Week 8: Big Miles

Day 50: Virginia Creeper

Saturday, April 27th

0 miles today

471.3 miles total

Sometimes it feels like we’re not hiking at all. I had a pop tart for breakfast but toasted instead of cold with peanut butter. I’m trying to remember what we did this morning. We packed up, check out was 11 so we left our room at 11:01, right on time. I was ready to go, my new shoes laced up, water filled, pack weighed and by the door. I forgot that Spencer needed to go to the library to fill out some forms and stuff so we sat down and waited for him to return.

I threw darts for the hell of it and when I got bored of that I laid in the hammocks outside and listened to blue grass and reggae. I saw Joe throw his old shoes up in the tree so I grabbed mine and did the same, it’ll be cool to come back here someday in the future and be able to say those are my shoes. The sun was hot so we went back under the covered area and the clock ticked by more and more and still no sign of Spencer.

Just after 2:45, I think it was, Spencer came in the door. It took a lot longer than we thought. So I was like “alright gets get going” while there trying to talk each other into taking another rest day. Then it turns into a ‘let’s just hike a few miles.’ Which turns into ‘why don’t we just rent bikes and do the creeper trail now instead of at trail days when it’ll be packed and then we can hike after.’ So somehow I’m convinced and at 2:54 I check the website for the bike rentals and their last trip up the mountain is at 3 and their a quater of a mile down the road but they have bikes for us. So.. they say when the opportunity arises on this trail, you take it, and what’s everyone’s biggest regret? That they didn’t take their time, so at that moment we all take it as a sign to haul butt down there. Five minutes later we’re in a 15 passenger van with our bikes towed behind heading 17 miles up the mountain, an hour long ride. When we get up there we realize we won’t be hiking today.

Sheryl took our pictures and told us about the Christmas tree farms in the area before we started meandering down the trail taking videos and pictures. We came over our first bridge and I saw Spencer stopped so I started to stop and thought it was a good time to try and do a little power slide just to look cool and I did for a couple seconds then kept sliding and started to fall back on my ass. It all happened so fast and so slow. I didn’t feel pain but the blood said otherwise and eventually adrenaline goes away and Joe saw me on the ground. Hardly a mile into the ride. Don’t worry, I had a helmet on, just no butt pads. I brushed it off and we kept going through and continued to stop for good views and water falls. There was a guy fly fishing at one and I watched him whip the line like it was nothing. Spencer and I have been talking about getting a small rod to take hiking with his and that moment kind of solidified that plan.

The Virginia creeper trail is 17 miles of bike riding all down hill through the woods and farm fields and along the river. It used to be an old coal and iron railroad that got the name for how slow it was and stopped running in 1977. There was a cool shop and the hellbender cafe halfway down the trail,  where we were bombarded by scouts as we tried to order chicken tenders. If I didn’t hike the trail I would’ve never know about this bike ride and how thousands of people come here just for this. I’m glad we ended up doing it.

We got back and surprised everyone but not really because our packs were still sitting by the entrance. We got our same room again and got our loaner clothes in to walk to subway for dinner. When we got back we watched happy Gilmore (my first time) and I didn’t drink someone else’s beer.

Day 51: By the River

Sunday, April 28th

15.7 miles today

487 miles total

It was another good sleep last night and I woke up to Joey who’d already had breakfast. I found some pop tarts and frozen waffles that were unclaimed and I made some herbal tea in a North Carolina mug. Everyone was surprised to see us up so early and jokingly asked if we were doing another.

Getting to Virginia feels like I’ve passed the initial test of strength and will. It really feels like I’ve done something. They say once you reach hot springs it’s just bad luck if you end up getting off but I didn’t really feel that until getting here. Now I feel comfortable in all aspects of the hike: doing the hostel thing, getting just enough food, knowing how much water to carry, what I can live without to lower my pack weight. There’s still just enough uncertainty and newness each day to keep me from being 100 percent comfortable and it’s perfect. I don’t want to be comfortable in life as least for any extended period of time, you don’t get experiences and friends like these.

I was meditating on these thoughts after the pain in my calves and shins went away. Either the new shoes, couple days of rest, the marathon or a combination of all three just caused me pain this morning but once I was warmed up it seemed to go away.

I saw a garter snake and a lizard enjoying the warm 70 degree weather. The birds sung choruses as I panted up the mountain to the for shelter for lunch as I felt the pain in my abdomen travel downwards. We had a nice lunch break, the water was far but I was happy to see a privy again. We passed a stagnant pond with some fish and one turtle basking on a log who dove in after I pointed him out.

14 miles in the AT connected to the Virginia creeper trail and followed it up for about a mile. At the junction we put our stuff down and went down to the river. The guys waded in and Joey even laid down I just put my hands in and cooled off a beer. It was an absolutely gorgeous day just exceedingly warm one too, even the river didn’t feel that cold.

Bibo, will, ziggy, Molly, and more were all already at the shelter playing cards when we got here. I thought they’d all be ahead of us but I forgot they got in a day after we did. Wood thrushes called to each other with their flute-like voices as i filled my water and sat amongst the people at the picnic table to make dinner. Some people decided to hike on a few miles to a bald to see the sunrise but we setup camp here intending to get up before the sun.

Day 52: Ponies and Cows!

Monday, April 29th

17.5 + 1 + 1.2 miles today

504.5 total miles

Today was like the best day ever. Definitely a new highlight of the trail that I’ve been looking forward to since I started. We were the first ones out of camp and got up the steepest climb of the day to buzzard rock to just an absolutely beautiful view. Just before that climb we passed through another cow pasture and there was one literally right on the trail staring at me. I tried to take videos and pictures while dodging cow patties. When we got to the top with the view I sat up there on a rock for bit listening to music. I had some section hikers recognize me because of my new shorts with llamas on them. I was also stopped by some day hikers and one of them thru-hiked in 1992 and was asking me about my shoes and how she thought hikers were poor. Then I later found out she then asked everyone behind us about their shoes.

Then we crossed the 500 mile mark. 500 miles is a lot of miles. I remember when we’d talk about reaching this point, nearly a quarter of the way to Katahdin. It’s hard to even fathom at this point, what dedication and consistency can bring. 500 miles is significant, I feel like the meaning of a mile changes for me. When we plan a 20+ mile day and I loose myself in thought the motion the miles seem to fly by. But when I know the shelter or water is only 0.2 miles away it feels like forever expecting it to be just around the corner. It helps to just not look at the clock or the mileage unless you need to.

Before we stepped through the gate we saw a bunch of longhorns! We took a little side path down to get closer look. They introduced the ponies and the cows here to help reduce the vegetation and it seems to be working. After some rock scrambling we saw the ponies! Right in the middle of the trail and one was nursing a colt. The colt was very interested in us more so than the adults and was licking us and nibbling for salt so we played with him for a bit before we had to carry on. We saw another herd farther off eating from a pile of hay. Then we got to massie gap. We sat there and debated calling a shuttle to go to the general store for lunch/dinner. Right before we were about to call I saw some day hikers walking back towards the gap and I somehow got them to drive us down to the store. They didn’t have enough room so the girl stayed behind! I don’t think they really wanted to take us down but I somehow guilt tripped them into doing it. Luckily too because it sounded like the shuttle might’ve been expensive and we would’ve had to wait. The only downside was the gap was a 0.6 off trail and downhill so it added a mile to the day ontop of our quick journey to Mt. Rogers earlier which was 0.5. We had to do that tho it was the highest peak in Virginia.

So we get to the general store and order burgers and get drinks and as I sit down this couple behind us starts talking to me and they ask all sorts of questions and I tell them how lucky and nice people are like how we just got a hitch but mentioned we’d probably have to shuttle back up. When our food is ready I grab it and before I take a bite to eat they say “well we can take you guys back up if you don’t take long.” I’m flabbergasted. So we get the ride back up thanks to Gordon and Gee and thanks to Chris and Laura for the initial ride.

The last part of the hike was a breeze only being stopped by another herd of ponies blazing up the trail in our direction and we had to move out of their way. We stopped at the next shelter and I was still hungry enough to make dinner. It was getting late, 7ish, and we weren’t sure about pushing on 6 miles. We ended up staying though and i think that was the right call. We’ll share the shelter with Bibo, Molly and will.

Day 53: You Never Know

Tuesday, April 30th

20.2 miles today

524.6 miles total

Thinking back to this morning feels like so long ago but the day or at least the miles seemed to go so slow. We saw one last herd of ponies on the way out but they weren’t interested in us like the others were. We started just as the sun rose to try and beat the thunderstorm this afternoon. The beginning of the hike winded through the last of the highlands which included several gates.

I was ready for lunch and hiked up to a shelter halfway through the day and I saw one persons pack that I didn’t recognize. I didn’t even see the guy he was back in a corner but he told me he had norovirus and has been sick for a few days. Needless to say I didn’t stay long after that encounter. I saw Spence has I was coming down to the trail and told him. We ended up having lunch on a rock around trees with tape that said “killer trees” because they were prone to falling.

Really not much else happened today. I tried to listen to music or an audiobook but after a song or two I was kinda sick of it and turned it off. I just find it easier to just hike and let my mind drift. The later half of the day my feet were just killing me and I was just checking my phone more frequently to see how much left I had to go. When I got here everyone else was here and it was 2:30.   I saw the shelter was mostly full so I just setup camp expecting the harder rain to come. It had been sporadically drizzling the last couple hours but not enough for me to do anything about it.

Joey had gotten there at 12:30 and decided to push out 10 more miles to the next shelter and Will followed suit. I was not doing another 10 miles just to try and avoid the rain. That would’ve been a 30 mile day and with new shoes I’m just not trying to do that just yet. So space opened up in the shelter and I took it between Bibo and Spencer. We’re so bored we ate dinner before 5 and are going to go to bed to wake up at 3. You just never know what the day will bring when it starts.

Day 54: Too Much Food

Wednesday, May 1st

16.8 miles today

541.4 total miles

So we tried to sleep but people kept taking until the sun went down but I managed to somehow fall asleep for a hour. When it did get dark I fell asleep and woke up a few times to the rain. Soon enough it was 3 and Bibo and Molly started packing up and I waited until 3:30 before I started packing. Spencer and I got out just after 4 like 20 minutes behind bibo and Molly. It was some steep climbing but you couldn’t see how far it lasted until you got to the top.

When it’s dark out the world shrinks to what’s in front of you. You have no external distractions beyond what you can see. That’s what I like about the night time. Especially when you get around a camp fire, you get introspective. Under the light of day the world seems too big to bear sometimes and we shrink inside ourselves. When I walk at night all I know is what I can see and when you get passed that initial fear it’s comforting.

We got to the shelter and it was packed like 20 people there. We catch the 8:30 shuttle into town and there isn’t one empty seat on that thing we hangout at the ingles and resupply then go to the McDonald’s to wait for the Chinese buffet to open. This must’ve been a new McDonald’s they didn’t have a single outlet to charge anything and they played the most annoying repetitive music you just wanted to rip your ears off.

When the buffet opened we headed back over there. The menu was written in marker on a piece of printer paper, not like there was much of an option. We grabbed our food, mind you this place has 3.3 stars but it’s only $10. But Joe and Spencer both got food at McDonald’s so we didn’t eat much. I tried a little bit of everything to try and sus out what was “safe” to eat. Coconut shrimp, sweet and sour chicken, and the fried donut things were about it for me. An hour or so later will, Molly and bibo show up to get food too.

The last shuttle was at 2 so we got that back to the trail head and hung out at the shelter for a while to rest and eat. We all realized we bought way too much food. Like I’ve never seen my pack so heavy and were literally going to a hostel tomorrow night. Idk what I’m doing. I had my food dialed in when I came into this town, I ended with nearly nothing. Now I got way too much food and it barely fits in my bag. I’m trying to eat more of it after eating that Chinese and a bag of chips I got from the store and thinking about the next 7 miles I gotta carry this thing.

Just before 5 I leave and it only took a couple hours to get there but some of those climbs were brutal and I could feel the weight difference. I spent some time hiking with will and I enjoyed the company he’s so off the cuff it’s hilarious. We’re all staying in the shelter tonight because there’s absolutely no space to tent or hammock really but there’s water just a few feet away which is nice.

Day 55: 1/4 GA->ME

Thursday, May 2nd

17.4 miles today

558.8 miles total

I’m writing this a day late because of the chaos that today was. The shelter we stayed at didn’t have a privy but luckily there was the settlers museum just a few miles down the mountain with a nice bathroom. There was an old one room school house next to it too with wooden desks, a chalk board, and a wood fire stove in the middle. I got close to the train tracks while a train went by but wasn’t close enough to see it. Apparently Joe got there right after it started to go by and got it on camera.

So far Virginia has been a lot of walking through grass or really thick vegetation. Not as many view points or openings. We got to a truck stop a few miles in and stopped for snacks. I just had a frozen Slushee. We all hung outside waiting our snacks in the sun enjoying the beautiful day.

After crossing under I-81 we walked through more pastures before going up several inclines. This guy, Walmart, we’ve been seeing who’s hiked the trail several times told me about this spot where one hiker saved another hikers life from a mentally unstable guy in 2019. It was pretty infamous but apparently the memorial used to be just after this fence that isn’t here anymore so he liked to pay tribute to them.

It wasn’t like after that I saw some azaleas blooming for the first time and then I came across the 1/4 way to Maine sign. I remember seeing this sign in someone’s vlog before coming out here so it’s extra special to see in person. It’s wild to think all that time and I’ve only come this far or already come this far. Both feelings are valid at the same time. It feels like so much more left to do but at the same time such a monumental moment in its own regard.

The day ended with some more pastures and deer and wooden steps over barbed wire fences. The last 5 miles were the most painful just because I hate these shoes. I wish I kept my old ones. These new ones are more narrow and it’s giving me more blisters and pain than ever. Even Joe is having the same problem. We stopped for water one last time and I met a guy named sings with the pines. He was reading lord of the rings by the river and we talked about wildlife on trail specifically the salamanders in the smokies. He also showed me a big 2ft snapping turtle he saw in the river the other day. On my way out I reminded him my name, my legal name. I told him I’m waiting for a good trail name that fits. He thought for a second and said “well you seemed really into the salamanders and turtle, I shall deem you hellbender” (a type of salamander, not easy to find and the largest of them all) I immediately liked it but he said I can mull it over. I said goodbye and thought about it as I hiked.

At this point the whole name thing is just dragging on too long. It really don’t matter that much and I’d rather accept something now than wait the whole trail and not get one. Before coming out here I was looking into salamanders and I’ve been just as excited about seeing them as new birds. I’ve also been thinking about how much I miss the water. Plus hellbender sounds cool so when I got to the hostel and the lady asked my name I told her hellbender, and then I told the guys I finally have a name and it’s settled. We got settled into our private house shared with the rest of our group. It’s a 100yr old House made of chestnut (now extinct) and the water is super alkaline and smells like sulfite because it’s on a well. The only downside is there no WiFi here.

We decided to do another marathon tomorrow but unlike the one in Damascus this one has double the amount of elevation gain —  6,100ft.

Day 56: Marathon for Cake

Friday, May 3rd

26.4 miles today

585.2 total

This was the dumbest idea yet. We were still settling in yesterday and didn’t get to bed until after ten and I was waking up at 4am. So somehow we found out that the owners of this hostel will bake us a cake, a Texas chocolate cake that the owners mother made her for her birthday, if we complete this marathon in a day. So screw it we decided to do it, but instead of slack packing it and going south to avoid climbs we do it northbound sith our full packs.

So at 4am I wake up, eat and get out and I’m blown away by the stars. I forgot how remote we were I think I could even see a bit of the Milky Way. I found the Big Dipper and took a picture and tried to gaze while I walked the quarter mile back to the trail head. I heard some eastern whip poor wills and barred owls as I climbed the first couple mountains in pure darkness. By the time I got down the second one I could turn my lamp off and ran into the guys at the river crossing where the bridge was blown out.

I was able to cross by stepping on the stones barely poking out of the river and only got a little wet. The biggest climb of the day wasn’t as bad as I thought. The top was a nice gradual climb through grass and shrubs and I saw the most brilliant blue of an indigo bunting. Behind me was a landscape of a Virginia valley surrounded by mountains as I climbed up to the chestnut knob shelter with another spectacular view for lunch.

The rest of the day was the worst. We were starting to get tired and the “easy” ridge walking was constant up and downs that wore us out. When I got down to the last climb of the day I was begging for mercy. With the pain of the new shoes I was hurting every step since the first step I took out of bed. I was exhausted and running out of water and I was mentally tapped out. The only thing that carried me through was some music.

We got to the end of the day a little early and soaked our feet in a little cascade with some other hikers IMOM and high noon and someone else. We finished around 3:30 so in about 10.5 hours I finished this marathon that marks our fourth marathon so far but the only one with a homage cake at the end. We got a ride back to the hostel and just tried to get as much rest as possible before sharing the cake with the others when they arrived a few hours later. Now I’ll try my best to get as much sleep as I can surrounded by snorers. I’m excited to see Izzy tomorrow!! This is gonna be fun!!