McAfee Knob

How do you know you spend too much time hiking?

Trekking pole tan lines!!!

We made it to Daleville, VA today after some slight delays due to thunder storms and more freezing temperatures. 

We're finally starting to see a few more people on the trail, a few groups of section hikers, a couple of south bounder's who had started their hike in Harper's Ferry, WV, and another north bounder. It's been really nice having people to chat and hang out with.

Trail Dog (playing pool with Ian) has section hiked the southern end of the AT for the last twelve years and now that he is retired he's finally able to take the time to head north. Saturday morning while Ian and I were debating about whether or not to head out onto the trail in the icy temperatures, Trail Dog gave us some good advice about hiking your own hike and figuring out what it is that will make us happy and satisfied along the trail. Something that is said a lot by people on the trail is to "hike your own hike". It's interesting how that has started to take on different meanings as we progress along and as we talk to different people. 

After a couple days hanging out at Four Pines Hostel in Catawba, VA staying out of the cold wind and icy temperatures, we set out again. The temperature was still pretty low but the sun was shining and the wind was calmer. We planned a shorter hike (16 miles) so we could have time for hanging out at the viewpoints. 

We definitely got some classic McAfee Knob photos. There was a great view of the whole valley. 

Once we were able to tear ourselves away from the amazing view, we continued on to Tinker Cliffs where the trail goes along the edge of a cliff for half a mile and the view points back towards McAfee Knob. 

After we passed the cliffs we headed to the shelter where we hung out with a few of the section hikers we met at the hostel and laughed at their hound dog who whined just like Chewbacca. 

 

In about two weeks we'll be in Waynesboro, VA.

Ian Wilkie and Hannah Parker

General delivery 

Waynesboro, VA 22980

Freezing Rain and Friendly Ducks

Somehow last weeks blog post didn't get  published so that was fixed yesterday. So here is this weeks post. 

We left Atkins, VA with blue skies and a dry trail. The trail has slowly been getting flatter and flatter as we've come into Virginia. We have really been enjoying some slightly easier walking compared to the tough and intense straight up and down non-stop of Georgia and North Carolina.

Leaving Atkins we were planning several really big days in a row. We made it up to the top of Chestnut Knob to find this: 

Snow and freezing rain! Again!!

We were very thankful to have arrived at this awesome shelter about 45 minutes after the awful weather started and that very quickly turned a 20 mile day into a 10 mile day. 

Most of the shelters are lean-to's with one side completely open. So to have four walls, a door, and windows to block the ferocious wind and rain was great.  

We put a water bottle with boiling water inside the sock to try to dry it out. So much steam coming off of that wet sock! 

When we woke up the next morning to more of the same weather we decided it was time to leave the trail again. Our options were either hike 10 miles to the next shelter, arrive mid day soaking wet and freezing with no good way to warm up and dry out, or hike 25 miles to the next shelter after that and most likely arrive soaked and frozen with painful feet and again, no way to dry out. Plus, last time we hiked 20 miles in the rain we got the beginning stages of trench foot, which we would really like to avoid. That could easily be the end of this adventure if we're not careful. 

Instead, we decided to go one mile to Walker Gap and get a ride to Woods Hole Hostel where we were planning to stay a few days later.

Ian made some friends! 

After some confusion, all of the packages that had been sent were finally located and we discovered we had at least 20 extra pounds of food. We learned two valuable lessons this weekend. Lesson 1: don't have both parents send packages at the same time...we are grateful for all the food but we couldn't actually fit it all in our packs. Lesson 2: if you don't open a priority mail package the postal service will forward it for you for free! So in Daleville we'll probably just send one of those extra boxes on to the next town and we'll be good to go for a couple weeks. 

A couple working at the Woods Hole Hostel was incredibly generous and let us borrow their car to drive our extra 20 pounds of food in to town to the Post Office. While in town we dropped Ian's pack and most of our gear off at a hostel, drove the car back and "slackpacked" eleven miles to town. It was very refreshing being able to hike quicker and without the weight of our gear.

Especially when it's warm!

Early this morning after packing up and another long planning session with the guide book, we both sat down and decided we weren't happy with the way our trip was going so far. Because of our deadline we have been so focused on miles and timing and planning. We realized we hadn't given ourselves time to enjoy the views and the places we are hiking through. After talking this morning we both agreed that while we are on track to finish in time, we would rather slow down and enjoy ourselves even if that means we don't finish. We realized that while pushing ourselves as hard as we have been has allowed us to get in great shape, it has also forced us to miss out on a lot of what makes this hike such a unique and amazing experience. 

Learning to let go of the need to plan out every day and crunch all the numbers might take us both some time, but gaining that flexibility will allow for a much calmer and enjoyable experience.

Plus, breaking this trip into sections just gives us an excuse to get back out on the trail, whether it be next summer or later on. 

Wild Ponies

While in Damascus, VA we enjoyed the wonderful hospitality of Crazy Larry. Easily one of the best hostel experiences yet. I don't think our dirty clothes have ever smelled so good after being cleaned and a 50¢ thrift store puzzle occupied our time for most of the afternoon. 

Turned out a hiker we had been following for weeks was still in town due to an ankle injury so it was great getting to hang out and swap stories with another hiker. 

We left Damascus in more rain. After taking a detour around a broken bridge that put us right on the Virginia Creeper Trail (a super flat and easy biking trail), we realized the AT and Creeper Trail would cross again just a couple miles south of the shelter we were intending to stay at. Due to the rain the trail had become much more slippery than usual and our knees were aching after just a few miles. So we decided we'd give our knees a break for the day and stayed on the Vieginia Creeper Trail for most of the afternoon. Whether the Creeper Trail was actually a lot shorter or just that much easier, I don't know, but it shaved at least 2 hours off our time for the day. 

The next day the plan was to hike more than 20 miles. About mid day we took a snack break and realized we had been going much slower than we thought. All the streams in the area going over the trail were clogged with leaves and due to all the rain the day before they were overflowing and making a mess of the trail. So we decided instead of pushing hard to make the 20 miles we'd much rather spend the time fixing the streams (playing in them) and enjoying the beautiful weather. 

When we reached the top of Mt. Rogers and went around the corner to the shelter we were surprised by these guys.

Turns out there are a couple of herds of wild ponies hanging out in the Grayson Highlands National Park. 

That night while trying to cook dinner these curious ponies decided to join us for a while.

 

The one with the white mane went so far as to try to eat our tortillas right off the picnic table. So that night was more of a pony hang than a bear hang. 

The next two days the weather was beautiful, with no more than a sprinkling of rain a couple times. Monday we were thrilled that the temperature actually got warm enough to wear just shorts and t-shirts for the second time on the trip! 

We arrived in Atkins, VA last night after a 21 mile day. Our feet continue to rebel at the long days and boy were we ready for a hot shower. Not much else going on in this town so we'll do a quick resupply and get back out on the trail today. 

Ice slides and bears

After leaving Uncle Johnny's Hostel in Erwin, TN we were pleasantly surprised by how dry the trail was. As we were hiking away from Erwin we walked through a field high up on a mountain. It was very surreal and easily one of the most beautiful spots on the trail so far. Most of the ice and snow had melted from the ground but the plants and trees were all still white and frozen so it was opposite what it usually is.

The sun came out for a couple days and we thought we were finally clear of all the snow and ice. Until we were just below the summit of Roan Mountain where the entire trail turned into a giant frozen river.

 

Somewhere under all that ice is the trail we were supposed to be on. Thinking this wouldn't last for long, we bushwhacked for a bit and found the trail again farther ahead. But the ice continued...for miles. A few times the safest and easiest way to get down the trail was to put our rain pants on and turn the trail into a slide.

1.5 miles and 3 hours later we finally reached Carvers Gap. We were planning to continue hiking another 5 miles to the next shelter but given it was already 8pm, dark, and the trail continued to be frozen, we decided the safest thing was to leave the trail and get a ride to town. We started walking down the road thinking there was a hostel less than a mile away. 5 minutes later though we realized we were on a completely different road than we originally thought and were actually several miles away from town. Luckily for us, at that same time we happened to walk past a parked car and the couple offered to drive us across town to the hostel we were wanting to stay at. 

Upon successfully avoiding that nonsense we enjoyed a nice hot shower, slept in super late (8:30 whoohoo) and this was only due to daylight savings time, and did a nice slow 8 mile day in the sun. First time we were able to wear our shorts and t-shirts while hiking!

We decided to stop at the Kincora Hostel in Hampton, TN since it was basically on the trail. We met the famous Bob Peoples who entertained us for hours with stories from his trail days and all the interesting people who have stayed at his place. He was also incredibly generous by replacing Ian's broken gaiters and giving me a pack cover so I no longer had to rely on the poncho/kite. More and more we have been amazed by how generous and giving people are. 

After leaving Kincora Hostel we were planning to stay at the Watauga Lake Shelter, but as we got close to the shelter  we met a man who said he stayed at the shelter the night before and had had to deal with an angry bear. So that settled that...moving on to the next shelter. 8 miles of up hill later we were finally at the next shelter and the only source of water was .3 miles straight down the steepest hill ever. Luckily I remembered to bring Ian's headlamp because by the time I finished filling all the bottles it was completely dark and I almost forgot which direction I had come from. 

This was the first time in at least two weeks that we were sharing the shelter with other people. This would have been great (finally some other people to talk to), except I wasn't feeling well so all I wanted to do was curl up in the sleeping bag and go to sleep. At least Ian was able to enjoy their company.

 

The next day was raining and foggy and gross. Luckily the temperature stayed fairly warm because we were instantly wet and remained damp the entire day. This also proved to be a bit of a problem. Because we weren't cold we didn't worry about being wet and decided to go an extra 8 miles than we were originally intending. This was great because it ended up being our longest day (22.7 miles) and our fastest overall average (28 minute miles)! But when we finally reached the shelter our feet were showing the early signs of trench foot :( . 

After the day of rain it was nice to wake up to this sunrise.

Poking our heads out of the sleeping bag this is what we saw!

Lucky for us and our wet clothes and feet, Damscus, VA was only 10 miles away so we've been able to get clean and dry at least for today.

Our plan is to be at Woods Hole Hostel in Pearisburg, VA in about 9 days. Some people have asked about addresses for mail drops so we'll try to start posting addresses whenever we can figure it out soon enough. If you are interested our biggest thing needed is snack food.

As our days have been getting longer and the miles larger we've found that we've been going through more and more snack food...trail mix, nuts, goldfish, dried fruit, chocolate covered anything, etc.

Hannah Parker and Ian Wilkie

C/o Woods Hole Hostel

3696 Sugar Run Rd.

Pearisburg, VA 24134

ETA March 21, 2015

https://fundanything.com/en/campaigns/at-thru-hike

Finally some sun! Then it was gone

Quite a bit has happened since we last posted. We were able to get a ride around the Smokies.

After getting past the Smokies we stayed at Standing Bear Farm Hostel. It was a nice rustic place. The next morning we set out early and spent another day trudging through the snow. It was a big day at about 20 miles. We enjoyed the views from the top of Max Patch, a bald that was cleared for grazing long ago. This was one of the first days in a while that we didn't spend the day serounded by clouds and fog and boy were we thankful for the sun and these views.

After that we finished the hike around sundown the shelter was mediocre with pieces of the sleeping platform missing. Normally the shelters have well marked signs and trails for water, privy, etc. so we weren't worried about arriving close to dark. We forgot though that the snow makes it much harder to see the trail and we were unable to find the water source. We were grateful for once that we had snow so we could melt it for water. 

The next day was warmer than usual and we enjoyed hiking on some dirt for the first time since the very beginning of the trail. We made it into Hot Springs, NC in the afternoon and stayed at Elmers hostel. It was a beautiful building built prior to the Civil War. We enjoyed soaking sore muscles in the hot mineral springs.

We slept in rather late and left town around noon. It was a foggy day with a lot of uphill. First day in what felt like a long time we got the pleasure of walking on dirt. 

As we were finishing up the day, the sun started to burn off the fog and we were so happy to be able to see what was around us. The fog was really starting to wear on Hannah. Right as we came over the last hill the fog came back thicker than ever and the trail was covered in snow. We joked that this must be where the shelter is. Then we saw the outline of the roof through the fog. Hannah threatened to throw a temper tantrum. 

We woke up the next day with the intention of hiking 21.8 miles. This would be our biggest day yet. About 20 minutes into the hike Ian realized he forgot his hat back at the shelter and had to go back. We then proceeded to hike non-stop up hill for the next 6-7 miles. This was very exhausting. As soon as we reached the top there was suddenly several inches of snow. This very nearly caused an actual tantrum. We intended to bypass a sketchy part of the trail, but we both misread the guide book and ended up taking the wrong trail. We ended up going 3-4 miles off in the complete opposite direction and backtracking, before finding the correct bypass trail. All of this led to a very long and exhausting day, a lot of extra unnecessary miles, and sadly more soggy shoes and feet. Needless to say we had to stop early, only making it to Jerry Cabin Shelter, 15.4 miles, instead of the full 21.8 miles we were hoping to accomplish.

We woke up yesterday morning under the assumption that it was going to rain most of the day. So we doned our rain gear and headed out hoping to make up the miles lost the day before. By midmorning we were pleasantly surprised that most of the clouds and fog were gone and the sun was out. We were thrilled that the temperature had actually warmed up enough that were down to just our base layers and our shoes were actually drying out as we were walking. This was a whole new experience. 

Unfortunately the weather report was calling for freezing rain starting that evening and continuing through the next day with the temperature dropping to somewhere in the low teens. So we were forced off the trail again. 

We got incredibly lucky though. As we hiked down into Sam's Gap two other hikers came down and offered us a ride to Erwin, TN, where we were planning to go the next day. So here we are at Uncle Johnny's Hostel waiting out another storm. At least there's a friendly kitty to keep us company.

At least someone is enjoying the pile of smelly socks.