Location: Damascus, VA (Mount Rogers Hostel) I have new boots. Mom brought three pairs from REI in Raleigh, and one pair fits me. I decided I needed to switch from trail runners to boots because of the winter weeks ahead. My shoes no longer kept water off my socks and they poorly insulated my feet, […]
Finding Ponies in the Grayson Highlands – AT Thru-Hike Day 140
Location: Old Mill Inn, Damascus, Virginia After spending the night in Marion, VA, mom drove me back to the trail crossing where we had met. I left all of my overnight gear with her, and I only carried snacks and water for a twenty mile day hike over the Grayson Highlands. I enjoyed walking with […]
Sleeping Bag Fails in Icy Temperatures – AT Thru-Hike Day 139
Location: Francis Marion Hotel Last night was the most sleepless night I’ve had on the trail. I may actually have slept less on other night, like the night in Pennsylvania that the rain overcame my tent and I woke to rushing water in the pitch black, but last night certainly was an uncomfortable sleep. The […]
Quick Stop at the Relax Inn – AT Thru-Hike Day 138
Location: Unnamed Shelter Finally I woke up early with Druid and Rising Sun, who got his name because he wakes with the sun. I ate bacon for breakfast and hit the trail running in the damp morning. Unfortunately I was running down the wrong trail and soon I found myself at a campsite and a […]
Hiking Twenty Miles in the Cold Rain – AT Thru-Hike Day 137
Nasty weather today. I didn’t feel much like writing in my journal when I arrived at the shelter, so I’m writing this entry on the night of the 28th. Often I write about two or three days at one sitting since most evenings I have very little energy to write, so excuse the verb tense […]
Blazing through Virginia – AT Thru-Hike Day 136
Location: Jenkins Shelter Today was a fairly boring 24-mile day. I left the shelter after hiding in my sleeping bag from the cold all morning. I left two hours after Druid and an hour after Rising Sun, who was up with the sun but didn’t get ready to hike for hours. I meet mom in […]
Bear Mafia Gets the Virginia Blues – AT Thru-Hike Day 135
Location: Unnamed Shelter For the last several days, the temperatures have been low. I’ve been writing these journal entries with gloves on, so the handwriting is hardly legible. Between the slick fabric of the gloves and the shivering, I’m surprised I can write at all. I didn’t sleep well last night. I had to pee […]
Hiking in Snow on the Appalachian Trail – AT Thru-Hike Day 134
Location: Unknown Shelter I left Pearisburg, VA with around 30 pounds of food. I didn’t eat all of the snacks I had purchased of the motel room, so I packed them out. I carried a full loaf of baked sourdough bread, a block of Monterey Jack cheese, a couple bags of chips and lots of […]
Zero Day in Pearisburg – AT Thru-Hike Day 133
Location: Holiday Motor Lodge (Pearisburg, VA) Druid and I danced around the idea of zeroing all morning. Finally I decided that I would take a zero as checkout time rolled around. Druid decided to do the same immediately. We had already completed all of our chores when we decided to stay. Our packs had been […]
On Fumes Hiking into Pearisburg – AT Thru-Hike Day 132
Location: Holiday Motor Lodge, Pearisburg, VA Today passed quickly, despite not having much food. I only took in about 900 calories. I ate the snacks early and was able to cook the omelet for lunch. I followed Druid most of the day. He set a quick pace and we reached a shelter at 12 miles […]