AT Day 56

2014/5/26 Mile 999.1

Overnight a bear broke into the shed out back of the hostel and got into the garbage. It managed to break a wooden 2x2 braced across the door. Looks like Mike will need a stronger solution. I was surprised nobody woke up.

Long drive back to the trail and then started the short 14 mile hike to Bear's Den. A few miles in I encountered a sign reading: "Warning! You are about to enter the rollercoaster." According to my guide this is a 13.5 mile section with 10 ascents and descents. Fun.

Huge number of day hikers with their poorly behaved dogs and even worse children. To be fair they were usually courteous and I shouldn't be such a through hiker diva but I couldn't help being a little annoyed with them.

Very rocky hiking all day which I hear is going to be a trend. With the day pack rock hoping was super easy but with the full pack it will probably hurt my pace. Guess we will see.

Bear's Den is a really cool renovated stone building that the PATC operates as a hostel and campground. I got in around mid-afternoon and fiddled around on the internet until other hikers showed up. We got to use their big kitchen for prepping dinner and then hung around all evening watching movies and chatting. Had a big crowd with lots of hikers in for the night.

AT Day 55

2014/5/25 Mile 985.6

Made oatmeal in the microwave for breakfast. Wow. Forgot how fast boiling water could be.

Got on the first shuttle to Ashby Gap. Had a day's worth of food and my water filter in my daypack figuring it would be warm enough to skip the rain gear.

Saw 2 bears, a handful of rabbits, and some large vultures on the hike. I should probably stop counting bears, there are so many.

Ran into Ace and Mack again since I was hiking south. A few other familiar faces came through as well, but most of the activity was day hikers out for the holiday weekend.

Passed a neat shelter that had a front porch, picnic gazebo, and solar shower. Pretty fancy, but it makes sense for such a busy section of trail.

The last 4 or 5 miles passed along the National Zoological Park where endangered animals are bred. Apparently back in the day there would be rhinos and giraffes walking around in view of the trail.

Back at the hostel met Matterhorn and Jed who had come in while we were out. Cooked up some dinner and then kicked back and finished my book (Cyberstorm). Pretty good concept but I wasn't a huge fan of the ending. It was cool that the last bit took place in the Shenandoah which I had just been hiking through.

Everyone rolled in later that night and Jed even drove some folks into town. I was fading fast so I ended up asleep before anyone got back. Figured someone would get me up if I slept in.

AT Day 53

2014/5/23 Mile 951.5

Cool morning but pleasant. Got to hiking and saw a bear about a mile in.

By 930 I was passing Skyland Lodge so I decided to pop in for a coffee. Ended up sitting down and having a second breakfast after checking out the menu and getting the WiFi password.

Back on the trail I met Walk Worthy at a road crossing. We hiked together just chatting about all sorts of things. Soon after we ran into Spiderman who WW knew.

I listened as they discussed some of the ins and outs of their faith. Both were well acquainted with the bible and quoted it continually in the discussion. Eventually we moved on to other topics and I learned WW ran a construction company and Spiderman was a newly graduated Physical Therapy Assistant.

We lost WW at a road crossing as he had to stop to call his friend who was coming to meet him. Spiderman and I continued on together and I found out he and his family live near Spartanburg, SC and he keeps bees. Looks like we a few things in common.

Had 3 more bear encounters over the hike and one was a mama and her cub bringing the total bear count for the day to 5. Also saw a non-coral snake (red meets black, you're OK Jack) and some deer.

Had a pre-dinner at Elkwallow Wayside and met Rugby, his dad Big Tex, and Sole Power. We were all heading to Gravel Springs Shelter so we didn't hang around too long.

At the shelter were tons of folks. Makes sense considering the fact that it was Friday of Memorial Day weekend. Lots of section hikers but good company and someone built a massive fire.

I hammocked in a little clear spot back in the woods instead of taking up space in the shelter.

AT Day 52

2014/5/22 Mile 924

Slept a little cold over night probably because I didn't put my pad in the hammock. Lesson learned.

Hike on my own to the Big Meadows Lodge. Wanted to get there early enough to shower and play around on the internet and it was about 20 miles out.

Uneventful hiking except for another bear encounter. He hung around a bit before scampering off. Also managed to startle some deer a little later.

Made it to the lodge by 1430 and walked the mile down to the wayside to have one of the highly acclaimed blackberry milkshakes. Pretty good but the price was a little steep.

Back at the lodge used the coin operated showers to get cleaned up and washed my socks and shirt while I was in there. Threw them in the dryer afterwards and it was almost like I had clean clothes!

The taproom at the lodge had internet and beer so I just hung out while I waited on the others. Eventually they showed up and we enjoyed a meal together before hiking the last 3 miles to the next shelter. Got to talk to Whiskey Bill about his engineering design project for school along the way which was neat.

Since we showed up late I just slept in the shelter. Not a big deal but there were lots of people in there which makes it noisy. Still managed to sleep just fine after a long day.

AT Day 54

2014/5/24 Mile 961.8

A short day of hiking but still managed to see 4 bears. 3 of them at once: a mother and two cubs.

Got to the Terrapin Station Hostel around 1100. Its basically a converted basement in a residential home that has a bunkroom, mini-kitchen, bathroom, and common area. The cool part is that it is less than half a mile from the trail right as it leaves Shenandoah National Park.

Took a shower and got some catch up blog posts written before others started showing up. People trickled in all afternoon.

Spiderman, Big Tex, Rugby, and I went into town for a grocery run and then dinner at Lucky Star (a British/American pub). Rugby and Spiderman went to see a movie while Big Tex and I hung out and talked.

Back at the hostel we organized our slack packing for the next two days. The plan is to do 23 miles tomorrow back to the hostel and then the change on up to Bears Den Hostel the day after. Yep, I'm definitely spoiling myself but having access to additional food is a huge incentive.

AT Day 50

2014/5/20 Mile 878

Breakfast at the hotel again and then Owl drove me up to the trail. Got walking by 850.

Had to register to enter the Shenandoah back country but there was no fee (in contrast to the Smokies). After entering the park all the signs changed from the carved wooden variety I had seen elsewhere on the trail to a cement post with a small metal bad around the top. The metal band had directions and distances for places of interest stamped on it. A picture will be taken at some point to explain this better.

Hiked all day with many small ups and downs but no large elevation changes. Got to Blackrock Shelter by 1600 so I had plenty of time to fiddle with the hammock before dinner.

Talked with some hikers doing a 50 mile section over dinner. Cools guys. They brought up that there might be a thunderstorm tonight so that will be a good test of the new gear. Retired early to catch up on writing posts and on my sleep. Hope this thing keeps me dry!

AT Day 51

2014/5/21 Mile 899.3

First one in camp awake. Looks like some folks came in after I had gone to bed. Packing up the hammock definitely took longer than the tent but that's probably because its the first time I've done it.

7 miles to the wayside went quick. Ran across a bear that didn't even budge when he saw me. Got some pictures and a video before heading on.

The wayside was only 0.6 miles off the trail so I decided to head down and get a second breakfast. Good choice. Got my grease, coffee, and phone charging fix all in one stop.

Got confused on the trail out and ended up retracing my steps for about a mile before running into another marker. Bad luck. However some good came of this: I met Mack and Ace and ended up hiking with them the rest of the day.

Their pace was around 2.5mph so it was comfortable and we could talk the whole time. Really interesting and good distraction from my shoes which are OK but the insoles awful. Need to buy new superfeet asap.

Ran into a stubborn rattlesnake that would not get out of the trail. Had to work our way around it off the trail through lots of brush. Definitely checked for ticks after that.

Got to our destination and met Whiskey Bill, Chamomile, and Collee (sp?). Everyone agreed we should check out the "taproom" at the lodge tomorrow so we will likely meet there for dinner.

Made dinner and got to try out the biscuits and gravy Backpackers Pantry meal that was left in the shelter. Most complicated prepacked meal ever and not all that great. A for effort though.

Back in the hammock tonight. No rain last night and probably none tonight but it got me out of the bugs. I could use some more practice with it anyway.

AT Day 47

2014/5/17 Mile 816

Around midnight last night a troop of boy scouts arrived at our campsite shining their flashlights everywhere and talking loudly while setting up. Real nice guys. I've never run into boy scouts with good trail etiquette.

Got up, packed, ate, and hit the trail before the inevitable craziness of scout breakfast could start. The hiking started with a long downhill and then leveled out. Had to make another wet stream crossing as all the waterways were swollen from the previous rain.

Got to the road into Buena Vista around 1045 and saw two hikers hoping out of a truck. I ran up to it as they were pulling out and asked if they were headed into town. They were. Jackpot.

Rode in the back all 10 miles in. They dropped me at the dollar store and I bought lunches and snacks for the next two days as well as my customary pint of whole chocolate milk.

Wandered down to the Blue Dog Art Cafe which was rumored to have a shuttle back to the trail at 1500. Confirmed the rumor and then proceeded to have a burger and then drink coffee all afternoon while charging the phone and using the WiFi.

Luckily the woman who runs the place, Blue Dog, decided to see if her husband would take me up early. He was up for it so I got a ride back (for free) and started hiking by 1430.

Flew up the big climb of the day. Could have been all the extra calories, the rest over lunch, or the coffee but I felt great. Multiple balds with amazing views at the top of the ridge made it even better.

Passed the boy scouts and headed on to Seeley Woodworth shelter. On the way saw a coyote up the hill which was a first for me. Pulled in at 1930 which was pretty good for dipping into town for a resupply.

All in all a great day. Cool weather, hiking felt really good even over rough terrain, and I got really lucky with rides. Oh, and I hit 800 miles!

AT Day 49

2014/5/19 Mile 857.8

Early morning started with a large continental breakfast at the Inn and then a quick 18 mile slack packing adventure back to the gap. Luckily there were lots of shuttle options because Waynesboro wasn't directly on the trail.

Lunch in the room because I was cheap and then laundry and the laundromat. Walked down to Kline's Dairy Bar for a large chocolate fudge brownie sunday while I waited.

As I was leaving I noticed one of the other customers was also taking off so I asked her for a ride to the outfitter (which was about a mile out of town) and she has was nice enough to to take me. The only condition was that we go to McDonalds for a sunday first. No complaints here.

Got my mail drop and some new boots. Went back to Merrils. Hopefully the bigger size and the fact that they are wides will prevent blister-pocalypse number 2. Hitched back into town and was picked up by a hiking enthusiast. He was really interested in hearing about how I selected gear and the tradeoffs I made. We sat and talked for a bit in the parking of the hotel before he left.

Had lots to squeeze in before dinner. Treated my clothes with permethrin and did a test setup of the new hammock. After that I ran my tent down to the post office to bounce it forward to the next mail drop.

I guess I forgot to mention that I ordered a Warbonnet Blackbird hammock while in Daleville. Figured I would give hanging another try in a different company's product. Should be interesting.

Dinner with a bunch of other hikers from the hotel: Sunshine, New Beard, Munchy, Owl, Scrambles, and Vegemite. We went to the local Chinese buffet. It was OK, but I'm not sure I should be allowed in buffets with the hiker hunger. Too dangerous.

After dinner we headed to the local bar for a few beers. Met Fritz and Pyro there, two hikers that had just come back from trail days. They had lots of interesting stories to tell.

I called it a night before it got too late. Wanted to make sure I was ready to leave by 800 the next day so I could grab a ride with owl back out to the trail. Busy day but fun.

AT Day 48

2014/5/18 Mile 841

Got an early start and headed up the ridge to "The Priest". Apparently the mountain got the name due to a strange stone configuration near the top. Not sure if I missed it or was just underwhelmed.

3000ft down the mountain and had lunch at the river. It had a really cool wooden suspension bridge similar to others on the trail. I suppose the park service has a set of standard bridge designs.

3000ft up the next mountain and the views look back on the mountain I just came down. Almost like they are rubbing it in my face. Ran into a trail maintenance volunteer who said this was the last big climb until somewhere in Massachusetts. Crazy! Especially since the last three days have all had 2-3k ft climbs. Now all of a sudden nothing...

Checked out the summit and headed down to Maupin Shelter for another lunch. Met Bruce, Joyce, and their dog Izzy out for a day hike. Had fun talking with them and then they headed on.

My plan was to put down another 5 or 10 miles so that my hike into town the next day would be short. Bruce had other ideas. They were packing up their car when I reached the parking lot (the trail crosses lots of those up here near the Blue Ridge Parkway) and invited me to dinner at the Blue Mountain Brewery. Obviously I couldn't say no.

40 minute drive to the brewery took me along the next days hike. We ate and had delicious beer. Everyone was dressed up either for church or graduation so my smelly hiker garb felt out of place, but that didn't keep me from enjoying myself.

Bruce is a triathlete and big time hiker so he told me all about his adventures and races. He retired from working at Anheuser Busch so we also got to talk about beer.

They offered to drive me back up to where they stole me from the trail but instead I just had them drop me in Waynesboro. Figured I could slackpack the difference tomorrow. So we poked around until we found the Quality Inn and then I said goodbye. Great trail magic.

After getting a room I was walking out and ran into Denise. She was really chatty told me all about how she was a regular at the Inn because of work. We talked about hiking and traveling and then she offered to drive me to Kroger because I mentioned I wanted to grab some snacks. More magic!

Finally in the room later I got to spread out some gear and the flop down on the bed for some much needed rest. It had been a great day but a long one.

AT Day 46

2104/5/16 Mile 790.7

Cool morning made it hard to get out of the bag but at least the sun was out and the rain had stopped.

Trails weren't too muddy, which was a pleasant surprise, so the big downhill at the start of the day wasn't so bad.

Had to cross a creek at Matt's Creek Shelter but there was no bridge and it was really high from all the rain. As about 12 day hikers watched I pulled my boots off and waded across. I was greeted with cheers and granola bars on the other side for supplying entertainment.

Crossed the James River on a neat footbridge that I think was built for the AT. Big climb in the afternoon where I ran into Gazelle again on the way up and we found we were headed for the same shelter.

Tons of folks at the shelter which was on a little pond. Many section hikers and a few through hikers. One of the section hikers brought donuts to share with through hikers so we enjoyed them for dessert.

Set up the tent and got the bed by 2030. Rumor has it that there is a shuttle into Buena Vista at 0900 that I might try to get to so I can resupply my lunches and snacks for the next few days.

AT Day 44

2014/5/14 Mile 749

My phone got me up nice and early so I could have my gear packed by 600 when the breakfast buffet opened. Not sure the roommates appreciated my early start. Sorry guys.

At breakfast Lunch and Captain broke the news to me that they planned to zero so it looks like I'm flying solo again. They had some other engagements in the near future so I couldn't really stick around anyway even if my schedule had a spare zero.

Morning hiking was nice and cool. Made good time to lunch at Wilson Creek Shelter where I met Möbius and Mission. They were headed to the same place I was for the day.

Afternoon took us back and forth over the  Blue Ridge Parkway and past some of its scenic views. Had a car pull over to ask about my hiking so that was a fun chat.

Snacked at Bobblets Gap Shelter (weird name) and got my water for the rest of the day because the next shelter had no source. Met Cool Hand, his wife, and a guy hiking with them. We talked about how the weather was going to be pretty bad tomorrow (2-3 inches of rain) and how we might avoid getting totally drenched.

Pushed on to Cove Mountain with a few nice views along the way. This area has been extremely scenic. Met Eastwood at the shelter and had dinner with him before setting up in the shelter. Supposed to be cooler tonight so I hope the bugs wont be too much of an issue.

AT Day 43

2014/5/13 Mile 724

Slept like a rock in the tent and woke up early. On the trail by 630, nobody else in camp was even stirring when I left.

The rain from yesterday had made everything wet and somehow a little greener. The warmer temperatures meant the bugs were out and so were their predators. Thanks to that I ran into about 60 spiderwebs per mile for the entire 10 miles into town.

On the way down I passed "Tinker Ridge" which had some cool tall rocks. Climbed up one to enjoy the view of what I think was a dam and part of Roanoke.

Once I hit Daleville I went to Bojangles for a second breakfast and then the outfitter to pick up my maildrop. Sorted through the gear and then hit the coffee shop for WiFi.

Got to talk to Stu on the phone and confirm that I wouldn't be meeting him and the guys for the Shenandoah. Sucks because I wanted to see everyone but good because I wasn't under pressure to hit Waynesboro on a date so I could near-o (like a zero day but with a little hiking) in Daleville.

Lunch texted me when he got into town and I hobbled over to the hotel where they were. Howard Johnson Express. Not sure what makes it express but it was right off the trail. Showered and then back to the outfitter so Lunch and Captain could try on shoes.

Had Wendy's because Captain had never been there before heading to Kroger to resupply. Going with spam and cheese on pita bread this week. Apparently they package slices of spam individually in bags like tuna so that makes it easy trail food.

After that we had second dinner at Three Little Pigs Barbeque. I took most of mine to go because I over did it at Wendy's. Saw tons of other hikers there and found out Cat 5 had gotten sick and went to the hospital. Bad luck in the engineer crew recently.

Back to the room for laundry and The Matrix. Did some gear cleaning and tried to get things dry. Probably not a good sign when your water filter bag smells like feet.

Fell asleep before Neo died. Hiker midnight is king.

AT Day 45

2014/5/15 Mile 766.2

Weather reports yesterday had us all pretty worried about the incoming rain so we decided to wake up early and get some miles in before the hard rain began around noon.

Mission started messing around with his gear at 0400 and after a bit I decided to join him. On the trail by 0500 with headlamp on until the sun decided to come up.

Made it to Bryant Ridge Shelter where Cool Hand and company stayed the night by 0700. Surprised them during breakfast. We all started out on the big climb together but I lost them fairly quickly.

Light rain for the rest of the morning wasn't too bad but the wet grass soaked my shoes. 3000ft of climbing wore me out and by the time I reached Thunder Hill Shelter I was pretty tired. Considered pushing on since I only had done 17 miles but the next shelter would have put me at 29. Expecting 3 inches of rain I really didn't feel like camping in between.

Made the right choice. About 30 minutes after rolling into camp the storm started really dumping rain hard. Right before it started a hiker popped in and to my surprise it was Gazelle!

He had gotten sick and stayed a hotel on the nearby Blue Ridge Parkway to recuperate. This was his first day back out on the trail. Crazy how these things work out.

Gazelle decided to keep going once the rain calmed down and I made dinner for lunch to avoid having to whip out the stove if the shelter was crowded later. Then it was nap time.

To my surprise only 2 of 10 folks that said they were heading for the shelter actually showed up. More room for us! Unfortunately I forget their names but the guy was a EE that designed power distribution for buildings (and hated it so now he's hiking). His significant other / hiking partner was a researcher studying how nutrition affects neurophysiology. Pretty cool folks. Both of them lived in Boston.

After talking for a while and eating we retired early. The temperature was dropping and the rain was not letting up. The sound of it on the metal roof of the shelter will probably make me dream of frying things all night.

AT Day 41

2014/5/11 Mile 691

The blogger app lost this post so I'm trying to backfill but my memory is rusty.

Hiked on my own for the first half of the day. I like setting my own pace. Started out through some beautiful pasture land before heading up to the ridge for most of the day.

Ran into Mayonnaise Pockets and Cat 5 and heard about their adventure. MP slipped crossing a stream and received puncture wound on his leg so they hitched into town to a hospital. 4 stitches and some painkillers and they got back on the trail hiking until midnight. Crazy.

Walked with them for a while and talked shop. Made it to the hiker feed a little early but they were already serving food.

Hot dogs, chips, salsa, fruit, salad, quesadillas, parsnip bread pudding, baked ziti, curried chicken, cheesecake, desert bread, cookies, brownies, candy, Gatorade, cokes, yoohoos, and more. All the baked goods were made on the spot in dutch ovens. Grilled food was also made on the spot. Fantastic food and amazing generosity from some through hikers that just liked doing it.

We gorged ourselves.

Some 20 or more hikers stuffed to the gills make a pretty lazy crowd in the afternoon. We managed to get on our feet and push the last 9 miles to Pickle Branch Shelter before calling it a night.

Definitely getting warmer and the bugs are getting worse. Looks like summer is coming.

AT Day 40

2014/5/10 Mile 668.5

The blogger app lost this post so I'm trying to backfill but my memory is rusty.

Slept well on the top bunk and got a reasonable start. Hiked on my own but planned to meet everyone at the shelter that evening.

Rain started about an hour into the hike and went on and off all day. Luckily it was warm enough that being wet wasn't miserable.

Stopped at a shelter for lunch and met Category 5, one of three engineers hiking together that I had heard were just ahead of me. Chatted briefly before he took off.

Rolled into camp early and hung out. Privy was more pungent than usual resulting in a sour whiff every time the wind blew just the right way.

Rain had stopped but I decided to stay in the shelter just in case. Many folks opted to camp which was surprising after a wet day.

Got to bed early and was thankful for ear plugs because others stayed up talking. Dreams of the hiker feed all night long...

AT Day 42

2014/5/12 Mile 714

Mediocre to bad night of sleep in the shelter. It was too warm to be in the bag but the bugs were terrible if you were out of it. Looks like a lot more tenting in my future.

Hike with Lunch and Captain for most of the day. Started with Dragon's Tooth, a large rock formation jutting out of the ground. We climbed part way up it but didn't venture to the top. The hike down from it was rocky and had some scrambles so it was fun.

Hit the road and walked to a nearby gas station for an early lunch. Had pizza, iced coffee, and $0.35 ice cream. While hanging out there Forrester magically appeared. He got picked up by a local as he was road hiking in the wrong direction to get to the store. Second set of bad directions he has received.

Back on the trail we passed Bubba and Sarge bathing in a creek before heading up to a ridge for the afternoon hike. Got pretty warm and were happy to find water at a shelter before McAfee Knob. Got sprinkled on while heading up to the top and some clouds were looking pretty ominous but nothing came of it.

McAfee and later Tinker Cliffs both offered extraordinary views. I tried to capture it with photos but nothing does it justice. Somehow the terrain and the trees and the few homes scattered about make a fantastic vista. If you are ever in the area I highly recommend checking g it out.

The guys decided to stop at the shelter right after the knob but I decided to push on to the next one so I could get into town as early as possible. Made good time and got rained on a bit. Squeezed in dinner and some conversation with Red Leg? before sundown and promptly went to bed. Need to make up for last night.

AT Day 39

2014/5/9 Mile 650.6

Got a late start due to mucking around in the hotel but at least we got coffee. Luckily we caught a ride back to the trailhead so we didn't have to hike the mile on the road.

We weaved in and out of the industrial side of Pearisburg. Train tracks, chemical plant, and landfill were all included in the tour.

Uphill to a ridge which we followed all day. Really flat and easy hiking. Beautiful view from Rice Field Shelter for lunch looking over a small mountain community.

Perfect weather for most of the day but later in the afternoon a storm rolled in and sprinkled on us. The trail also started to get really rocky which slowed us down and irritated Forrester's knee.

We ended up at Pine Swamp Branch Shelter as well as quite a few others including Bubba, Nineteen, Crocs, and Taz. Easy day and tomorrow will be short but after we hit the mothers day trail magic I should pick up the pace.

AT Day 38

2014/5/8 Mile 631

Breakfast at Woods Hole was just as good as dinner. Plenty of coffee, OJ, cinnamon rolls, eggs, grits, and bread with homemade jam and apple butter. Wish I could live there.

Boxed up my long underwear and sleeping bag liner along with some extra food to send home. Days keep getting hotter and lugging around that cold weather stuff wasn't doing me any good.

Decided to go to Pearisburg with Captain Phillips, Lunch, and Forrester. Only a 10 mile day but they are good bunch of guys and I would like to hike with them for a while. If it looks like I'm getting behind I'll have to push on, but for now it shouldn't be a problem.

Hitched a ride into town and got yogurt and fresh oranges at the store before getting a room at the Holiday Lodge. Really crappy place but its close to everything which is a win.

Captain and Lunch did laundry while I messed around on the internet. Then we went to Dairy Queen for smoothies, Mexican food for dinner, and Dairy Queen for Blizzards. Captain Phillips being British didn't know what a Blizzard was so we had to educate him.

Ended the night with Ghostbusters at the hotel. Slept on the floor. After more than a month on my blow up sleeping pad I can sleep anywhere I have enough flat space to fit it.

AT Day 37

2014/5/7 Mile 621

Slept like a rock overnight. Probably due to being worn out, but the babbling stream certainly helped.

Breakfast at Trent's and then sat around with Captain Phillips, Lunch, Forrester Gump, Plan B, and Warld Peace just drinking coffee and talking.

Got on the trail by 840. Didn't see anyone all day and only got one view. Super steep climb to a rocky ridge wasn't too fun but once I dialed back the effort and relaxed a bit I could enjoy it.

Met Plan B about half a mile from the destination and was very confused because I thought I was ahead. She told me that the rest of the breakfast club had tried to hike up the road to some falls and cut over to the AT. They ended up spending the entire morning road walking based on bad directions so they hitched to the top and walked the last mile to the hostel. Bad luck.

Woods Hole Hostel is still awesome. Its an old log cabin that a couple lives in. Along side the hostel business they do lots of gardening, keep bees, and generally live off the land as much as possible. Really great people. Found out Neville, the wife, grew up in Moultrie GA!

Forrester updated my haircut because the Mohawk part was really long and was looking pretty crappy. Now everything is much more manageable and will be easier to check for ticks.

Dinner was huge. Fresh greens from the garden, homemade bread, stir fry veggies, brown rice, seasoned beef, and ice cream cones for dessert. 24 hikers were eating and there were still leftovers. These people know how to cook for a crowd!

Helped do dishes and admired the house before hanging out in the bunkhouse till late swapping stories.

AT Day 36

2014/5/6 Mile 606

Well I guess the trail maintainers had a sense of justice because today's hiking was much nicer in terms rocks and climbs, but worse in terms of views.

Started early, 630, and immediately saw a bear. Not 3 minutes out of camp I hear a loud noise above me in a tree and see a bear doing the fireman's pole exit from a tree before bolting off into the woods. Awesome.

Morning hiking was great. Ran along the side of a ridge looking down into a valley of small farms. By 1100 I was knocking out the ~1-2 mile road walk across a highway before climbing back up to the ridge for Helvey's Mill Shelter. Ate lunch there, my Thai Ramen recipe, and pushed on.

The heat of the day really started setting in and I was glad I grabbed all 3 liters of water that I did. The trail was completely dry and I didn't want a replay of yesterday's dehydration. Lots of small ups and downs but not as rocky.

At the Jenny Knob shelter sign I continued on after deciding 1530 was too early to stop hiking. Squeezed an almost liquid Snickers out of its wrapper to get me the last 5 miles to VA 606.

A half mile down the road was Trent's Grocery, which is really more of a gas station. Got a double cheeseburger, some lunches, and my maildrop. Some other hikers were tenting there so I decided to stay. Turns out Forrester Bump was there so I got to hang out with him again. Good times.

After a 30 mile day I'm definitely ready for the short hike to Woods Hole tomorrow.

AT Day 35

2014/5/5 Mile 575.7

Whoever said Virginia was flat is wrong (at least for today's section of trail). Started off with a big climb up to Chestnut Knob Shelter for the first half of the day.

The view overlooks Burke's Garden, also known as God's Thumbprint. Its basically a giant crater but formed naturally. Its now filled with farms and the trail follows the ridge around it for about 8 miles.

Those 8 miles were rough. Tons of short climbs and falls all of which were steep. On top of that the trail was extremely rocky so you had to rock hop about 30% of the time. Tough work for what looks flat on the map.

Ran out water about half a mile from where I planned to refill and didn't think much of. Not until I hit the water source with a sign saying its 0.5 miles off the trail and scribbled in marker: "Its steep, downhill, and stinging nettles. Don't go." So I skipped it and had a crappy two miles to an unmarked spring.

Stopped at Jenkins Shelter for the day. Only 19 miles but I was pretty worn out at that point. Maybe I can push tomorrow if it is actually as flat as it looks on the map.

AT Day 34

2014/5/4 Mile 556

Slept well, likely due to the earplugs, and woke early. Finished my family size cinnamon sticks for breakfast and hit the road.

First trail magic of the day was at a historical settlers museum. They had an old schoolhouse with a sign that said "hikers welcome". Upon entering I found sodas, apples, a hiker box, and miscellaneous supplies. Took a pair of sunglasses because mine had broken a while back and some peanut butter.

Made it to I-81 by 1045 and resupplied my snacks at the gas station. Luckily I had everything else I needed for the next couple days. Walked up to The Barn Restaurant and got a giant breakfast while fiddling around on my phone (service! Wow!).

By noon I was back on the trail. Sun was hot but there was a good amount of breeze. Hit trail magic again at VA 724 where a hiker couple was just hanging out enjoying the day. They had beer, soda, and cookies in their car. I hung out and chatted with them for about 45 minutes and had a beer. They made me take beer and cookies to go.

Some unmanned trail magic popped up about a mile into the woods and I didn't even look in it. 3 times in a day is just too much.

Got to Knot Maul Shelter around 1800 and cooked some quinoa and veggies one of the hikers at Partnership gave me. A bit bland and not too filling but it was the right thing to eat after 3 meals of garbage.

Decided to tent because the shelter was dirty. A suspicious mark on the floor could have been someone's vomit and with Norovirus going around not something I want to risk.

So far nobody here but me. Going to be a nice quiet night.

AT Day 33

2014/5/3 Mile 531.4

We all got up early and the couple beat me out the door. I passed them about 7 miles in but we were heading to the same place so it didn't really matter.

Hit some unmanned trail magic around lunch left out by a church. Ate some of their ramen and some oatmeal before pushing on. Made fast work of the ~20 miles with pizza on my mind.

Hit Partnership Shelter around 1430 and chilled out at the visitor's center writing post cards and running some numbers on my progress. From the looks of it I can make it to the end and take 6 more zeros if I average 20 miles a day until New Hampshire and 14 a day after that. Maybe I will finish.

Ordered a large pizza (it was cheaper than a medium) and a family size cinnamon sticks (needed some breakfast) from Pizza Hut around 1600. Managed to eat 3/4 of the pizza and half the sticks. Hiker hunger for the win!

Rest of the evening will be hanging around the fire and reading my book. Other sheltermates are really loud and obnoxious but its still early so maybe they will chill out. They didn't hike today so they have lots of energy... Wonderful.

AT Day 32

2014/5/2 Mile 511.4

Slept cold last night but at least the woods were quiet. Coldest morning in a while and took a bit to get going. Was out of camp before Lost and Found even got up.

Spent the day hiking through really rocky terrain which took more energy than it should have. Most of the hike was spent in the Grayson Highlands which had a lot of cool jutting rock formations, large grassy balds, and wild ponies. Took my time checking out views and watching the ponies chilling and doing their thing.

Heading down out of the park I passed two women who said there was trail magic at the road: jackpot. Found the tent and they had lots of goodies including denatured alcohol which was a welcome surprise. I had been cooking at every meal due to the lower temps and the bonus fuel meant I wouldn't need to worry about running out.

Last 4 miles of the day were over Hurricane Mountain to Hurricane Mountain Shelter. Looks big and bad on the map but the trail was graded really nicely so it was an easy climb.

Met Nepsis and Heycast (sp on both?) who were spending the night there. They said I missed beer and burritos at the trail magic. There were some folks further back in the woods that I thought were just car camping but apparently that was part of the magic.

Oh well, there's always next time.

AT Day 31

2014/5/1 Mile 488

Breakfast at Woodchuck Hostel was awesome. Coffee, cereal, toast, hardboiled eggs, and donuts. All included in the price of a normal stay. Cannot say enough good things about this place.

Got on the trail by 8 and the sky was looking like it was having mixed feelings about storming. Oh well, can't zero again or I'll become a permanent resident of Damascus.

The hiking went by quick. I think the rest and the extra calories from town really helped. Only saw two other hikers out and about. Had a late lunch at Lost Mountain shelter and considered staying (making it a 15 mile day). I really didn't want to do the next climb up to 5000 ft without knowing there was a place to camp.

Around 1430 Lost and Found showed up and he had the AWOL guide which showed camping at the top. We both decided to head up there.

A beautiful view from Buzzard Rock rewarded me for the 2000 ft climb. Set up camp near Lost and Found and we ate together. He used to be an IT manager for a big company but now teaches SCUBA diving in the Cayman Islands. Oh, and he is through hiking the trail. Cool guy.

Retired early and worked on a book for bit before calling it a night. Going to be in the 30's tonight so let's hope the summer bag is up for the challenge.

AT Day 29 and 30

2014/4/29-30 Mile 467

Zero days! Two of them. Initially was only going to stay one night but the weather was looking really bad so I made the executive decision to stay out of it.

First day woke up late and went to a coffee shop for an expensive breakfast and then hung out talking with Fromage and Forrester for a few hours. Both really awesome, educated guys. Hope to hike with them some more.

Got my mail drop, hit up the outfitter for some gators and fuel, and bought some lunches for the trail. Dinner was at the local Mexican restaurant and after that we wandered looking for people congregating but found nothing.

Second day had breakfast at Dairy King which was much better. Had to move out of The Place because I hit my two night limit. Was planning to hike out but that got derailed by a side project.

I had been looking for an SMS service to check the weather and was unable to find anything that actually worked for me. So I decided to make one. Got a VPS for 5 bucks, a twilio account, and a developer account at weather underground. Spent most of the afternoon setting up the services until the coffee shop kicked me out as they closed.

Went to the Mexican restaurant because they had good WiFi and ssh'ed in on my phone to write a Python script using Flask to receive a text, look up the location, and reply with the forecast. Took a while to type it all in but it works! I'll share the code when I have a chance.

So it was late and I still had nowhere to stay so I started calling around. Everyone was full. Combined with the down pouring rain I was feeling pretty crappy but Woodchuck of Woodchuck Hostel called back and said I could stay in the garage. Done.

Gotta get moving early tomorrow. Feeling antsy but happy that I have a solution for my weather updates.