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.

Settled In Waynesboro, Virginia

I think we are finally settled in at 340 North Campground.  Our drive this morning was pleasant, for the most part.  There was only one stressful moment.  The worst stretch of I-81 from just north of Knoxville to Waynesboro was through Roanoke.  Of course, the heaviest traffic we encountered was at the same area.  We have always been impressed with the number of tractor trailer rigs on I-81 in Virginia.  I’m not sure where they come from, but this morning they were all gathered in that one very rough spot at Roanoke.  That just happened to be the same place where four, that’s right, four state troopers had someone pulled over.  All those big rigs were trying to move over a lane; us too, but we had no place to go.  Fortunately, we were all going pretty slow, about 50 mph, and it would have been fine except one of the state trooper cars was not completely out of our lane.  Everybody scooted over as much as possible and we slid by with a few inches to spare.  I just knew we were going to crash.  Gene was much calmer than I was.  Thank goodness he was driving.

The campground, as the name implies, is located on US 340 North about 4 miles out of Waynesboro.  We’ve stayed here before.  It’s an old established campground with big trees and camping loops going in every direction.  Because it is laid out in loops and not straight lines, RVs are sitting in every direction, also.  Papa, who started the campground many years ago has since gone to his reward and his children are now running the place.  They don’t seem too enthusiastic about continuing the business and are somewhat less than helpful.  There is no cable, no Wi-Fi, no park maps or rules for that matter.

Since we are staying for a month, we were assigned a site in the long term area--the loop called “Friendship Circle”.  The young lady checking us in (probably a granddaughter of Papa) failed to mention we should drive down the farthest road to the right.  We came around the loop in wrong direction.  We were able to get into the site and with a little juggling were satisfied with our position.  We measured everything to be sure it would fit or reach.  Our kitchen slide was a little close to the neighbors wood pile, so we decided to back up a few feet to give ourselves more room to maneuver.  By backing up, it gave us more room on the side and also more room to park in front.  We were happy.  We unhitched, hooked up the sewer, water, and put out the slides.  Then we discovered we were a few feet short on the electrical cord.  You will be surprised to know we didn’t say any bad words.  It was more like a moan of disbelief.

We are here for the Appalachian Trail.  Two years ago I hiked several miles of the trail around here, some with my hiking buddy, Diane, aka DTour.  Gene and I will be doing day hikes on the trail, beginning about 90 miles south of here at VA 614 and continuing north to the Pennsylvania state line.

This campground is not very special, but it is quiet, cheap ($400/month including electricity), and close to the trail.  We’ll be too tired to notice it’s not a “resort” anyway.
I think that’s it for today.  Tomorrow, we’ll be on the trail.

Back in Virginia

Well, we are about halfway to our destination of Waynesboro and have stopped for the night in the small community of Max Meadows.  We had a pleasant drive from Townsend.  Departed just late enough to miss the morning rush through Knoxville.  Weather could have been a bit better, but we’re not complaining.  We had light showers off and on all day.

We can definitely tell we are 200 miles north of where we have been.  The temperature is noticeably cooler and there are still redbuds blooming and the leaves on the trees are still tiny.  It is much earlier in spring here.

We are parked at Fort Chiswell RV Campground (exit 80 off I-81).  Gene selected it after researching what was available in the area.  We have a 50 amp, full hook-up, pull-thru site.  The interior roads and parking pads are gravel, but well maintained.  Most sites have a nice shade tree and are separated from the neighbors by a large grassy area.  We also have what appears to be a brand new picnic table which sits on a concrete slab.  We are surrounded by rolling green pastures complete with a fairly large herd of black cows.  Definitely picturesque.  Being an old farm girl at heart, I love it.

We have free wi-fi and cable TV, including HBO.  All this didn’t come cheap--with Good Sam discount it is $31/night.  That’s more than we like to pay and wouldn’t if we were staying more than one night.  It is located just a half mile off the interstate (noise is blocked by the hill between us and it) and there is a Flying J at the exit.  It is convenient for a one night stay and that is worth something to us.

So, I have cookies baking in the oven, we’ll enjoy a little TV this evening, and we’ll be on our way in the morning.  Next stop--Waynesboro, VA at the south end of Shenandoah National Park.

Last Day in the Smokies

We survived the storms of yesterday.  Heavy rain woke me up in the dark hours of the morning, but there didn’t seem to be any wind associated with it and we did not loose our electricity again.

Jack in the Pulpit

This is our last day in East Tennessee and the last opportunity to soak up the goodness of the Smokies.  We each had a couple chores to take care of this morning, so we got a late start.  We took a quick look at the map to find something close and easy.

Middle Prong

I wanted to take one more walk up Middle Prong trail.  This is the trail we did in the rain several days ago.  I was hoping to get a few photos of the late blooming spring wildflowers.  That trail follows along the Middle Prong of the Little River and with all the rain yesterday, I felt it would be something special to see for our last hike here.

We were not disappointed in the wildflowers.  The trillium is pretty much gone as is the blood root, but in their place was showy orchis, foamflower, and Jack-in-the-Pulpit.  Not surprising, the water was rushing down the mountain and the creek was full.

Showy Orchis

We came here to get in better shape for hiking along the AT in Virginia.  The steep trails in these mountains have helped us reach our goal.  We’re going to miss hiking in this marvelous place, but we’ll look forward to the time when we can come back.

Now it is time to move on to Virginia.  Our destination is Waynesboro, at the south end of Shenandoah National Park.  That is a little farther than we like to drive in one day, so will make it a two-day trip.

We are ready to roll.  In the morning we’ll hitch up and get on our way.

Stormy Day in Tennessee

Like so many in this part of the country, we are getting a lot of rain along with a few thunderstorms today.  We have been lucky compared to some--mostly rain with mild storms.

This morning was intermittent sprinkles, so Gene was able to get all of his outdoor chores done in preparation for leaving on Monday.  Well, I say “all”; what I really mean is all that he could do this early.  The hitch is cleaned and lubricated, the inside of the truck is clean, all the outdoor stuff (welcome mat, flags, flag stand, ladder) are put away.

I did one last load of laundry this morning and was able to get back and forth from the laundry building without getting wet.  I’m going to miss the laundry facility here.  I think I said earlier this is a new campground and therefore all the facilities are new.  They have  front-loading washers which I really like.  The dryers are also new, of course, and haven’t gotten to the stage of not heating well.  The price is not too bad, either, at $3 per load.

The afternoon has been pretty wet, so we’ve stayed inside.  We had a few waves of thunder and lightning, even knocked out the electricity one time.  I got my vacuuming done and the floors mopped.  There was plenty of time left over for internet/computer stuff, reading, knitting, and napping.  Sounds like we had a pretty lazy day.

According to the weather forecast (if you can believe that) the storms will continue overnight and clear out in the morning.  I’m going to be bored sitting inside all day again tomorrow, so if the skies clear by the afternoon, we’ll probably go out for a short hike.

That’s it from East Tennessee for today.