Night Hike

I'm writing this entry the morning after, as opposed to last night. The reasons for this will be obvious by the end of the post.
I woke up today, our 2 month anniversary of being out on the trail, with stuffy sinuses and a renewed energy. The sun was shining and I ate a quick, large, breakfast with FedEx and Mr. Fantastic before setting forth. It was 17.1 miles to the road that would take us into town, so starting too late would make for a stressful hike.
The trail began by throwing a lot of large rocks in my path, slowing my pace considerably. Thankfully that was only at the outset, and soon I was making great time. 9 miles brought me to the next shelter and my lunch break. It was sunny enough to set my shoes and socks out to dry, and I curled up in the shade of the shelter, eating and reading the logbook. Mr. Fantastic caught up with me there and enjoyed some food as well, while we both stretched and massaged our beat up feet.
After a refreshing break I started hiking again, wanting to get those 8.1 miles covered before it got too late to hitch and resupply. The sun beat down on me today, with not a cloud in the sky and less tree cover than I'm used to. It made for a few sweaty climbs, but eventually I made it to the road where I met Magic Lungs. He had attempted a thru-hike last year, but made it just shy of where we are now. So this year, now that he's graduated college, he plans to finish his sojourn. A nice story to hear for those of us desperately fighting failure out here.
Mr. Fantastic caught up shortly, and we started the hitching process. It was 6:30pm already, but we had to try to get the 8 miles into town, resupply, and then figure out where we could hole up for the night. We were quickly picked up by a couple of section hikers who informed us that there was no hostel, motel, or hotel, and that the only resupply was at a gas station. A definite monkey wrench in our plans.
The gas station actually had a pretty nice market though, with fresh produce and everything. After a prolonged time there, choosing food, eating food, resting feet, it was time to work our way back to the trail. This time when we threw our thumbs up, a couple of guys behind us gassing up said they knew a guy who could give us a lift. They called their friend over, and told us how they always give rides to hikers in the area and love to do it. So back into the bed of another pick-up we went, wind in our hair as the miles flew by.
When we were back to the trailhead it was 9pm, and we had decided to hike 3.9 more miles to the next shelter. This meant our first experience hiking with headlamps, and our first 20+ mile day! It was a tough last stretch, especially since I hadn't had dinner yet. We climbed through the darkness, chatting and clacking out trekking poles to warn off any lumbering animals. We passed Magic Lungs, who had set up camp about 1.5 miles from the shelter, but pressed on, needing a water source. For a night hike it was a brutal climb, one of our steepest, and I summited more drenched in sweat than I've ever been. Once at the top the breeze and night air quickly cooled us off, and we ridge lined under the starry sky, desperate to not miss the shelter in the swampy darkness.
We did find the shelter, and were joyous to see that it was empty. We didn't want to set up tents in the dark when this tired, and we didn't want to have to tiptoe around sleeping hikers. It also helped that it's a gorgeous shelter with high ceilings and a roof over the picnic table platform. Quite posh indeed.
It was 11pm by this time, and we both ate ravenously. Adding these last miles to our day made planning the next 2 days much easier. We only have 16 miles for the next day, and then 12 into town after that. Once there we can enact our failed plan for this past town, and find a place to stay, shower, and launder. Mistakes are a dime a dozen out here, but it's all about turning them to your favor.

Keep on keepin' on

I awoke in a haze, quite literally. Hiking in a cloud has both pros and cons. It keeps you cool and keeps the insects at bay, however it makes the grass wet which quickly soaks through shoes.
Stumble left before me, but I was the next to head out. Unfortunately it wasn't until 9:15am until that happened. It was 12 miles to the next shelter, so I took an early lunch at a campsite, trying to unload some food weight in my pack by stuffing my face. It's a strange thing when you're eating to lose weight.
I came across a bear cub in the middle of the trail a few miles past my 1st lunch. The baby bear, like the baby deer, didn't know to be afraid of me. It just stared at me as I clacked my trekking poles together and whistled. Stupid bear. Eventually it wandered off, and I cautiously continued on, making sure the mother wasn't hiding somewhere that I was getting between her and her cub.
Back on the hike, I walked by some fascinating stone structures jutting out of the ground. Mr. Fantastic later described them as looking like cube shaped rocks that punched their way out of the ground.
When I finally made it to the shelter for my second lunch, and planned nap, I was dejected to realize I'd be joined by 3 section hikers. They were nice people, but couldn't stop talking to me. I was there to stuff my face and recharge, not have long conversations. As soon as I ate enough to get me up the climb that was ahead I shouldered my pack and said my farewells.
Shortly down the path I came across the little zip line that crossed the river to Captain's place. That's where the annual Hiker Feed takes place, but we missed it this year, so I continued upward.
The climb was steep, sweaty, and buggy, but thankfully short. I did see another bear before my day was over. This one thankfully knew well enough to run away when I got near. I picked up some water off a side trail and hobbled my way up to the shelter.
Upon arriving I met up with Stickness, whom I hadn't seen since Gatlinburg, and met Chainsaw and FedEx, who Stickness was hiking with lately. Speedbump joined us all for dinner shortly before Mr. Fantastic arrived. It's a nice group of hikers at the shelter tonight, which is always a plus. As I wandered away to make water I came across an amazing tree that had seemingly grown through a boulder, splitting it in the process. Interesting finds like that can make a whole days efforts worthwhile.
Now, as the day winds down, we look ahead to tomorrow and plan for the resupply. It's 17 miles into town, so we have to get there early enough to resupply at the supermarket before they close. Then we hope to find a dirt cheap room to get some shut eye in. It's a good day that ends with a dinner I don't have to prepare!

Back to the Grind

Things got silly last night, but I was still up by 9am, and thankfully sans hangover. I watched the second half of GoT with the balcony wifi, and was contented by 10am to get the resupply done with Mr. Fantastic.
This is the first time in 4 resupplies that we had a supermarket available, instead of a gas station or Dollar General. The benefits of having so many options can be tempered for me by my inability to not buy too much. All things said and done, my 2 day resupply is more like 4 and weighs about 15lbs. But I guess my luxury item on the trail, and everybody has at least one, is variety of foodstuffs.
After saying our hopefully temporary farewells, I slung my dramatically heavier pack onto my shoulders and strode over to the DQ.
I will say, I was shocked by how good their chicken fingers are with buffalo sauce. After the Blizzard that followed, Mr. Fantastic had joined me and we started off toward the trailhead.
By the time we were back to the trail it was around 1pm, and we had given up on any notions of doing a big mile day. Our only good option, in light of our timing, was to go to the first shelter only 7 miles away. Mr. Fantastic stopped early on to have his lunch on the trail, but I had just eaten, so continued on alone. The climb out of Pearisburg was a rough one, especially in the heat of the day. Once ascended the ridge lining trail was fun to follow, and lead to a great shelter in the woods right next to a bald. Since I had arrived at 4:30pm, I had plenty of time to dry my clothes, fetch some water, and eat a long enormous dinner.
Big Daddy Tickle joined us (he was also at the shindig last night, I forgot to mention) along with Stumble, a guy who gave himself this trip as a graduation present from college.
The sun is getting ready to set, and my sleeping bag beckons. With mostly clean and dry gear, and sun in the forecast, tomorrow should be a nice 16 mile hike. It feels good to have a real day planned out again.

Slack-packin'

Breakfast! Grits with cheese and fresh vegetables from the garden, eggs from the chickens we watched all afternoon, bananas, and cinnamon rolls that were to die for. Plus seconds. It was too much, but in a good way.
The day began with relaxing on the porch, overeating, and cleaning up after ourselves. Tapeworm and Mr. Fantastic got massages and were in heaven. The whole experience at Wood's Hole was almost too nice, and none of us really wanted to leave.
It took us until 1pm to set out, but we were taken care of by a couple of section hikers who were there. They had a car and shuttled our backpacks to the Plaza Motel, where we planned to stay. That makes today our first official experience as slack-packers.
Everyone else got a ride into town, but Mr. Fantastic and I are purists and insist on hiking each and every mile. It rarely feels good to be a purist, but so long as we finish the trail it'll all be worth it in the end.
The 10 mile hike into town was surprisingly tough, even without backpacks. It was very rocky with a massive descent, and we were both quite grateful for the diminished weight. There were a couple of nice views, but otherwise it was just challenge pure and simple.
Once at the road we walked over to Hardee's and had a great, greasy, post-hike meal. Another block brought us to our planned party motel. Most people had already arrived, and they had no vacancy left. Thankfully Goose let us move in with him for the night, and he happened to be next door to the party room.
After a few hours of showers and tv, people finally got into gear and we headed across the street to the Mexican restaurant. Stonechair's farewell bash was attended by Meta, Dick Flap, Tapeworm, Goose, Rowan, Cadence, Suds, Ulysses, Hoppel, Shenanigans, Wendigo, Mr. Fantastic, and myself. We filled the restaurant's bar, dominated the pool table, and owned the juke box for the entirety of our stay. We of course closed the place down, but when last call is at 10pm is doesn't take a lot of effort.
Back at the hotel the cases of beer came out, and everyone started getting loud, inside voices abandoned. This is of course the point of the night when we get complaint phone calls, so I'm going to take this chance to watch the Game of Thrones finale, and rest up for possibly 19 miles of hard terrain tomorrow. It may not be the best planning, but this trip isn't about planning, and we have to send our fellow hiker off in style. So long as we don't get kicked out, tonight was a raucous success.