Friday, April 10, 2015

Bad Knees and Big Miles

It felt great being back on the trail after hanging out in Daleville for so long. We hiked for a few days parallel to the Blue Ridge Parkway which meant plentiful trash cans and the serene sounds of passing trucks.



Unfortunately the trail was extra rocky with multiple steep ups and downs. Hannah's knee began to wear out so we decided it would be best if we hitch hiked ahead to Glasgow, VA to rest up her knee. Glasgow has a free shelter for hikers in the center of town across the street from a dinosaur. It was nothing fancy but it did have a few bunks, running water, and outlets. Unfortunately the hot water was broken but a nice guy working at the water treatment plant next door offered us free use of their shower...yay for hot water!


While in Glasgow we met a couple of other hikers. Hot Rock, a guy in his early 50's going from Virginia to Massachusetts and Scruffs and Woodstock, a couple traveling with a bitter little dachshund. We spent a few lazy days hanging out at the library and playing cards before getting back out on the trail.


We started this section going relatively slow, taking it easy in case Hannah's knee still hurt. One day we ran into a hiker who had started February 28th. He seemed to be destroying himself. He made us feel grateful we decided to slow down but also like it was time to pick up the pace again. The next day we pushed ourselves to go further. We had a big uphill and then the trail mellowed out. By the end of the day we had gone 21 miles and decided to find a flat spot to set up the tent rather than push another four miles to the next shelter.

The next day we woke up feeling pretty good and went for another big day. It's a good thing we did because all of the shelters we passed after noon were packed with families, boy scout troops, and lots of teenagers. Apparently it's spring break around here.

We pushed on and ran into a steep downhill that seemed to go on for hours. At the bottom we took a look at a map posted on a kiosk and saw a shortcut we could take that would go past some water falls. we considered it for awhile and ended up going for it. It was shorter but had some incredibly steep ups and downs. The stream was beautiful though. It was one constant cascade.



Unfortunately when we got to camp it was already dark, was starting to rain, and the shelter was full. The area was so crowded that it took us a little while to find a place to set up our tent. We have spent most of the trip alone, so it was definitely a shock and a bit overwhelming to suddenly be sharing not only the trail but also the shelters with so many people. 

The trail from then on was pretty rocky and that slowed us down quite a bit. We are starting to run into more and more people on the trail now that spring is finally here.

We got to Waynesboro, VA and have been hanging out with Scruffs and Woodstock since then. We will likely be hiking parallel with them for awhile. It'll be nice to have a little more company. Their dog may bark constantly but it's not a biter and trusts you more when you have food in your hand.