Virginia Slims

I'm starting to get concerned I need to keep a closer eye on my weight. I took a shower the other day and saw myself in the mirror for the first time in a while. I think I look a little emaciated. I need to be eating around 3000-3500 calories a day while I'm hiking, which is about twice what I usually eat. I want these to be high quality calories, not just calories for calories sake. I need to get more clinical in the coming weeks about my hiker diet in order to maintain good body composition to be able to finish. Of course, the next challenge will be going back to my old diet when I'm not hiking 15 or more miles a day. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

4/16 VA 42 to Davis Farm Campsite - 18.2 miles

Today I start out again with my full pack planning to spend the next night on the trail. I'll be hiking with the big pack for a number of days, although Angelika will be still able to meet me along the way sometimes so I can still spend a few nights in a real bed with a good dinner and breakfast before heading back out on the trail.

When I looked at the trail conditions last night it warned about having to ford Lick Creek where the bridge had been knocked out in 2020. They're still designing a replacement. As a point of comparison, it took five years to build the Hoover Dam. The AT website warns about the dangers of fording unbridged rivers and how to do it safely. I'm accustomed to fording rivers in NH, so I girded my loins in preparation for having to take on a potentially dangerous river crossing. When I got there it was clear this did not warrant so much concern. The creek was maybe 20 feet wide and the water at the crossing only a few inches over the rocks. I didn't need to take my boots off. They got a little wet on the outside (I have waterproof boots for a reason, right?) and I was back on my way.

The next challenge was a 4 mile almost 2000 foot climb up to the crest of Chestnut Ridge. This was long and strenuous, but when I reached the ridge top I was rewarded with magnificent views. The path became wide and grassy and gently ascending to the top of the ridge. The weather was perfect, so at the high point I dropped my pack and enjoyed my lunch sitting in the sun and taking in the vista.

 

Just past this point was Chestnut Knob Shelter which is the first fully enclosed shelter I've come across. Inside I met a new through hiker Mayhem. He was staying there tonight, but it was too early for me to stop so I planned on continuing on to Davis Farm campsite.

The six miles from Walker Gap to Davis Farm looked fairly tame on the map, but the trail ended up being rough and rocky with lots of ups and downs as I walked the crest of the ridge. It was slow going and exhausting at the end of a long day of hiking.

I finally reached the campsite around 6:00 very tired and nearly out of water. It's pretty obvious not many people choose to camp here. It's 0.4 miles off the trail, but does have nice views of a farm down in the valley. I got my hammock set up, filter water for tonight and tomorrow, and just as I'm finishing dinner there's a nice sunset before I head to bed.

4/17 Davis Farm Campsite to US 52 Bland, VA - 14.7 miles

I learned something last night. Cows on the farm below like to make a lot of noise when it gets dark. Not normal cow lowing noises, but more like "help I'm being murdered" cow sounds. I walked enough the day before so it didn't keep me from falling asleep, but it was a little disturbing.

In the morning, it was quite cold. My watch ran out of battery during the night, so I ended up oversleeping a bit. At 7:00 it was still around 30 degrees outside which made me pretty unmotivated to get out of my sleeping bag. But the trail wasn't going to walk itself, so I got up, made breakfast, packed up the campsite, and was back on the trail before 9:00. Temperatures warmed quickly and it became perfect hiking weather the rest of the day.

As far as the trail goes, it was pretty uneventful. Much of the trail followed an old road bed so the walking was relatively easy. 

I planned to stop for lunch at Laurel Creek near a trailhead on a gravel road. When I arrived there was a young family there getting ready to hike south. The father asked me if I was through hiking and then offered me some trail magic. He hiked the trail himself in 2016 and was very happy to meet another through hiker. I had lunch there with his family and we compared our experiences.

A little later I met a woman hiking north who I met on Chestnut Ridge yesterday hiking south with a daypack. Turns out she's a section hiker slackpacking these trail sections getting shuttled to the trailheads from wherever she's staying. She told me she does 100 miles over her one week vacation. This was her last day, so I wouldn't see her again. 

Angelika met me on the trail about 2 miles from where she parked. It was an easy walk back to the van, although it was a lot more uphill than I was expecting. Usually when you get to a town you come down quite a bit, but not this time. We decided to get some sushi in town for dinner and then headed back to the campground to resupply for the next section tomorrow.  

4/18 US 52 Bland, VA to Jenny Knob Shelter - 12.1 miles

Today's hike was pretty uneventful. The trail was smooth, gentle, and mostly flat. The big event of the day was passing the 600 mile mark just before crossing VA 611. There was no marker that I could see, but it was worth a little mini celebration nonetheless.

I planned a pretty short day today. I'm trying to average at least 15 miles a day now, but the shelters and campsites aren't always spaced that way. After Angelika dropped me off at the trailhead, I reached the shelter by 2:00. Since I got to bed a little late last night, I decided I'd just hang out here and get to bed early to catch up on my sleep. I haven't seen a lot of other hikers the past few days, so I think there's a good chance I could be the only one here. No such luck though. By the time dinner time rolled around there were 10 through hikers at the shelter and they were not interested in getting to bed early. I need to change my strategy for planning where to stop for the night when I'm in the woods.  

While I was hanging out I noticed a baseball in the shelter. It had a note to please leave it there but take a picture of yourself holding it and email the picture to the person who left it. I was bored, so why not.

4/19 Jenny Knob Shelter to Sugar Run Mountain Radio Tower - 18.7 miles

Last night at the shelter was just too crowded and noisy for me, so today I resolved to hike past the shelter I planned to stay at and find a spot to camp along the way. That had the extra advantage of making my last day shorter so I'd have more time with Angelika before I had to head out again.

Along the way I passed through a meadow covered with very fragrant yellow wildflowers. I thought it made for a nice picture.

Next I had to cross a relatively long suspension bridge over Kimberling Creek. Suspension bridges are always fun since they sway as you walk across them. I know Angelika doesn't like that, but I think it's fun.

But the highlight of the day was stopping by Dismal Falls for lunch. A bunch of the hikers I met at the shelter last night stopped here as well and decided to go for a swim in the icy cold water. I was content watching them while I ate my lunch. It was too cold for me and none of them stayed in the water for more than a few seconds.

So if you're like me you wonder what makes these falls dismal? Well they're on Dismal Creek, which doesn't really answer the question, but the answer is actually kind of interesting. The bed of the creek runs over Devonian black shale. The sea deposits in this area from millions of years ago were deprived of oxygen, turned black, and collected sulfides. The mud eventually hardened into the black shale which contains pyrite and makes the soil acidic. The valleys that are over this shale make for poor farmland unlike the fertile valleys where the underlying rock is limestone. That's why Rich Valley is rich and Dismal Creek is dismal.

The rest of the hike was pretty uneventful. The trail was mostly smooth and gentle. The days are getting warmer. Temperature is supposed to reach high 70s today. I'm working up a sweat and my clothes are stained with it. It's hard to remember how cold it was just a few days ago.

After I filled up water at the shelter, I continued on to climb Sugar Gap Mountain and then look for a place to camp for the night. There was an established campsite at about the 4.5 mile mark, so I went off the trail there and pitched my hammock at the crest of the ridge to enjoy the view into the valley while I had dinner.

4/20 Sugar Run Mountain Radio Tower to Pearisburg, VA - 13.1 miles

A nice not too cool but not too warm morning. After breakfast and packing up I was back on the trail by 8:00. It's a relatively short day today and Angelika is meeting me at the parking area in Pearisburg so I can look forward to good meals and sleeping in a bed tonight.

Most of the hike is uneventful. The trail is generally moderate and smooth except for the last couple of miles down from Angel's Rest which is steep and rocky. The rest is walking through green tunnels of mountain laurel and along the sparsely forested ridge of Pearis Mountain. 

On the way today I spied an AT specific survey marker. This is the first one I've noticed. Thought it was worth sharing here.

This was the view from Pearis Mountain. I was holding out for Angel's Rest thinking it would be just as spectacular given the name, but it was actually a bit disappointing. The view from here was much better.

I've heard some of the other hikers talking about seeing rat snakes. I ran across one on the way down from Angel's Rest today. This guy was probably at least three feet long or more. He looks very intimidating, so I gave him a wide berth. 

Finally just before reaching the trailhead I walked through a large wildflower patch with these purple colored wildflowers everywhere. They were very attractive and nicely fragrant.

I met Angelika at the trailhead parking lot chatting with through hiker Hydro. She passed me on the trail a mile or so back so I told her to say HI to Angelika if she met her. She needed a ride to the hostel a couple miles away so we took her over on our way to the campground. First we stopped for dinner and had some excellent smoked barbeque at Bluegrass Barbeque.

My next section is four days in the woods before I meet Angelika again. I have to get back to the campground and pack to be ready for a long day tomorrow.

4/21 Pearisburg, VA to Pine Swamp Branch Shelter - 19.3 miles

Today was in the 80s so hiking was warm and sweaty today. The trail was a mix of long climbs, ups and downs hiking along the crest of the ridge, and then long descents. There's a pattern developing here of what it's like to hike in Virginia. Mountains tend to be more like miles long ridges with no distinct peak. It's very different than hiking in New Hampshire.

The first climb brought me up to Rice Meadow where there was a shelter and nice views from the open meadow.

There were wild irises in bloom along the edge of the trail today.

Otherwise, the trail was uneventful today. I shared the shelter with two through hikers Yukon Cornelius and Dump Truck. They were an interesting combination of shelter mates. Yukon is a 20-something young person with a degree in biology that graduated during Covid and never managed to get himself established. He was working in sales, but decided to quit and be a hiker bum for a while until he runs out of money or figures out what it wants to become. Dump Truck retired from the Army after 27 years of service. He worked many different positions and is now looking to join the Sheriff's Department in Indiana part time to have a little extra spending money. He'll be getting off the trail soon to follow up on his job opportunity. You do meet a lot of different sorts of people on the trail.

Had a little rain overnight, but we were all set in the shelter and it stopped by morning.

4/22 Pine Swamp Branch Shelter to Laurel Creek Shelter - 18.5 miles

Today there was a lot of climbing on the trail again. I went over two summits, Lone Pine Peak and Kelly Knob. The trail was rough and rocky, so progress was slow and hard on the feet. Temperatures are cooler today, in the 60s, but humidity is up so it still feels pretty warm hiking.

There were more the usual number of southbound hikers today. At this point I'm assuming they're section hikers, flip floppers, or folks just out for a short trip. Southbound through hikers won't be starting for over a month yet.

Crossed over Stony Creek on a nice footbridge.

Otherwise, today the trail was relatively uneventful. Shared the shelter with Dump Truck again tonight. He's getting off the trail just ahead so won't be seeing him again this trip.

The weather forecast for tomorrow is improving with no rain. I'm happy to be staying relatively dry so far on this section.

4/23 Laurel Creek Shelter to Brush Mountain - 16.9 miles

Weather is cool and clear today, so comfortable hiking.

Early on I crossed through large open farm pastures. Along the way I met Richard the farmer who owned the land I was walking through. He was on his four-wheeler bringing feed out for his cows. We chatted for a while. He's 83 and lived on the farm his entire life. His mother just turned 100. We talked about the importance of keeping up physical activity to maintain your health as you get older. He certainly looks healthy and strong. This is what his farm looks like. A beautiful piece of property.

As you pass through farms, you have to negotiate these things called stiles that are devices that allow you to pass through livestock fences but not the livestock. They take different forms like the Z-shaped thing in the picture, but sometimes it's a gate or a ladder that straddles the fence.

At this particular stile there happens to be the Keffer Oak. This is one of the largest trees on the trail, with circumference of close to 20 feet (it is really big in person). It is estimated to be 300 years old. Here's a picture close up and again from a couple hundred yards down the trail.

When you get to the top of Sinking Creek Mountain there many piles of stones that were put here by the farmers clearing the land for growing crops. There are maybe a hundred piles like this. People were made of tougher stuff back then. Chestnuts was a crop they raised here.

And, of course, there are more great views from the crest of the ridge.

This section of the trail follows the Eastern Continental Divide. If I pee'd on the left side of the trail it would find its way to the Sinking Creek Valley, the New River, the Mississippi River, and then the Gulf of Mexico/America. If I pee'd on the right side of the trail, it would eventually get to Craig Creek, the James River, and then the Atlantic Ocean. So many choices.

From Sinking Creek Mountain I descend steeply to Craig Creek. There  is a guy offering trail magic at the road here. This is a very welcome sight after a long hot day. He gives me cold drinks, snacks, makes me a couple of hot dogs and a boiled potato and two oranges for dessert. No need to cook dinner tonight. We chat for a while. He's a retired EMT and tells me stories from his EMT experiences.

While we're talking, another through hiker comes down the trail. He gets the same reception and tells us about a woman he met at the shelter a couple miles up the trail who is talking to herself and claiming to hear voices. She has no gear or water and is just hanging out at the shelter. This is obviously a concern. Our host texts somebody and says it's under control but can't say any more.

We say our thanks to the trail angel and cross the road where we have to ford Craig Creek because the bridge is out. Thankfully it's a short shallow crossing, so no need to take my boots off. The other hiker wasn't taking any chances, so stopped to take his shoes and socks off before crossing.

I continued on about 4.5 miles past the last shelter to get a head start on tomorrow's hike. I found a nice campsite most of the way up Brush Mountain so I can start with a short climb in the morning. The weather is warming up now so much that the sleeping bag is almost not required. Sleeping in the hammock is so much more comfortable than on the shelter floor.

4/24 Brush Mountain to Dragon Tooth Trailhead - 13.5 miles

I spent a comfortable night in the hammock and woke up early to a nice sunrise looking across the valley from my hammock. It was relatively warm, so breakfast and packing up moved along quickly.

While I was packing up the hiker I met at the trail magic yesterday let me know
that the woman who was acting strangely at the shelter came down on her own. The sheriff was on hand to help her get the assistance she needed to get herself back on track. Never take your mental health for granted. People on the trail do look out for each other.

At the top of Brush Mountain is a memorial to Audie Murphy who died in a plane crash here in 1971. He was the most highly decorated soldier in WWII and a celebrated war hero. Apparently a lot of people still honor him based on the amount of memorabilia they've left there.

From here the trail was smooth and gentle making good time down to Trout Creek. The climbing started again here. After a side trip to Pickle Branch Shelter to top off my water, there was a long ascent heading up to Cove Mountain and Dragon's Tooth. The trail became very uneven, rocky, and covered with leaves which slowed progress significantly. Along the way I passed the 700 mile mark which someone before me decided to memorialize.

I'm now a third of the way to Mount Kahtadin...woo hoo. When there was an opening in the ridge crest, the view was pretty spectacular.

After much wailing and gnashing of teeth I finally made it to the Dragon's Tooth. Some of the younger through hikers I met a few days back before Pearisburg were there having lunch.

The trail down from here was insanely steep down nearly vertical ledges and rocks. It was extremely slow going. I'm glad I planned a short day today. Eventually I got past that and the trail smoothed out to complete the descent down to the trailhead parking lot. 

Angelika hiked up to meet me, but we took different trails so I was only able to walk with her the last quarter mile. I'm glad to get out of the woods after my four sweaty days with no shower. We stopped for dinner on the way back to the campground and I packed up resupply to get back on the trail for another two days of backpacking.

With the weather warming up, the wildflowers are starting to bloom.

Rhododendron

Lady Slippers