Location: Econolodge, Daleville, Virginia I woke to the patter of raindrops on the tin roof of the shelter this morning. A couple of the five section hikers had woken earlier and were hard at work on menthol cigarettes and coffee. The air was warmer this morning than many recently, but still there was a chill […]
Archives for April 2014
Too Many Donuts and the Rat King – AT Thru-Hike Day 126
Location: Unknown Shelter I woke late this morning. I slept through my alarm. I did it at home, I do it out here. I ate breakfast in my sleeping bag as usual. I ate the second box of chocolate donuts. After packing my bag, I got out of my sleeping bag, exposing my bare legs […]
I Now Prefer The Trail to Town – AT Thru-Hike Day 124
Location: Unknown Shelter This morning wasn’t as cold as the last few, but I stayed in my sleeping bag to eat breakfast. Once Wrongway stoked the fire and had it blazing again, I moved all of my gear to the picnic table and packed by the heat of the flames. Everything was covered in ash […]
Freezing Temperatures and Ice Cold Beer Trail Magic – AT Thru-Hike Day 123
Location: Unknown Shelter Today the Topsail King Mackerel Tournament is in full swing. When I started walking this morning, I was thinking about where I’d be fishing if I were in the tournament and how badly I wanted to be fishing. I packed my pack from my sleeping bag again this morning. The morning was […]
Hiking the Priest – AT Thru-Hike Day 122
Location: Unknown Shelter The captain’s meeting for the Topsail KMT is today. I’m disappointed that I’m not there to fish. I haven’t fished in so long. I think about fishing every day, but I know that I must complete the task before me while I have momentum. A weekend of fishing at the beach might […]
Wrongway on the Appalachian Trail – AT Thru-Hike Day 121
Location: Unknown Shelter in the Shenandoahs I woke late this morning because the sun took forever to reach the floor of the valley. 9:00am looked more like 7:00am. Thunderstorms, waves of them, kept me awake much of the night. I don’t think Wrongway slept well either. He tossed and turned and woke up to pee […]
Hiker Chores and Town Life in Waynesboro – AT Thru-Hike Day 120
Location: Shelter south of Waynesboro, VA I was in and out of Waynesboro today for supplies and badly needed chores. I hiked seven miles in the gray morning to get to the road that leads into town. I beat the rain fortunately. I had planned to first visit the Office of Tourism to reference a […]
Tough Day Hiking on the Appalachian Trail – AT Thru-Hike Day 119
Location: Today was tough. Twenty miles damn near killed me. I started early and stopped at Lewis Mountain Campground for breakfast at the camp store. I had two bowls of cereal, a honey bun, and cheese. I couldn’t do laundry or take a shower as I had planned because I didn’t have cash or coins […]
Attack of the Mice on the Appalachian Trail – AT Thru-Hike Day 118
Location: Bearfence Mountain Hut 28 miles today and I am spent. The Shenandoah Park has tons of mountains. I was up and down all day and the burning in my calves won’t let me forget it. I started fairly late for such a big day. This morning resembled the last two days so I wasn’t […]
Two Days and Forty Trail Miles on the Cold Appalachian Trail – AT Thru-Hike Day 117
Location: Shenandoah National Forest I’m writing this entry one day late. Yesterday I was too cold to write. I bought a pair of gloves today, a dollar ninety-nine at Elk Wallow Gap Wayside. They keep my fingers somewhat warm but make my handwriting worse than usual. They hardly insulate my hands, and they appear to […]