Salt Log Gap to Long Mountain Wayside

Today, I walked south and Gene walked north.  I got the better deal there.  Not only did I   have less total uphill, my climbs were broken up into 500 foot segments. Gene had his 2000 foot climb right at the beginning.  Additionally, I had outstanding views and he had almost none.  We met for lunch before he had hiked far enough to get my splendid views.

Stone Walls at Tar Jacket Ridge

There were great place names today.  I started out from Salt Log Gap with the climb up Tar Jacket Ridge.  Tar Jacket was sparsely wooded--there were more boulders than trees.  Descending down the other side brought me to an open meadow at Hog Camp Gap.  Because there is a spring nearby, this large open area is a popular camping spot.

Next came Cole Mountain.  This mountain actually goes by two names--Cole and Cold.  I found the geo-marker on the summit, but it didn’t give a name at all.  Cole Mountain is a bald which apparently got that way from cattle grazing.  The guidebook also indicates that a resort was planned for this expansive open mountain top, but the project was never started.  Much of the climb was along an old road that is now covered in grass.  The views were fantastic.

Hiking up Cole Mountain on an old road

Down the other side of Cole Mountain brought me to Cow Camp Gap.  Cow Camp Gap Shelter was six-tenths of a mile down a blue-blazed trail.  I didn’t want to add that much distance to my day, so I pressed on up the side of Bald Knob.

About half way up Bald Knob was when I ran into Gene.  He had spent his entire morning trudging up the other side.  We stopped for a lunch break.  Bald Knob is not a bald at all.  Seems like they got the names mixed up.  It had enough trees to prevent much of a view.  We noticed at this elevation (about 4000 feet) the trees were just starting to leaf.

Bald Knob

We finished our hike with that looong descent to Long Mountain Wayside.

Tomorrow, we’ll stay home with the Peanut and do a few chores.

Punchbowl Mountain to Long Mountain Wayside

Yesterday turned out to be very slow and easy--a fine day of rest.  We had a few showers in the morning which ended early, but it remained cloudy for the rest of the day.

We went to Rockfish Outfitters after lunch and browsed around.  The only thing I found to buy was a pair of Smartwool hiking socks.  I have never had a pair, but they are the sock of choice for Gene.  My sock of choice has always been Bridgedales.  Once I put a pair on, I’ve never had anything else.  Bridgedales fit my feet snugly and don’t wrinkle inside my boot.  It doesn’t sound like much, but a wrinkle can cause a blister in a hurry.  My feet are small and it’s difficult to find a sock small enough to fit as they say, “Like a glove”.  As much as I like Bridgedale socks, I do have an issue with them.  The cushioning in the sole breaks down after a couple hundred miles and then becomes hard in the laundry.  Gene says the Smartwools don’t do that.  I’m giving them a try.

Bridge over Brown Mountain Creek

We’ve also been experimenting with our lunches on the trail.  When hiking in cold weather we often take a sandwich.  In warm weather, we take cheese and crackers or PB&J.  These days, there are several selections of tuna, chicken, and salmon in the canned meal section at the grocery.  BumbleBee makes a 2-serving can of tuna.  We like the lemon pepper and the sundried tomato flavors.  We’ve also become fans of spreading hummus on flour tortillas.  Yum, Yum.

Suspension bridge over Pedlar River

Our hike today was so easy compared to the previous 11 miles.  I was hiking north and started out downhill for a change.  After descending a thousand feet, I had an easy, nearly flat walk for the next 5 miles before gradually heading up a thousand feet to US 60.  Gene walked south and we met for lunch in the middle.

Brown Mountain Creek

There were a couple highlights of our hike today.  There were three really nice bridges.  It’s always nice to have a footbridge over water.  The suspension bridge over Pedlar River was my morning break spot.  It was an incredible structure.  There were two footbridges over Brown Mountain Creek.  They were both similar.  The one in the photo is at the Brown Mountain Creek Shelter where we had an afternoon break before heading up hill to the road where the truck was parked.

I don’t know for sure about these particular bridges, however, generally the trail clubs build the bridges.  Like trail building, privies, and shelters, it is all done by volunteers.  Thank you again for your hard work.

Another highlight was Pedlar Lake.  This mountain lake serves as the reservoir for the community of Lynchburg.  The AT passes above the lake, but views were limited now that there are so many leaves on the trees.

We followed Brown Mountain Creek upstream for about 2 miles.  This area was once home to freed slaves in the early 1900s.  The remains of stone walls could be seen all along the Creek.  Most were poor share croppers.  They moved out when the land was sold to the forest service in the 1930s.

That’s it for today.

James River to Punchbowl Mountain

We are taking a zero today.  It’s good to have a day off from hiking to let my feet and knees recover.  The only thing I planned to do today was to wash a load of hiking clothes.  That’s done, and now it’s on to resting.

James River far below

My hike from the James River started with a big climb.  That is always the case, whether from a river, a creek, or a gap, it is always uphill to get out.  I was very pleased with my trek uphill--almost 3,000 ft in about 2 miles in 1 hour an 15 minutes.  However, I guess I used up all my energy, because later in the day I didn’t think I was going to get up the next 1000 foot mountain.

Gene was hiking south and he had his own 1000 feet to climb at the beginning of his hike.  We met for lunch somewhere close to the middle.

Punchbowl Shelter

We each saw several other hikers.  My personal favorite was a day hiker who passed me very early in my hike.  He must have run up the mountain, because when I crested the top, he was there with his boots off, swinging in the breeze in his hammock, enjoying the day.  I spent a few minutes talking with him while gasping for big gulps of air.  Apparently, he does this little hike often.

Gene saw several thru-hikers.  We have been putting a cooler of cold drinks in the bed of the truck each day we hike.  When we encounter a thru-hiker, we tell them to help themselves when they get to the truck.  The cokes were all gone when we got back to the truck yesterday.  I’m glad for the hikers to have them, but, boy, was I ever looking forward to an ice cold coke myself.

We enjoy hiking, but there are days when I wonder why I do it.  Yesterday was one of those judgement questioning days.  It was hot and the sweat was just pouring off.  The gnats, I guess, saw me as their life-saving fountain.  It was not uncommon to swipe three of four out of my eyes at once.  I finally put on a head net.  It was hot and I could barely see out, but it gave me relief from those beastly gnats.

The remains of an old fire tower on top of Bluff Mtn

This morning, Gene and I discussed how miserable it would have been to come into the shelter in the afternoon after a long, hard day on the trail with all our clothes soaked from sweat, skin smelling of Deet, too tired to stand up and no good place to sit down.  How wonderful it was to get in the truck and come home to a hot shower and clean clothes and the longed for ice cold coke.

Well, I think that about sums up yesterday.  After lunch today we may drove over to the outfitter in Waynesboro to have a look around.  That should be fun.  Who knows what I’ll find that I didn’t know I needed.

Petites Gap to James River

We had a wonderful hike today.  I started out with a big climb out of Petites Gap where I ended on Thursday.  In the Gap behind a tree was a cooler of cokes, a gallon of water, and a grocery sack of cookies--trail magic. That first mile was steep and rocky going up and even worse coming down the other side.  But once I got down the very steep north side, it was smooth sailing for about 3 miles.  On my way down, I met a trail maintainer.  He was the one who had left the goodies behind the tree.

I passed a large camping area near a spring at about 2 miles.  There were several tents, but only one looked like a backpacking tent.  The others were too large and were probably couples just out for the weekend.  Although there were perhaps 10 tents in this area, I saw no people.  All sleeping in, I suppose.

As I walked along the ridge beyond the camping area, I had some great views back from where I had come.  This section was especially nice.  The trail was almost level and without rocks or roots.  The views were good and the azalea was in full bloom giving off a very pleasant aroma.

I met Gene about a third of the way down the mountain toward the James River.  We had a lunch and a nice break at Big Cove Branch.  There was a campsite here, as well, but it was empty.  As we continued our way down to the James River, we saw rhododendron in bloom.

At about mile 8 we came to Matts Creek Shelter.  A trail crew was busy installing a brand new privy.  Gene had passed by earlier in the morning on his way up to meet me.  He got there just in time to see the old privy pulled down.  By the time we came rolling in about 1 o’clock, the new privy was completely installed and ready for use, the hole where the old privy had been was completely filled in, and the crew was building a new trail to the new privy.  There were about 8 crew members; 4 men and 4 women.  They were all retirement age and all volunteers.  And they were all working very hard.

I just had to make a few pictures of the new privy.  As you can see from the photo, it is handicap accessible.  When I saw the hand rails, I thought that was pretty funny since once a long distance hiker gets in a sitting position, it is very difficult to get up again.  I said something to one of the crew members and she explained that all structures being built on the trails which are on federal land must comply with all federal regulations.  So you see, it is handicap accessible.

I have to offer a few words of praise for the trail crews.  The entire Appalachian Trail is maintained by several Appalachian Trail Clubs.  The club responsible for this section is the Natural Bridge Appalachian Trail Club.  Of the four days we have hiked in this section, we have seen members of this club on three of those days.  They work very hard keeping the trail in good condition for the hikers.  Our hats are off to all the trail clubs.  Thank you for your hard work.

The James River is one of those milestones along the trail.  I felt proud today to reach this milestone.  Only 1400 miles to go to the end atop Mt Katahdin in Maine.

Footbridge over the River

That’s it for today.  We’ll be hiking again tomorrow.

Into the Groove

No hiking today.  In trail-speak, that would be a zero day.  We are shooting for a schedule of hiking 2 days then take a day off.

Taking a “day off” is only a day off from hiking, not from work. Today was chore day.  Gene rubbed on the trailer some; even put on some wax.  He emptied all of our holding tanks.  Even the fresh water tank needed to be refreshed.

He also helped me with the laundry.  I fully intended to do laundry at the campground facility, but all the washers were being used when I got there just after 9 am.  Of course, that’s because there are only 3 washers for a campground of over 200 sites.  How crazy is that?  We loaded up and went downtown.

While out to do the laundry, we also stopped by the post office, bank, and grocery.  Didn’t get home until 1 PM.  Besides laundry and grocery shopping, my chores consisted of the routine housekeeping things--cleaning bath and kitchen, vacuuming.

We have both been busy all day--not much of a rest day.  However, I think we are getting a routine established.  If the schedule of hiking 2 days then taking a day off, works well for our bodies (and I think it will), then I can separate laundry and grocery shopping to different off days.  That should give us some real rest time on the days off.

I am getting a little better organized with my cooking, as well.  I normally like to prepare food from scratch.  Since we have been hiking so much, I have kept a couple Stouffer’s meals in the freezer.  It’s easy to just throw one in the oven to bake while we shower after a day on the trail.  Tonight, I made extra salad to go with the lasagna I’ll bake tomorrow.  Other meals consists of a piece of meat (chicken, steak, or pork chop) which Gene grills and I add a baked potato or Lipton noodles and a salad.  That’s pretty fast to prepare, but makes a mess to clean up

We still have about an 80 mile drive to the trailhead.  That long driving distance makes for a very long day.  However, each day the distance will be reduced and by the end of next week, we should be able to get to the trail in less than an hour.

On a more personal note, we have had a new addition to our extended family this week.  My nephew and his wife have a new son, born Monday evening.  The whole family is doing well, and my great nephew, Brayden, is happy being the big brother.

That’s all for today.

Walking Through The Creation

Another early start for another day on the trail.  Today, I was overwhelmed with the beauty of nature.

I dropped Gene off at Blue Ridge Parkway mile 71 at Petites Gap then drove another 7 miles to the trail where I started yesterday.  I walked north today while Gene walked south.  He saw nearly 30 other hikes while I only saw 5.  Everybody I thought I would see from yesterday had already passed my starting point before I got there.  Since they were ahead of me, I never saw them.

We each had a big climb at the beginning of our hikes.  Mine was up Apple Orchard Mountain.  There is no apple orchard there and apparently never has been.  Historians speculate it got its name because of the gnarled red oaks near the top.  These old distressed trees give the appearance of old orchard trees.  The summit is mostly an open bald with fantastic views to Arnold Valley below.  Somewhat of an eyesore in this otherwise pristine natural environment is a large white sphere which was originally an Air Force radar station between 1954 and 1975.  It’s still open.  There were trucks there when I went by, but I don’t know who owns it nor what purpose it serves today.

There are many features up and down the trail which get names attached to them and are then included in the hiking guidebooks.  We came to one such feature today.  Just below the summit of Apple Orchard Mountain is the Guillotine--a suspended rock between two boulders.

I stopped for a break at Thunder Hill Shelter and signed the shelter register.  Registers are at all shelters along the AT as well as at several other locations.  These registers, usually a spiral notebook, are a primary means of communications along the trail.  Hikers passing by or staying the night will usually sign in and leave a short message.  By reading the registers, the hikers know any important trail information, weather reports, and all the gossip among other hikers.  Who needs a telephone or email when there are shelter registers.

Not five minutes after my break at the shelter I met Gene.  We sat on a log by the trail for our lunch today and swapped stories of our hikes to that point.

View from Thunder Ridge Overlook

The beauty of the creation was all about me today.   Apple Orchard Mountain was pretty special, but it couldn’t compare to the huge patches of trillium I walked through after lunch.  It was breathtaking.

That’s it for today.  Tomorrow will be a zero mile day.  Gotta stay home sometime and get the work done around here.

On The Trail Again

Today was our first day back on the AT, doing the eleven miles between VA 614 and Blue Ridge Parkway mile 78.5.  I guess I should explain how we are running our shuttle.

Even though the AT is a footpath through the woods, it often crosses roads.  At those road crossings, there are often small parking areas where hikers can leave a car.  We are using a website which lists all these parking areas to locate a place to park the truck while we hike a section of trail.  We select two parking areas, one on the north end and the other on the south end.  One of us will get out at the north end parking area and walk south on the trail.  The other will drive the truck to the south end and park then walk north on the trail.  We meet somewhere in the middle, have lunch, and then continue to our respective parking areas.  The one hiking to the truck will drive north to pick up the other.  It is a self-supported shuttle.  It’s not ideal and we don’t get to hike together, but it allows us to cover many more miles that we would be able to otherwise.

So, today we got up and hustled to get out the door before 7 AM.  We had almost a hundred mile drive to the south end at VA 614.  It is only about 70 miles via I-84, but since we were dropping me off at Blue Ridge Parkway mile 78.5, we had to take the parkway route.  The speed limit is only 45 mph so we didn’t get to the drop-off point until after 9 o’clock.  I started south in a strong wind and 38 degree temperature.  Gene went down to VA 614 and started north.  We met for lunch at Bryant Ridge Shelter.

Since Gene has already hiked this section, he didn’t have to do the entire 11 miles.  After lunch at the shelter, he turned around and walked back to VA 614 with me.  This shuttle arrangement allows us to decide which direction we want to hike.  Since this was all new trail for me, I opted to hike south--downhill.  I’m a real fan of downhill.  It makes my feet and knees hurt, but I can hike so much faster.  I’d much rather feel the pain in my knees than trudge uphill.  When we get up closer to Waynesboro and in Shenandoah National Park where I have already hiked, Gene will get to selected which direction he wants to hike as that will be new trail for him.

We each saw several hikers out today.  There were about 8 thru-hikers.  I was surprised to see that many this far north.  They must have started in early February from Springer Mountain in Georgia and hiked through all that snow in Tennessee and North Carolina.  One hiker we spoke to, Bloodhound, said the snow was waist deep in places.  We saw several section hikers.  There was one group of 4 older ladies (seemed to be in their 60s) who were out for a week.  They were coming up, very slowly with those heavy backpacks, as I was going down Floyd Mountain.  I felt sorry for them, but they seemed to be in high spirits.  We’ll probably see several of these hikers again tomorrow as we do the next section.

As for wildlife--we didn’t see much.  We saw several deer and a couple turkey as we drove along the parkway this morning.  Along the trail, we saw a lizard, a toad, and a portion of a rattlesnake.  The snake was sunning himself on an old blowdown.  I was in front at that point and just saw him as I walked by.  His head portion was hidden from view behind a piece of bark.  He may not have seen me at all.  I was practically running after I realized what it was, and yelled to Gene to hurry on along.  Gene never saw the snake at all.  As for wildflowers, they are included in the photos.  I tried not to stop to take a lot of flower pictures.  I had too many miles to cover.  There were a few I couldn’t resist.

That’s it for today.