Wapiti Shelter to Sugar Run Gap and Woods Hole Hostel (AT Day 8, Fall 2016)

Appalachian Trail, 7.7 miles

That climb this morning though. It was really wicked. But now I am done. And my feet are so glad of it. When I finally reached Sugar Run Road and caught a glimpse of the gleaming metal roof of Woods Hole Hostel, I nearly collapsed in gratitude. And now that I'm showered and napped and wearing comfy cotton clothes, the whole week of hiking seems something like a dream.

A beautiful site after sleeping
in a hammock outdoors for a week!

Michael and Neville have a pretty amazing place here. At 5:30pm, whoever is here gathers in the kitchen and gets a job. Mine was to cube zucchini and yellow squash (which was picked just today from Neville's garden) and sauté it, and also to cook about six pounds of ground meat (which was from their butchered cows). The eight other hikers who are staying here tonight did things like pick and wash salad greens, grate cheese, set the table, and help Neville make tortillas.

Some of the gardens at Woods Hole Hostel

The meal was so incredible. It was like a gourmet version of Chipotle. Afterward all of us stayed to clean up. I am beyond full after two helpings of salad and two burritos.

My dinner mates

I got to talk to Jay for a few minutes on the phone and it was so good to hear his voice. I miss him so badly, and the kids too. Tomorrow I will get on the road early and hope to be home with my people by dinnertime.

Rocky Campsite to Wapiti Shelter (AT Day 7, Fall 2016)

Appalachian Trail, 10.6 miles

A lovely, lovely day. Partly because I know that tomorrow I'll be done. Feet held up better than I expected. I tied my boots a little differently today, got a little more creative with my moleskin on my heels, and kept a steady drip of Advil going, for the sake of my knee. I think I will have just enough to get through the day tomorrow, with exactly zero tablets to spare.

Both of my big toes look really weird and are kind of puffed up, under the nails. The left is worse than the right. I can feel a lot of tenderness under the nails, so I know there is some kind of injury or blistering going on, but I can't really see it. The good news is, usually after resting all night, things kind of look and feel closer to normal, so probably everything will be fine. I doubt I will lose the nails.

(Edited to add: Both nails fell off several weeks after my trip. Left one went on October 30, the right one on November 23. Luckily, there's plenty of time for them to grow back by the time flip-flop season gets here!)

I crossed a cool suspension bridge over a wide creek today.. It was kind of freaky because it swayed a lot when I was on it. The bridge was long, but only wide enough for one person. And oddly, as soon as I stepped onto it, I looked up and saw another hiker (southbounder) stepping on from the other side. He was the only person I saw all day. He stepped back off and let me pass. It was funny that we ran into each other at the only point of the trail where we could actually create a traffic jam, on that bridge.

I am staying at Wapiti Shelter tonight. Apparently a murder happened here a long time ago, according to the shelter log. Luckily there's no cell signal here, so I can't google it till after I get home in a couple days. It's really just better not to know. On the up side, it's a great place as far as shelters go. Water nearby, a privy, plenty of great trees to hang a hammock. Which is what I'm opting to do instead of sleeping in the shelter. I really need to keep my feet elevated again tonight, in an effort to coax my toenails into staying intact. I actually really like this spot. It is a good place to rest and think and be grateful.

There is a beautiful cold stream here, where I had a little time to soak my feet and meditate for a little while, until a crayfish touched my toe. I was sitting there all peaceful-like, enjoying the quite sounds of the water, and then I felt something brush my foot and looked down to see a crayfish claw about to clamp down, and kicked that thing so hard I nearly dislocated my ankle.

Something is wrong with my water filter. It has become very hard to pump. Luckily I was able to get my water bottles all filled up for tomorrow, so no worries. I'll have to take the filter apart when I get home and figure out what's up. It must need a new cartridge or a new bulb or something. I'm half wondering if it's just ready to move it on to the water-filter graveyard. It's old and tired and has served me well. I might end up getting one of those hipster Sawyer models. That seems to be what all the thru-hikers are using these days.

I have a big two-and-a-half mile steep climb in the morning, then it looks to be a fairly moderate 5 more miles or so to Woods Hole. I can't wait to shower.

Edited at 8:30pm to add: Three southbound thru-hikers showed up after I had eaten dinner. They are sleeping in the shelter. I'm glad for the company, especially because I'm still slightly creeped out by the murder stories in the shelter log.

Helveys Mill Shelter to a Campsite North of Jenny Knob Shelter (AT Day 6, Fall 2016)

Appalachian Trail, 13.6 miles

Long, lonely, hard day. (Do you see a theme here?) Saw three southbounders; that's it. Very few milestones in the data book; this makes it even harder mentally, because there's very little to look forward to throughout the day. It was also very dry again today; there was no water till nearly 10 miles in, which made it that much more difficult, mentally and physically. I had to carry a lot of water from my campsite last night, just to avoid panicking about a thirst-induced death.

My feet were super sore this morning, but by mid-day I was in a good groove and decided to push on past my intended stopping point (which was originally Jenny Knob Shelter). I ended up going about 13.6 miles today instead of 9.7, which will help take the edge off of a long day tomorrow.

I love my campsite. I'm at a beautiful rocky spot just off the trail. I love the fact that I can hang my hammock without worrying about finding a flat spot without rocks or roots.

Sleeping in the hammock tonight will be good for my feet. They really need to be elevated. When I took my boots off tonight, it appears that I might be blistering under the nail bed of both big toes. Not much I can do about that. I might end up losing those toenails from the trauma of so much climbing and descending. My feet are definitely taking a beating. This happened once before after a particularly taxing trip; one of my toenails ended up falling off a few weeks after I got home.

I had some issues hanging my food bag tonight. I got my rope and the attached carabiner stuck in a tree, so I had to cut the rope and leave the carabiner and rope remnant behind. :( My first casualty of the trip. After about six more attempts, I finally got a rope slung over a dead tree limb... only thing is, I'm not totally convinced it will support the weight of my food bag till morning. I hope it doesn't break in the night; I certainly have no Plan B!

There is a beautiful half-moon tonight, so bright that it is casting shadows in the trees even at this late hour (10pm).

Jenkins Shelter to Helveys Mill Shelter (AT Day 5, Fall 2016)

Appalachian Trail, 13.5 miles

No bears visited last night.

Today was a hard but good day. I packed up and got going pretty early because I had lots of miles to cover. My knee is feeling a little sensitive still, but STABLE!! Woot! The homemade brace and the Advil are helping.

Today is Joe's first day of 11th grade and I am not home to see him off to school. Jay texted me a picture and I was grateful to be at the top of a peak where I had enough of a cell signal to receive the text, but then of course it made me cry.

I saw only two other hikers today, both southbound.

The trail followed a road for about a mile and a half today. It was gravel, so very hard on the feet. There were other stretches of trail that were pretty, though. A few nice lookouts and a cool rhododendron tunnel.

Today's mileage was plenty long enough, but to add insult to injury (literally), the shelter was .3 miles from the trail, and the water source was another .3 miles down a side trail (one way!). So really I did closer to 14.5 today. I'm super tired but happy to be in the home stretch. Tomorrow I will hit the 600-mile mark.

The shelter tonight had a lot of mouse poop in it, so I hung my hammock. I'm getting pretty good at it, and fast. Luckily I've had no rain to contend with. But I think now that I have the hang of the rain fly, I'd be okay even if it rained a bit. In fact I kind of wish it would rain because the streams have been so dry.

Tomorrow I have 9.7 miles on my itinerary but I might push a couple miles more to a campsite instead of stopping at the next shelter. This will cut some distance off of Thursday, which might be a good thing.

I did some yoga on the picnic table in front of the shelter when I got here; that felt good.

I'm really feeling homesick. I miss my peeps.

Chestnut Knob Shelter to Jenkins Shelter (AT Day 4, Fall 2016)

Appalachian Trail, 10.7 miles

Sunrise this morning from Chestnut Knob

I got up early, wished a happy birthday to Mr. Mary Poppins, and off I went.

Why do I do this? It was a ridiculously hard day, even though it was only slightly longer than yesterday. Huge of amount of rock-scrambling, which slowed me down immensely. I am guessing that more than seven of my eleven-ish miles were spent climbing over jagged rocks and boulders.

Plus knee probs. That descent from Chestnut Knob, plus the hours on end of rock-scrambling, made it quite a lot worse. At times it hurt so bad that I just had to sit down, right on the trail, with my pack still on, and sob a little. Okay yeah, I was giving in to the drama a little bit. But I really was huring. At every break I studied my data book, pondering where I could bail and hitchhike to a town if my knee just could not keep going.

Then I remembered: you have Advil, you daft girl! I carry a pretty robust first aid kit, including a supply of anti-inflammatories, in case I encounter anyone experiencing an "emergency on the trail." For the first time I realized I AM THE EMERGENCY! I swallowed two tablets in a hot second. That definitely took the edge off, but I'm still feeling some sensitivity. I could probably have sucked down a couple more tablets to get some real relief, but now that I know I actually NEED these things if I expect to live till Friday, I need to ration them a bit.

Jenkins shelter was such a welcome sight, and there is a stream here, yay! It feels so good to drink as much water as I want. I had to be super careful with my water consumption all day because almost the whole day was dry.

Still no evidence of poison ivy on my hand. I think I'm in the clear about that. It seems like it would have materialized by now.

I saw only three other hikers today, which seems weird for a holiday. (Today is Labor Day, right?) Right now I am the only one at this shelter and it looks like it will stay that way all night, since it's almost 6pm. This is slightly unnerving because there are a few ranger signs at the shelter, saying there have been "bear activities" here recently. Activities? I'm guessing they're not referring to knitting or square-dancing or euchre. I made sure to hang my food bag really well.

Speaking of food: I'm starting to have that problem where I can't adequately refuel myself because I feel sick at the thought of eating. I gagged a little when trying to eat a Clif bar today. It's so weird. Clif bars are something I would normally like, in real life at home. I think maybe I need to bring more salty foods or something. I did okay with tuna and crackers. Will have to remember that when I'm packing foods for my next hike.

My other task tonight, besides choking down dinner, was to cut up one of my dirty shirts and tie it into strips. I am going to use it as a knee brace tomorrow. Hopefully that helps. I think I will need it. Tomorrow is a long day: 13.5 miles. Luckily my feet are still feeling stable, and only slightly sore.

Edited at 7:30pm to add: A guy called Chris just showed up and his tenting here tonight. He is friendly enough but not very talkative and looks to be completely exhausted. He said he did a 19-mile day today. If I were him I wouldn't want to talk about it either. In any case, I'm glad to have a partner with whom to fight off bears if needed.

Knot Maul Branch Shelter to Chestnut Knob Shelter (AT Day 3, Fall 2016)

Appalachian Trail, 9.4 miles

Today was so, so hard. How could it only have been nine-ish miles? It felt like ninety.

When I was leaving the shelter this morning, I tried to get the stray dog to follow me. I was hoping I could get her to walk with me far enough to where I could get a cell signal so I could call the phone number on her collar and her owner could come claim her. But she followed me for only like five minutes and then was gone. She is a free spirit, I think. Just like the rest of us out here I guess. I hope she made her way to somewhere safe.

Huge mental challenge today with a giant, non-stop climb during the second half of the day. It is much harder, I found, to be mentally stable when I am hiking alone. When I'm with other people, I'm serene, determined, steady. Jaunty, even. But when it's just me, I am a hot mess of nerves and self-doubt and I spend most of my day wondering if I will actually live through all this. Like I seriously have actual thoughts of dying right here on the trail. But I did make it through the day, and now I am at Chestnut Knob and it's lovely. The elevation makes for a beautiful view. I have heard from other hikers that the weather can be very fierce here at the top of the knob, but tonight it is calm and breathtaking.

View of the valley from Chestnut Knob

There is a stone shelter here at the top, which hopefully will be comfortably warm tonight. It is four-sided and even has a door, which is pretty rare for AT shelters. The roof of the shelter is bolted down with very thick steel cables, which says something about how windy it can get here. Right now, from where I am lying in the shelter, I can look out the doorway and see a beautiful starry sky.

Sadly, there is no water this high up. So I had to camel-up about a mile and a half before reaching the peak and lug 2+ liters of water up to the top of the knob. I'm told there is only one good water source between here and my next northbound stop tomorrow, so it looks like there is more water-lugging in my future.

An older guy is here, another southbounder. His trail name is Mary Poppins, because during his first long-distance hike he actually brought and used a giant black umbrella. He is a funny, polite, older southern gentleman. He arrived shortly after I did, and we talked a bit as we both made our dinners. He told me that he finds a lot of comfort in these mountains because it is a place of healing for him. He said he spent several weeks backpacking after he came back from fighting in Vietnam, and that nature is a good listener. He got a little bit teary as he was talking about it. I can only imagine the pain he has been through. Tomorrow is his 69th birthday. I need to remember to wish him a happy birthday when we both wake up in the morning.

I saw a first today: a huge Amish clan, hiking. I ran into them at the top of Chestnut Knob, in a nice grassy area not far from the shelter. I snuck a picture of them after they passed me (isn't it against their beliefs to be photographed? I seem to remember something about that, so I decided to get a stealthy shot). Seeing these sturdy amazing people was actually a good reality check for me, because I encountered them just at the time that I thought I might actually lie down and expire from heat exhaustion after climbing the 2500-foot ascent to Chestnut Knob. And then I see these women with thick, long, black dresses and long-sleeved shirts and flat black shoes on, some of them carrying children on their hip, and I think: okay. I am fine.

Two thru-hikers showed up later in the evening and tented near the shelter. The one guy dropped his pack and immediately disrobed almost to the point of being completely stark naked, walking around in nothing but his boots and compression undies. And I do mean compression. I guess once you've completed three-quarters of a 2,200-mile trail, you get pretty comfortable in your own skin.

The pain in my left knee is still there, and it's getting more pronounced. I am not sure what to do about that. My feet are doing okay, though the bone spur on one of my heels produced a pretty impressive blister today which broke. That I can handle; it's the knee issue I'm not so sure about. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

Campsite Near Davis Hollow to Knot Maul Branch Shelter (AT Day 2, Fall 2016)

Appalachian Trail, 12.6 miles

I realized this morning after looking at my data book that yesterday was one of the longest days of the trip. I'm kind of glad I didn't know that at the time I was hiking it.

I was a little cold last night in my hammock (my ten-dollar fleece was definitely put to good use). Wondering now if I should have brought even more layers.

I like the way my hammock elevates my feet; it's helpful to even out my circulation after a long day of hiking. No blisters yet.

I took a welcome break at around mile 8, which was Old Rich Valley Road. I had to climb a fence stile into a pasture, and right on the other side of the stile was a nice big tree, so I had a snack and then lay down at the base of the tree, with my feet propped up on the tree trunk. I'm not sure how long I was asleep, but I woke up to the sound of a very loud snorting sound, and opened my eyes to see about a dozen cows staring at me. They seemed a little too curious for my comfort. When they started nibbling at my pack and nodding and mooing at me, I hastily packed up and moved on. I was glad when they didn't follow me.

 

There were lots of climbs and descents today. I am pretty well spent. My feet feel sore but stable. I did, however, start noticing a weird pain in my left knee today. I've never really had knee issues, so I'm not sure what that's about. I'm keeping an eye on it. It's mild but definitely noticeable, especially on downhills.

I've also been watching my hand and wrist where I brushed against that poison-ivy-looking plant yesterday. So far, no signs of anything worrisome.

One-quarter of the way? Are you even kidding me right now?

I passed a makeshift sign nailed to a tree today, declaring that I was one-quarter of the way done with the Appalachian Trail. I don't know whether I should laugh or cry. This seems like an awful lot of work and suffering to only be a quarter of the way through.

I was going to stay tonight at a campsite where the trail crosses VA42, but I decided to push on another couple miles to Knot Maul Shelter, because I really don't like staying near road crossings. There is another couple here from New York; they are southbounders. There is also a stray dog; it looks to be a hunting dog from the collar it's wearing (it has a number on the collar rather than a name). There is no cell service here at all, else we would try to reach her owner. She seems pretty happy to stay here with us I think.

I decided to sleep in the shelter tonight rather than my hammock. This will speed my pack-up time in the morning, and it will likely be a little warmer than my hammock was last night. The other couple is tenting, so I have the shelter to myself. I hope there are no mice.

Partnership Shelter to Someplace Near Davis Hollow (AT Day 1, Fall 2016)

Appalachian Trail, 13.7 miles

Woke up this morning before my alarm, and as I was getting my stuff ready, I realized that I never called my credit card company to tell them I was traveling. The last time that happened, they shut down my card because they noticed I had gasoline charges in multiple states and apparently that looked sketchy. Since Jay and the kids use the same card for family purchases (like groceries), I figured I better put a call in to the bank so that my fam wouldn't be caught unawares without a working credit card for the next 8 days.

Michael (one of the owners of the hostel, who was scheduled to shuttle me to Partnership Shelter this morning at 6am) waited patiently while I used his land line to call US Bank. There is absolutely no cell service anywhere around the hostel for literally miles, so I had to use his phone to make the call. As soon as I finished, I was eager to head out. It was still so dark outside that I needed my headlamp to load my pack into Michael's truck. The clock on the dash said 6:13am.

It was almost a two-hour drive. Michael dropped me off at the parking lot between Partnership Shelter and Mt. Rogers Visitor Center, and then... I was all alone. There was no one at the visitor center yet, and no other hikers around, and it felt a little surreal. I became keenly aware that I was more than 90 miles from my vehicle, and more than 550 miles from my home. Not only will this be my longest solo hike to date, it's the first time I've hiked totally alone since 2005. I'm not afraid, exactly, but I'm definitely more aware of risk than I used to be.

The first couple hours of hiking were brutal. They always are. I felt painfully out of condition, inadequate, greenhornish. Like I had no business being out here. At all. But this is just part of the experience. I knew the feeling was temporary, so onward I went.

At one point I dropped one of my trekking poles and when I scooped it back up, I realized too late that my entire hand brushed a swath of three-leafed vegetation that looked suspiciously like poison ivy. Oh well. Too late to do anything about it now. I hope it doesn't turn into anything.

Overcast but pretty view from Glade Mountain

Today was the first time (at least in my recollection) that the AT crosses a railroad track. I mean like in a primitive way. I know it crosses train tracks in some spots alongside roads, but today I was surprised to see the trail go right up a grassy berm i the middle of nowhere, to a not-very-legit-looking rail crossing. But this is actually something cool about the AT: stuff can be primitive and sort of hodgepodge but no one complains or files a lawsuit. I walked right over that thing.

Way better than a map!

I am using an AT data book this time instead of a topographical map. In fact I didn't even bring a map this time. So far, I'm really glad of that decision. This data book is awesome. It has a simple topographical profile on it, and also a list of milestones and mileage marks. I love it. Plus I'm feeling all smug and clever because instead of bringing the whole book, I photocopied onto Tyvek paper only the pages I need. I don't know why it took me so long to dump my maps. (Haha, those sound like famous last words - I hope I don't live to regret them!)

Not my favorite scenery

The trail went under I-81 today, which was not very pleasant. I had to walk along some paved roads and then follow an underpass to cross the highway. It all seemed so stark and ugly after spending most of the day in the woods. And I felt kid of vulnerable, walking along the shoulder of the road while cars were flying by. I was glad to get back under the tree canopy when the trail went back into the wild.

I'm at my campsite now. I finished almost 14 miles. I thought about going a little further, but I'm pretty wiped out and I'm glad I'm done for the day. It took me a while to set up my hammock. This is my first long-distance trip without a tent, and I still have to get used to setting up my hammock and rainfly. I hope I get better and faster at it.

There's no one here at the campsite but me. I saw only about 10 other hikers today, despite the fact that it's the start of Labor Day Weekend. I really thought it would be much busier out here.

Woods Hole Hostel (AT Day 0, Fall 2016)

I made it here to Woods Hole Hostel, which is going to be my end-point eight days from now. I will stay here tonight and then get shuttled to my starting point early tomorrow morning.

It was an easy drive down, only about 10 hours including stops. One of those stops was at a Wal Mart about an hour north of here. I never shop there, honest. But today I made an exception because as I was driving (which affords much time for ruminating about my gear), I realized that the rope I brought for bear-bagging my food is really substandard. It is too thick and too short. It's also a very dark maroon color, which makes it hard to find in the dark when everything around you blends into one big palette of earth-tones. I had meant to buy a better rope before I left home, but that task never made it to the top of my to-do list. At the time, I figured in a pinch I could make do with what I had. But now that the reality of this trip has fully set in, I made a panic-stop at the Wytheville Wal Mart when I realized it would probably be the last retail opportunity I would see before hitting the trail. I found a longer, lighter, stronger, neon-orange nylon rope. I probably would have paid fifty bucks for it if I had to! It was only like three dollars.

I also picked up a fleece for ten bucks, which was another panic-induced purchase. During my drive I started fretting that the nighttime temps are going to be colder than I anticipated, and we all know how much I hate being cold at night. So now, for better or for worse, I have an additional layer (and additional 5 ounces or so to add to my pack, dang it.)

Woods Hole Hostel

Woods Hole Hostel is cool, but right now my mind can't really appreciate it. I am so keyed up about the hike ahead of me. I am also mentally exhausted from a crazy string of weeks at work. So even though it's only 7pm, I've enfolded myself into blankets in the hostel's bunk house, my alarm set for 5am when I'll get my last shower for 8 days and set off on my adventure.