before the traffic gets bad tomorrow afternoon. Actually, the traffic is always bad in DC, but it's much less so between 12 and 3 pm.
GG and I both have an extra day's worth of food, so we agree on Plan B, then consult our apps. There is a waterfall about one mile before Dickey Gap with a side trail that offers a small campsite above the falls next to a stream. The comments in the Far Out app report that it's beautiful place to camp, so we decide to check it out.
The hike is lovely, as is the weather. I know it's too early, but I look for morel mushrooms anyway, as these woods look like the perfect environment for the tasty fungi. I focus on the southern-facing, sun warmed patches of woods to no avail . I play music and dance around, enjoying the freedom and beauty of the trail. GG and I play hopscotch over the miles; she hikes ahead, and I pass her for a while, then she passes me when I take a break. We cross over lots of streams via bridges and rock-hopping.
The miles pass quickly, and we soon come to the blue-blazed side trail leading to the right, straight up the hill. We huff up the trail, which parallels the falls and then follows the stream above the falls. After only a quarter mile, we spot a flat site next to the stream. It's very small but will easily fit GG's tent and my tarp. GG lets me pick a spot first, since I need two trees to hang my tarp. I'm tempted to legit cowboy camp under the stars without the tarp, but I get a false sense of security by being under my tarp, always worried some unexpected rainstorm will appear out of nowhere.
We enjoy our last night of this small section in the woods. We have really made some memories on this hike, weather notwithstanding! Actually, the weather will contribute to the memories. I fall asleep to the sound of the rushing water.
Today's Stats: 9 miles, 1500 feet gain, 2440 feet loss
Trail Stats: 519 Miles, 130K feet ascent
Appalachian Trail Day 49 - Wise Shelter to Old Orchard Shelter - Ponies and a Campfire! (Mile 504 to Mile 510)
We woke before dawn after a fitful night's sleep. No coyotes howled, fortunately, however the wind was wicked. Every time I started to drift off into a nice, deep sleep, Bam! The wind would blast in through the front of the shelter. Nothing like a cold face full of wind to wake one up. I think I woke up at least 20 times last night. The temperature is so cold that I make breakfast and hot tea and get back in my down to enjoy it.
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| Snug in my bed inside Wise Shelter |
Appalachian Trail Day 48 - Elk Garden, VA to Wise Shelter - Ice, Mud, and the Highest Views in Virginia (Mile 495 to Mile 504)
We are up before dawn. Last night the time sprang forward for Daylight Savings Time, so we lost an hour, but we went to bed so early that we both had plenty of sleep. We check the weather, and just as predicted, the weather up on Mount Rogers is a balmy -15F with the windchill. It will be around -10F when we set off in an hour or so, but at least it will be sunny and warmer later today, getting up to 40F this afternoon as the high-pressure system starts to move through. I privately give thanks to the inventor of hand and toe warmers, of which we both are carrying large amounts.
We load our packs into the truck, grab large cups of fresh hot coffee from the store, and settle our bill with Paula. This place is a wonderful respite from the trail, and I thank Paula profusely for her hospitality and promise to leave a positive online review.
We drive back to Cole's place, where we park the truck, and we pile in for the return trip to Elk Garden, our winter gloves, hats, and hand warmers at the ready. We admire the wintry landscape on the drive up. The light dusting of ice and snow makes the trees and grass sparkle in the dim morning light, and the landscape becomes more arctic looking as we gain elevation. I also admire how confidently people in the mountains drive on twisting roads, while I hold onto the door handle to prevent being jostled by the pitch. We arrive at the parking lot and say our goodbyes as we pay him for the trip. The next time we see him will be when we hike into Troutdale after we complete the highlands.
Getting out of the car we are hit by icy blasts of wind and I run behind the small building housing a pit toilet to get out of the gale while I put on my winter mittens and hat before hoisting my pack. I am wearing a ridiculous looking but extremely warm bright orange rabbit fur-lined bomber hat that fastens under my chin. This hat accompanies me on any trip under 30 degrees. Absurd as it may look, this thing is amazing in this kind of weather.
GG is already moving up the trail from the parking lot when I step out from behind the shelter, and I hurry not only to catch up, but to stay warm. We fumble with the livestock gate that keeps the resident cows and ponies off the road. The temperature is 21F with 30 mph sustained winds and gusts that make us sidestep as we hike up the hill toward Mount Rogers. The wind is directly in our faces as we hike up a grassy bald devoid of trees to block the wind. The windchill is 2F, and with the gusts, drops below 0.
We wear our buffs over our lower face, but within minutes my face is numb from the cold, the wind biting at the exposed skin between buff and hat. My face is already chapped from the wind and rain coming up Whitetop, and I smeared Aquaphor on my cheeks and nose earlier, hoping to prevent additional windburn.
We make it to some brush on the edge of the woods after 30 minutes, but it feels like it took much longer. The scraggly buckthorn helps a little to block the wind, but not really enough to matter. I can tell GG is really struggling with the cold. I tell her we need to be honest with each other, and if our hands or feet get cold or we start getting concerned about our welfare we need to stop and deploy the tarp, where we can shelter in place from the wind in our down until it warms up. She states she doesn't need to do that and wants to keep going. I admonish her that this isn't just hypothermia inducing cold, but we are entering frostbite territory.
Thankfully we get to a trail junction and stop to heed the call of nature and decide we are both doing well enough to continue on our hike. The wind has abated a fair amount in the trees, but we still keep our heads down and follow the path underfoot. I look up briefly and spy a blue blaze on a tree. Oh man, we are off the trail! When did this happen? I turn on GPS and with relief see we are only a couple hundred yards off course.
We backtrack and see the AT turned right while this trail continued straightforward off the AT, an easy enough mistake. Back on the right trail, with white blazes guiding us, we continue to climb upward.
Shortly after, we encounter three young men heading the opposite direction. As they pull up in front of us, we exchange hellos, and I ask if they camped out last night. They reply in the affirmative and explain they are from Vermont on spring break. They came here thinking it would be significantly warmer this far south! They stayed in the shelter near the summit, and one of them forgot his sleeping pad in the car and didn't discover the mistake until they reached the shelter late last night. Happily, he survived the night with his digits intact.
The sun is rising, slowly warming the air but the wind remains blustery cold. We walk gingerly and focus on the ground, because ice is abundant. The beautiful crystals of ice rime pokes up out of the ground. The views are outstanding as we stop to admire the landscape from the highest mountain since Roan in North Carolina. The surrounding mountain ridges stand in stark relief against the crisp blue sky.
We stop at the Thomas Knob Shelter and eat lunch, talking to several other hikers seeking a brief shelter from the wind, then head north where we cross the 500-mile mark! Actually, we don't realize we crossed it until we stopped for a pit stop and looked at the map. We high five and take in the gorgeous views, looking out for the famous pony herds while we dodge piles of horse dung. The ponies normally roam the highlands, but they are obviously smarter than we are for not being at 5,000 feet of elevation in this weather.
The next four miles is mostly open balds interspersed with stands of stubby spruce trees. The sun warms the ground of the balds and melts the ice into deep and wide muddy puddles, which we have to step around to avoid the ankle-deep muck. We also must tread carefully around the trees, where the mud gives way to treacherous patches of ice. I get complacent and take a fall, landing painfully on my right hip. Ouch! We wind around huge rocks where I take two more falls, landing on the same place. I need to be more careful. We are already walking incredibly slow because of the conditions.
We are alert for ponies as we enter Grayson Highlands State Park near Massie Gap, where they are routinely found. Unfortunately, not a pony in sight, although we see a lot of fresh manure. We do pass a lot of day hikers and many backpackers who look woefully underprepared for the temperature. We find a coat on the ground, which probably fell off of someone's backpack. We have no idea which direction the hiker was traveling when they dropped the coat, so we hang it from a blueberry bush next to the trail. Hopefully it was a day hiker that will be able to pick it up on their return. Yet another reason not to hang stuff from your pack!
We arrive at Wise Shelter at 4 pm, absolutely spent from the cold. It took 8 hours to hike 9 miles because of the hazardous trail conditions. We both plan on sleeping in the shelter tonight, since the temperatures will dip to 25F, and the winds are still brisk.
Two spring breakers are already set up in the shelter, and we talk while we set up our sleeping spaces and make dinner. One of them said they dropped their coat, but uncertain where. GG and I look at each other with chagrin, as we explain that it's on the other side of Massie Gap, hanging on a blueberry bush.
I heat water on my small gas canister stove to pour into a Nalgene so I will have a nice hot water bottle to warm my bed. We go to bed shortly after sunset and prepare for a cold, cold night. I am wearing every one of my layers to bed, with my wool base layer covered by a down layer, topped with my rain gear for extra insulation. I even have my bomber hat on over my buff.
Today's Stats: 9 miles, 1519' ascent, 1647' descent
Trail Stats: 504 miles, 120k ascent
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Appalachian Trail Day 47 - Lost Mountain Shelter to Elk Garden - A Refuge from the Tempest (Mile 487 to Mile 495)
Last night was wild. The 40-mph wind howled all night, the rain beat heavily on the roof of the shelter, and the coyotes yipped like crazy from all sides of the shelter, adding to the cacophony. At least a tree didn't fall on top of us. GG slept like the dead and heard none of it. I was not as fortunate.
We pack up, steeling ourselves for the hike in this torrent. The rain is still coming down in sheets, and we are both so thankful for the nice dry shelter, but we need to meet Cole by 2:30 pm at Elk Garden. At least we will be warm and dry tonight!
The first mile is deliciously flat, and the trees give us some protection from the wind and rain, which has stopped for a moment. Very shortly the trail starts to angle upward toward Whitetop. The slope is manageable, but the wind is in our faces as we gain ascend. The trees keep decreasing in height as we increase in elevation, and soon the only protection from the elements are the twisted and stooped buckthorns.
For just a moment before we completely leave the trees for Buzzard Rock, the rain abates and becomes mist again. We shelter from the wind behind some big rocks and grab a quick snack and laugh at our situation. This isn't the first time we encountered crazy weather on Whitetop. In 2020, when we hiked into Damascus from Mount Rogers, we camped on the northeast side of Whitetop. The view from the hill in front of the parking area that night was absolutely breathtaking. A storm rolled in that night. The next morning, we left our camp set up while we hiked to Mount Rogers, also in the rain, but had to abort the hike because the temps dropped suddenly to 24F and the winds barreled in from the north, and the rain turned to snow and sleet. We returned to our camp to find inches of ice pellets and snow covering our gear. We were freezing by the time we packed our camp and literally ran southward down the mountain seeking shelter. By the time we reached Buzzard Rocks, the weather miraculously cleared, and the sun came out and we actually enjoyed some great views!
We are in good spirits as we continue up Whitetop, even though the rain resumes and stings our faces as we hike. We can't see a thing, since the fog is so thick the visibility is zero. We can see about 50 feet in front of us. Thank goodness we had amazing views (albeit briefly) the last time we hiked this area.
The heavy rain starts again as we cross the forest road to Whitetop, and we once again enter cover of trees. The trail is moss covered and years of hikers walking over the same path has eroded the dirt off the rocks underneath, making for tricky footing. The runoff from the heavy rain takes the path of least resistance, which is the trail. Slippery, moss-covered rocks and ankle-deep water running down the trail slows our pace. I am so thankful for my neoprene socks, which don't keep my feet from getting wet, but are wonderful at conserving my heat and keeping my feet nice and warm.
Even in the pouring rain and high winds, I love hiking through these woods. We walk under shelter of thick pine and spruce trees moss and twisted rhododendron are . The smell is divine as ever.
At 2:05 pm, one hour after leaving Whitetop, we near VA 600, and a few minutes later we are loading our things in the back of Coles car. He arrived 30 minutes early, so we won't have to wait in the rain! What a sweetie. I was fully prepared to set up my tarp to protect us while we waited for him, even carrying it on the top of my pack. He says he has to keep us alive so we can pay him, ha-ha. I give him a generous tip, because he really saved our bacon today! He drives us back to his house, where I pick up my truck.
30 minutes later we arrive at Grayson Highlands Store, and check in, where Paula (the owner) shows us to our room above the store. We start laundry and take showers, exploding our packs all over the spacious room so our wet stuff can dry out. We have to leave a path open so we can walk to the bathroom without tripping!
We go downstairs and order from the grill and I enjoy the most delicious cheeseburger and fries of my life. We retire back to our room, where GG has the bed, and I have a roll-away between the dresser and the closet. I check the weather and as expected, the temps on Mount Rogers are diving to -20F windchill with sustained winds of 40mph and gusts of 65mph. We are so thankful for the roof over our heads and the amazing food!
Today's Stats: 8.6 miles, 2500 feet gain
Trail Stats: 495 Miles, 117K elevation gain
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