You make it look so good...

4/30/08 - BEAUTIFUL WEATHER!

• Made for terrific views at McAfee Knob (one of the most photographed spots on the trail) and Tinker Cliffs.
• Stayed at McAfee Knob for 3 hours making a few day hikers jealous by munching on subs they scored from the Subway in Salem this morning!
• 16 mi - passed 700 mile mark today!!
• Caught a spectacular sunset at Tinker Cliffs then night hiked to Lamberts Meadow Shelter (which is actually in the middle of the woods - no meadow).

Not wading any longer...

4/28/08 - 8 hikers racing for a spot in Niday Shelter tonight - only holds 6... and it's supposed to rain all night...

• Rained all Sunday night, too. Hesitant to get out of bed, the group (still Half-brew, Snoopy, Mr. Friendly, and Hearts) slept in till 10 waiting for the downpour to wrap-up... it didn't.
• Finally got going around 11 & came across trail magic as they ascended their 1st climb (Pepsi & Baby Ruths)!
• Stopped raining after lunch (finally!), but the adventure had just begun - all of the creeks in the area were flooded...
• 1st creek they came across - everyone managed to shimmy across a log.
• Next creek they found themselves in a pickle... the most challenging predicament was determining how to get Half-brew's dog (Trinity) across a fairly swift moving current. They ended up wading waist deep into the water & handing her off from Half-brew to Hearts. Needless to say, Trinity was a bit sketched out! Amos also mentioned he was a little weary of the strainers he caught sight of just down stream... now I'm sketched out!
• Another climb.
• Description of the 3rd creek was reminiscent of the scene in Forest Gump where they're walking chest-deep through a swollen rice paddy in Vietnam - but it this case it was a farmers field in southwestern Virginia swimming with horse & donkey poo.
• Took 10 hours to go 5 miles because of all the difficulty they ran into crossing creeks.
• Managed to crank out the remaining 13 miles before dark & found the shelter with no vacancy by the time they arrived - forced to camp.
• Sky remained clear until bed and then the thunder & lightning began to roll just as they tucked themselves in... scattered T-storms became an off & on spectacle all night.

4/29/08 - Woke up in the morning shivering and not at all enthused about slipping into soaking wet gear. Proceeded to peek outside - initially looked like summer (green leaves and all) - further inspection yielded a novel surprise... SNOW! With temperatures becoming more & more frigid as they gained elevation throughout the day.

• ~17 mi. Snoopy described it best as "the most demoralizing day."
• Climbed Dragons Tooth - cragged rocky terrain with zero soil and zero vegetation that went straight up then straight down then up then down then up then down... & so on & so forth for 7 miles!! Good name.
• By the time they arrived at Va 624 they were spent. Stopped by the local convenience store to warm up with pizza and coffee but Half-brew had had enough so he vowed to pay for a hotel room if they could hitch a ride into Salem.
• 5 minutes later they snagged a ride with nice fellow in a company pick-up truck (who also agreed to take them back in the morning)!
• Spending the night at the Days Inn... room 220. Looking forward to a BIG continental breakfast bright & early in the am!!

Muddled up...

4/27/08 - Nice day for hiking - cloudy but no rain, warm but not hot!!

• Arrived at Bailey Gap & spent an hour and a half drying out gear (still wet from the day before).
• Described a pretty poorly maintained chunk of AT: Pine Swamp Shelter missing its roof (because a tree came crashing down on it earlier in the season) followed by a mandatory detour around a section of trail because a bridge was out...
• Trinity (Half-brew's dog) wrapped-up in animal instinct took off after a deer! (didn't get the rest of that story because the phone cut out...)
• 20.5 mi - got to War Spur Shelter just before it started raining!

Or not...

4/26/08 - Left Pearisburg at 10:45 am & hiked 11.5 mi before storms started raging around 4:00.

• Day began with a cream cheese injected blueberry muffin and then an ascent up a big mountain in the blazing sun (still no leaves) & unfortunately had to pass an industrial waste dump on the way - very smelly.
• Walked along boundary between WV & VA for much of the day.
• The group (Half-brew, Snoopy, & the hiker formerly known as Shutterbug - now Mr. Friendly) was forced to set up camp in Symms Gap Meadow on top of an apparently unnamed ridge line in West Virginia due to the weather!

Mooove along...

4/23/08 - Hiked up over 2 different "Brushy Mtns" - they must be running out of clever names to call them-thar big elevation spots - lots of "Brushys."

• Spring has sprung in the valleys! Dropping out of the mountains was like walking in 'fast-forward' through time... warm weather & blooming trees are always a nice change in pace from barren mountaintops.
• Spooked a cow or it spooked him... depending on who you ask - it's debatable. It was hiding in the bushes & once they caught a glimpse of one another the cow split - quick.
• Hiked 16 mi to Trent's Grocery Store & gobbled down a sub, fries, and a pint of chocolate ice cream on the porch while watching a group of loggers "work" across the street. (Amos said they actually looked like they were playing with toy logs & Tonka trucks.)
• Remaining 8 miles wound along Dismal Creek - kept checking to see if it was 'kayakable'.
• Passed the 600 mile mark! Stayed at Wapiti Shelter - nice relaxing evening with a fire.

4/24/08 - Woke-up & hiked to a series of high-tension wires that "smelled like death" - like the power lines fried something furry & its rotting carcass was simmering somewhere nearby... but terrific views!! Green valleys against the bare ridge lines were a gorgeous visual contrast.

• 16.5 mi.
• Stopped for lunch & tried to eat everything he had because he knew he'd be getting into town tonight. Peanut butter & applesauce pitas were delectable!
• Down 2,000 ft in 1.5 mi into Pearisburg to the Holiday Motor Lodge (with pastel walls... looked like something you'd see on a roadside in the middle of the desert in Arizona). Free spot on the floor of Half-brew, Snoopy, & Shutterbug's room!
• Italian place for dinner - pizza & a fried platter (mozzarella, mushrooms, onion rings, crazy waitress... no wait - she wasn't fried. Or was she?! She did show up at their hotel room later talking about dealing, dropping out of school in 10th grade, getting hitched at the tender age of 16 (!), being an alcoholic mother of 3, chasing her abusive [and also alcoholic] husband around their motel room [home] with a gun AND having a warrant out for her arrest - something about being wanted for 'Conspiracy Against the State of West Virginia'!!!? - like walking onto the set of a really bad talk show... I told Amos I wish I could scoop her up - set her up with a nice set of verniers & save her... from herself. He assured me it was too late.)

4/25/08 - Torn between hiking like crazy to Katahdin or enjoying the scenery (& the experience) along the way...

• Chose the latter. A day of zip... zero... zilch.
• Or... Internet cafe, coffee, laundry, groceries, & post office.
• Time to savor the adventure.

Be kind to your behind...

4/21/08 - Such a difficult goodbye... so difficult that I backed my car into a ditch. Left around 4:30 so that he could hike 11 mi to Chestnut Knob shelter before dark.

• Arrived around 9ish.
• Shelter was packed with people... even Naked Ron was there!

4/22/08 - Fairly uneventful day...

• 1st half of the day was pretty horrible followed by a nice & easy ridge-line walk to the interstate and then another climb to the shelter.
• Cold & rainy - in the 50's.
• 1st trail magic in a long time - cooler full of Gatorade provided by a local United Methodist church.
• Mid day surprise: someone left 6 rolls of Charmin Ultra at Jenkins shelter - SCORE!
• All in all hiked 24 miles to Helveys Mill Shelter.

Forced march...

4/18/08 - Arrived at forest service road about 3 miles before Chatfield Shelter - just as forest service personnel began to ignite a controlled burn.

• Allowed 6 thru hikers to follow foresters with chainsaws through burn area.
• ... and then one fell... not a chainsaw laden forester or a thru hiker but a burning TREE!! Forest service scattered when they heard the tree crack while the hikers stood there frozen, each with a wide-eyed deer-in-the-headlights stare. The tree landed about 20 feet from the foresters and about 2 feet from fellow thru hiker, Jukebox - splitting the two groups in half... close call!
• Lucky to get through - most hikers had to be shuttled around the site.
• Continued to walk the rest of the way thru a hot field to the truck stop in Atkins (I-81) & stayed at the Relax Inn. True to the motel's name... relax is just what he did for the remainder of the day... on the porch with Half-brew, Shutterbug, and a few beers.
• 11 mile day.

4/19/08 - This is where I come in. Upon arrival, Hearts sprung the idea of hiking a section of the AT together. "10 miles... easy terrain" was how the concept was presented to me...

• I was BAMBOOZLED.
• Chose to slackpack. Dropped-off the Jeep north of Atkins where the AT crosses Va. 42 and hiked back SOUTH to Atkins. (Half-brew & Shutterbug hiked north from Atkins and we handed-off the keys when we crossed paths so that they could drive my car back to town at the end of the day.)
• As we approached Va. 610... Amos decides to let me in on the fun little fact that our trip would have been 10 miles - as promised - IF we would have started at Va. 610 instead of Va. 42... The 10 miles I was pledged became 12. Keep in mind, at 2 miles in I was already getting pretty tired (I'M A SPRINTER - this distance stuff is for the birds) and I had just found out that my day hadn't actually begun...
• My attire was anything but ideal: fleece-lined pants, an assortment of cotton tees and my Mary-Jane Crocs. Several hikers we passed made mention of this urban legend they had heard in town of some chick hiking in Crocs... yeah that was me. Roller coaster weather made my clothing choice (especially the fleece-lined pants) absolutely miserable at times & a sheer blessing for the remainder of the day.
• After climing first big mountain we learned we had made it to the AT's 1/4 way point!! (@ 544.75 mi!!) Yay, Amos, yay!
• Remember how I was led to believe the terrain was going to be fairly easy?? Yeah, well we've come to the conclusion that Amos' perception of an "easy day" of hiking is heavily skewed. It was riddled with switchbacks and countless ups & downs - each one was even more unnecessary & excruciating that the last. He spent a significant amount of time waiting for me at the top of (and - to be fair - the bottom of) pretty much each and every climb.
• 9 miles later we found our way to Davis Path for a MUCH needed break. While I (literally) passed out on the shelter floor, Amos snacked on an apple pie & read the register. I eventually woke up freezing cold and less than enthused to finish the remaining 3 mi. The carrot Amos dangled in front of me to get my lazy butt off those old wooden planks was a promise of My Puerta Mexican and more importantly - a pitcher of margaritas. GAME ON!
• With an invigorating second wind we continued onward... Ran into a crazy guy in field with 1 answer to all questions... How many miles did you go today? "Springer Mtn." Which way do you think the rain is headed? "Springer Mtn." Any idea if the rain is coming our way? "Yeah. I come from Springer Mtn. down there in Georgia" - you don't say... Amos is going to have fun avoiding him for the next few days.
• We reached Atkins later than expected but with a full rainbow marking the long & tortuous path we had just taken... !!
• The best part of my day was when Half-brew told me that he also thought that section of trail was rough - this little nugget may seem insignificant to some but it made me feel a thousand times less lame about being so unbelievably wrecked from the hike. Though he did give me the honorary nickname "Hurts," which should provide some visual as to how out of sorts I was by the end of the day.
• Camped at the parking lot where the trail meets Va. 42 - in for a cold & rainy night.

Gettin' High...

4/16/08 - Get your mind out of the gutter! Hiked up to the top of Mt. Rogers (sans pack) - abundant snow & no view but the highest peak in Virginia so worth the trip. Then headed off to Grayson Highlands for a few wild pony sightings...

• The Highlands were "really awesome, the most beautiful section yet" - bald ridge lines & snowy pines - reminiscent of Utah.
• The term "wild ponies" is a little inaccurate, they're actually free-roaming ponies. Cowboys round 'em up in the winter. None the less, they've got free spirits alright... Amos caught a little pony porn. (I'm praying those pictures don't come out)
• Another pony walked up to him on the trail & started licking his trekking pole (he must have been doing some serious sweating the last few days to have created his own salt-lick). They even got comfy enough with one another for Amos to pet him!
• Hitched a ride with 2 fishermen to the Troutdale Baptist Church hostel. Troutdale is the highest town in Virginia. (Seriously. Stop. I'm still talking elevation.)
• Total of 21 mi.
• Slept on the floor in a storage shed & not actually in the shelter to avoid 2 very odd men - one of which produced a noise when he slept like no other audible sound on this planet - Andre the Giant snores... with gusto.

4/17/08 - The heart wants what it wants... and it wants pineapple & banana peppers!! (that picture from the last post is starting to make more sense). Goal was to make it to Partnership Shelter tonight because it's the only shelter on the trail where you can have pizza delivered - and of course Amos would take full advantage of that.

• Ate 3 pancakes for breakfast & was still a little hungry so had 2 more = 5 pancakes!
• 10:00 start to hike 15 mi.
• Walked 1/2 mile without pony protection (trekking poles) - forgot them after stopping to take a break & had to double back for retrieval.
• Brush with... well who knows what: Sitting at road & heard someone come up behind him (coughing). Looked back to see a guy behind a tree. Amos called out "hello?" 2x with no response so he hauled ass out of there... good move, but don't like the sound of that one.
• Made it to Partnership Shelter (safely!) - Snoopy caught up & Half-brew (& dog), too!!
• Ordered and ate an entire medium pineapple & banana pepper pizza. C'mon - pancakes & pizza all in one day!! He's living THE life.

[slak-pak]...

4/14/08 - Slackpack, verb 1. To hike a section of trail without a fully loaded backpack.

• 'The Plan' was to slackpack 26 mi... Money would be exchanged for a ride 26 miles north of the city. Hearts would be dropped off & hike back SOUTH toward Damascus. More money would be exchanged for another ride back up the trail to resume hiking Tuesday morning. So... many miles could be covered (because his gear would stay behind) & a warm bed would be waiting at the end of the day!
• Let me fast-forward... rain, wet snow, sleet, hail... plethora of precip in Damascus meant all kinds of snow in the mountains & nobody willing to brave the storm. Instead - he had to take another zero day.
• Pizza buffet, post office, pineapple phone (??), lots of cards with the fellas (Spades - go figure).

• OH! & Naked Ron showed up at The Place last night - out of nowhere!!

4/15/08 - Finally done with Damascus - time to move on!

• Started the day with Snoopy & hiked 15 mi by 3 pm to Lost Mountain Shelter.
• Decided to go a little further & setup tarp for the night...
• A little further wound up being higher in elevation...
• Higher in elevation meant lots of snow...
• Lots of snow meant nowhere to camp...
• Nowhere to camp meant pushing onward an additional 13 miles to the next shelter...
• Night hike: Arrived at Thomas Knob Shelter around 9:45 pm!!
• Today's total = 28 miles! (Prompted really bad shin splint in right leg.)
• Trip up the mountain reminded him of the winter wonderland he & Isaac hiked in the Smokys. Someone even built a snowman - which I was told he had some fun with (curious to see those pictures...).
• Found a thermometer that read 20 degrees right before (what he described as an incredible) sunset... and then he climbed an additional 1,000 ft. - brrrr!!
• So, he's in store for probably one of the most bitter nights of his life... Slackpacking seems so silly now. No need for a warm bed when a three-sided fort on the eastern flank Mt. Rogers will do...

Virginia is for Lovers...

4/12/08 - What the heck is that supposed to mean?! Virginia is for Lovers... certainly not lovers of the Appalachian Trail because Amos has been dreading this stretch of trail for a long long time. Anyway, welcome to VA! Where the state tree is the state flower and the state beverage is... milk (which I hear is a crucial ingredient in the official snack of the AT)!

• Yep! Kicked it into high gear after starting late and enjoying an hour-long lunch with Snoopy. With no intentions of spending another cold and rainy day on the trail they made the decision to go "all the way" around 4:30 pm & pushed onward a total of 26 miles to Damascus!!
• Knees are still sore - especially after today. BIG blister on big toe cropped up sometime during the big 2-6. Shins are doing just fine.
• The Place - a hostel belonging to the Damascus First United Methodist Church will be home sweet (warm & dry) home for the next few days.

4/13/08 - With a label like "The Friendliest Town on the Trail" who wouldn't want to spend a day mingling with the locals?!

• With a few inches of wet snow expected, Hearts took a zero day - lounging, coffee, church, lunch, beer, laundry, final round of the Masters, more beer, few rounds of cards, probably more beer, lights out.

Led astray...

4/11/08 - Fell asleep to a curious raccoon rummaging through garbage around camp last night... for about an hour.

• 22 miles & downright HOT - open to significant exposure since there are no leaves on the trees yet.
• Seriously considered taking a dip in Watauga Lake but thought better of it knowing that the water is still so cold.
• That is until scaling the next big hill... then nausea from the heat set in & he wished he'd gone avantouinti. (May have been suffering a mild case of heat stroke.)
• Lost for the 1st time - mile or 2 detour after misplacing the white blaze!
• Arrived at Iron Mountain Shelter fairly late. Everyone was asleep when he got there, so in an effort to let sleeping hikers lie, Hearts foraged through his dry provisions. Nothing fills a man up quite like dried nuts & berries after a long day on the trail...

Back in the saddle...

4/10/08 - If you're dying to know how you've been faring on the polls lately, let me run thru the results... cran/grape & mini straw (go figure - I voted beer), Naked Ron, AND if you said 4 days of boating (and boy did they boat! Everything but the kitchen sink... Tallulah, Nantahala Cascades, Cheoah, Yellow Creek [20 footer!], Wilsons Creek [4x in one day!], Little River in the Smokys, you name it!) you win the Kewpie doll! (I completely lost track of how many Mexican restaurants they hit... suffice it to say 'a lot!')

• Managed to snag a ride back to Kincora Hostel with Jesse to clean-up & catch-up on laundry. Then jumped right back in to AT around 6:30 (pm).
• 2 mi to Laurel Fork Shelter & good to be back! Except it's not. It's hard to get back out there after drying out, warming up, and spending some good quality time with the boys.
• (It's supposed to rain again tomorrow... then maybe snow Monday??)

Treerific timing...

3/4/08 - Woke-up in a big converted barn.

• 17.5 mi today.
• Hiked up Little Hump & Big Hump and into 60 mph winds on both mountains... blustery.
• Spent the remainder of the day below 3000 ft & strolled along Elk River for a good section of trail - which was a lovely change in pace... & scenery!
• Lots of "hillbilly" trash along the road again today, but no goats...
• Dinner: Chopped up wild onions to "ramp-up" instant mashed potatoes - mmm good move!
• Stayed at Mountaineer Falls Shelter.

4/5/08 - It poured all night.

• Woke up & hiked first 8 mi or so with Spock & Twiggy - started calling Twiggy "Hammer Pants" because her winter pants are a little big... that's ok - she's been calling him "Mary Poppins!"
• Change in plans: FINALLY had cell phone service around noon. Just in time to learn that Scot was on his way down & would be there around 2:00! A fierce desire to boat with Cody MUST have consumed him because he jogged the remaining 7.5 mi to Kincora Hostel and wound up getting there a half an hour before Scot & posse!
• As he reached Dennis Cove Rd. he looked back & a HUGE tree fell right where he had just been hiking!!
• Passed fellow thru-hikers Kerbie & Ken. They were all meandering down a trail headed into town when Amos looked back up the hill right as Kerbie tripped & fell... & then continued to fall for roughly 25-30 yards... straight down! It took another big tree to bring Kerbie to a stop! Amos (jokingly) told him he wasn't allowed to cheat & that he had to go back up the hill & hike back down... he did!!
• Boating for the next few days but should be back to AT around mid-week.

Up up and away...

4/3/08 - Crazy guy DID ride his Harley & lawnmower around this morning just as crazy lady predicted... at 5 am!! Lots of benchmarks today:

• Climbed Roan Mountain which rose over 3,000 ft in a span of only 3 mi!
• Last time over 6,000 ft until Mt. Washington in New Hampshire - good news.
• Less than 1800 mi to go!
• Last day walking the line between NC & TN and last night in North Carolina altogether!
• Day was described as such: Cold WIND WIND WIND WIND cold & rain... and then some more rain wind & cold. All in all not much fun.
• 14 AT mi to Overmountain Shelter - really cold & desperate to get warm under his quilt.

April showers...

4/2/08 - Bring soggy hikers - 6 days in a row with rain! Can't a guy catch a break!??

• Don't count on it. It's supposed to rain Thurs, Fri & Sat, too...
• Long day - 20 AT mi (+1 extra mile down an old forestry road). Especially since he & his new bunkmates (Half-brew & his dog, Spock & Twiggy) stayed up till midnight the night before giving each other relationship advice. Twiggy's a psych major who wants to be a marriage counselor someday - free help!
• Hiked with Half-brew part of the day & had lunch with him (& his dog) on top of Beauty Spot. It was a grassy knob flooded with sunshine - very peaceful.
• Climbed up Unaka Mtn. & then back down.
• Left shin started hurting really badly today - maybe the early onset of shin splints... Also, legs are getting more & more tired earlier & earlier in the day. Knees are: "Predictably sore. It's the new stuff I don't like" - Amos said.
• Staying at the Greasy Creek Friendly - owner seemed to be a peculiar elderly woman (with lots of cats...) who forced Amos wash his hands 3x in the span of 2 hours and has grand plans of making her own thru-hiker reality tv show! (Lyn - I'll get you her digits!) She mentioned having or wanting to use a web cam, too... Someone get the Google search started for any raw footage that might be out there of Amos brushing his teeth...
• Something to look forward to: The equally eccentric hostel owner claims her neighbor is "schizo" & HATES hikers! Apparently he owns a few vicious dogs & revves his Harley on his way to get his morning paper & after breakfast he rides his lawnmower around & beats on the hood to wake them up!! Should be an interesting rise & shine...

Leave it to Hearts...

4/1/08 - Spent a good part of the day in Erwin or getting to Erwin...

• Hiked around 6 mi to a hostel where $3 was spent on a much needed load of laundry & an additional $3 was spent on an even more essential shower.
• Crossed 3rd kayak-able river he didn't get to run... poor Hearts. (No need to be blue: looks like Scot will be down to get him on the 9th!)
• The hostel let him borrow a bike (for free!) to cruise into town.
• Hit up the grocery store, post office & library. Alright, alright - of course he went the local Mexican restaurant... Scarfed down a big order of veggie fajitas. SO FULL he couldn't walk... but managed to find room for a pint of ice cream!! (surprisingly NOT Ben or Jerry)
• Got lost in Erwin on his way out of town...
• Biked a total of 10 mi to and from Erwin. Rode back with a grocery bag on each handlebar : )
• Hiked remaining 4.5 mi to Curley Maple Gap Shelter. Hanging out with Half-Brew (who just got bit by a mouse) & his dog.