Mile 857.9 Waynesboro,VA

Sun 6/1

I zeroed today in Daleville and shared a hotel room with Southbound, Big Sexy, and Smoky. We went across the street for dinner at a Mexican restaurant.

Mon 6/2

Another zero day. I hung out at a coffee shop and went to BBQ restaurant in town that gives free bananna pudding to hikers. I wanted to get back on the trail tonight but ended up sharing a room with Big Spoon. A member of the Piñata Party Posse has several choices of action. One could, of course, take a hike with mike. But there are other options as well. One could stay in the room with Spoon, fuck off with Sloth, stick around with Southbound, or pet a poodle with Noodle. I chose to stay in the room with Spoon.

Tues 6/3

In the morning, the hotel had a continental breakfast. While eating breakfast, I burped loudly and then started laughing because I realized that behaviors acceptable on trail are not always acceptable in public. But this wasn't just a regular burp. This was what I call the "burp-fart." The burp-fart is a little something I invented several years ago while back in college (patent pending). To make a burp-fart, you burp and then stick your tongue out making a fart noise. I've been burp-farting on the trail since I started and it's still funny. Others are burp-farting as well, thanks to me and my invention of the burp-fart. I've been told that some other habits of mine are spreading among the trail community as well. For instance, when I climb a steep hill, I say "up-up-up." I would do this with my friend Melanie at home whenever we run up a steep hill. There is also the "marathon water method." When there are frequent and reliable water sources along the trail, I would stop and drink right at the source, not having to carry water with me. This method made sense to me, but to some, it was a novel idea. Others are now "marathoning" by downing two liters at a water source and hiking on without carrying water. "Half marathoning" is when one downs one liter and carries one liter. I haven't been doing this much in Virginia since it's hotter and we have longer stretches between water sources. Today I left Daleville in the afternoon and hiked 10 miles to Wilson Creek Shelter.

Wed 6/4

I hiked 17 miles to Jennings Creek. It rained. This was the heaviest downpour I've experienced so far. Then it stopped and the sun came out. I still enjoy hiking in the rain. The colors appear most vibrant following the rain. We got a ride to Middle Creek Campground and I shared a cabin with Big Spoon, Business Time, Hot Pop, and Ireland. There was a storm coming through with the threat of hail. We all got fries and milkshakes.

Thurs 6/5

I hiked 14 miles to Thunder Hill Shelter. It was a tough day with about 6,000 feet of climbing. Flowering rhododendron tunnels are everywhere.

This is the green tunnel. Many hikers get the 'Virginia blues' after a hiking through Virginia for a while. But I'm still loving it!

Fri 6/6

I hiked 14 miles and got a ride into Glasgow. Glasgow is a cool little trail town offering free camping and showers. We walked across the James River Footbridge today. This is the longest foot use only bridge on the AT and it's a bit of a hiker tradition to jump off the bridge. Many jumped but I didn't do it. Sometimes logs wash out into the river and you can't see what you're jumping into. If you get caught jumping, you get a $150 ticket. It's a dangerous jump from this height regardless and a someone got killed doing a jump here a few years ago.

We hung out at the shelter in town and went for pizza.

Sat 6/7

I resupplied at the Dollar General and spent some time at the library. There was a hiker feed by the bridge when we got back. At the top of Bluff Mountain, we came upon the Ottie Cline Powell monument. 

Ottie was 4 years old when he wandered away from his schoolhouse and died in this spot in 1891. The Punchbowl Shelter, where we spent the night, is supposedly haunted. People report sightings of a little boy when camping there. 11 miles for the day.

Sun 6/8

I didn't sleep at all last night because the noseeums were so bad. I had lunch and a nap at the Brown Mountain Creek Shelter. I sat in the creek. Smoky left the trail here. He was having issues at home and had foot problems. I camped at Hog Camp Gap after an 18 mile day. It rained during the night. Also, over 800 miles so far!

Mon 6/9

I hiked 22 miles to camp at Harpers Creek Shelter. I climbed up Spy Rock which was just a big rock scramble.

Soon I was at The Priest Shelter. It is custom at this shelter to write a confession in the shelter log. Many confessions were about violations of the Leave No Trace principles that we follow in the wilderness- someone throwing a beer can into the woods or not digging  a big enough cathole. Big Sexy confessed that he is, in fact, big and sexy. This is usually not a sin but apparently Big Sexy is so big and sexy that it is a sin and worthy of confession. 

We had some great views from Priest Mountain.

Tues 6/10

Business Time and I hiked to Reeds Gap and hitched a ride to Devils Backbone along with Sweet Tea and a couple section hikers. The Devils Backbone is a brewpub not far off the trail. As well as having great food and beer, they are super hiker friendly. They welcome hikers to camp on their property and provide a hiker only breakfast in the morning for $5. We just went in for lunch. It was the best lunch I've had on trail so far. I had a hummus plate, a veggie wrap, a pint of their ginger lager, and a root beer float. We got back to the trail and hiked to a campsite on Humpback Mountain. There was a thunder storm at night. 15 miles today. Here I am with Sweet Tea.

Wed 6/11

Business Time and I hiked to Rockfish Gap and got a ride to Waynesboro. It rained again today and we thought no one would want to pick up wet and smelly hikers but we had an offer for a ride to town as soon as we got to the road. Business Time and I shared a hotel room with Sloth and her dad.

Sloth's dad treated us for dinner and paid for the hotel room. Chinese buffets are almost always a bad idea but Ming Garden was great. 

Thurs 6/12

I spent another day hanging out with Sloth and her dad in Waynesboro. Business Time is now off the trail because of grad school.

Mile 724.0 Daleville, VA

Fri 5/16 - Mon 5/19

Trail Days, Damascus 

For several days each year in May, thousands of hikers make there way back to Damascus for the festival. Trail Days is the largest gathering of long distance hikers in the world. My friend Ryan, a 2013 thru hiker, picked me up from Laurel Creek on his way down from Connecticut on Thursday.

Ryan and I worked together in 2010 at Baxter State Park, the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail. Several of us from that summer have thru hiked the trail. Here, I am with Neal and Ryan. Neal is hiking this year. 

I set up my tent in a big field. This is tent city.

Venders have booths set up all over town. There was a ton of gear giveaways. Here, Backpacker Magazine is raffling off what seemed like an endless supply of backpacks filled with awesome gear. Unfortunately, my name was not called. 

However, I did score a free hat from OR and Darn Tough socks and a t-shirt from Vasque. Black Diamond wasn't selling gear but I got a new headlamp from for $10 on Sunday as they were packing up. Free gear repair was offered. I left my trekking poles with LEKI and they replaced everything except the handles. There was a shower truck set up and laundry services were provided. I got a free haircut. There were plenty of things for hikers to do this weekend. There was a hiker parade an Saturday. People got dressed up and there were water guns and a piñata filled with chicken nuggets and Honeybuns.

There was an opportunity to sign up to do trail work. It's called Hardcore. If you want to work Hatdcore, you need to sign up Saturday morning at 9 am. They only take 100 people and the slots fill up fast. This is an opportunity to work with Bob Peoples. Hikers get shuttled to the worksite on Sunday, work for a couple days, and get shuttled back to the trail. There were talks throughout the weekend. Gene Espy, the second thru hiker talked about his 1951 thru hike. Warren Doyle gave a talk about his 16 thru hikes of the AT. There was a talent show- singing, dancing, comedy. There was contra dancing Saturday night and free concerts. I missed out many of these festivities. One can't do everything. It was a lot to do and I needed a break. There were drum circles around the fire going on all night. 

I needed Monday just to recover. The weekend was fun but exhausting. Blu and Daytripper felt the same way.

After taking five zero days, I got a shuttle back to the trail from Miss Janet with 16 of us crammed into her van.

Tues 5/20

I hiked about 20 miles and camped with others just beyond the 600 mile mark.

Wed 5/21

I hiked 14 miles to Wapiti Shelter. I had wanted to go farther but took a side trail to Dismal Falls and spent several hours  enjoying the falls. 

Thurs 5/22

I woke up early and hiked seven miles to Wood's Hole Hostel. Here is a hostel on an organic farm that offers communal meals including fresh salad picked daily from their gardens, free yoga, freshly roasted coffee, and massage therapy. 

The hostel is run by Neville and her husband, Michael. 

Neville's grandparents used to own the property and Neville and Mike have been running it for the past five years. When I arrived in the morning, a yoga session was in progress. The dog was doing it too! Downward facing dog.

There are animals on the farm as well. 

Right after this photo was taken, the chicken on the right crossed the road (and none of us know why). For dinner, we had Mexican fiesta. I found El Borrego hanging out at the hostel. I had hiked with Borrego some through the Smokies and hung out with him in Hot Springs. Borrego has to leave the trail, temporally, to recover from a burn caused by spilling an alcohol stove on himself.

There are many hazards on the Appalachian Trail that a thru hiker must try and avoid. I've mentioned a couple already. Here is another: murder. At the Wapiti shelter, where I slept last night, two people were murdered. In 1981, a man by the name of Randall Lee Smith shot and stabbed two hikers to death during the night. Smith was convicted of second degree murder and served 15 years in prison. Smith was released on probation in 2006 only to attempt another double murder within two miles of the same shelter.

Fri 5/23

I woke up for breakfast in the morning. They had farm fresh eggs and homemade bread. The Piñata Party crew showed up in the afternoon. Beth came up to spend the weekend. We had a nice curry and rice dinner followed by some singing songs around the campfire after dark. Beth now has a trail name, Not Yet. Southbound asked Beth if she had a trail name and she replied, "Not yet."

Sat 5/24

After breakfast, Beth and I got a ride to Pearisburg for a 10 mile slackpack back to the hostel. We had a great hike with some nice views. The Piñata Party passed us going north. Beth and I made it back just in time for dinner. 

Sun 5/25

Beth led a morning yoga session. In the afternoon, everyone staying at the hostel went to a big Memorial Day picnic in town. It was a beautiful day and the group just hung out and ate food. It was pretty much what I imagined a southern Memorial Day picnic to be like. This was a church event with a large tent with tables and chairs, band playing on a trailer hitched to a dump truck, and a ton of food. We ate a lot of food.

Then we went back to the hostel and ate more food. Guthook, who was staying at the hostel this weekend shared his experience with food during his 2007 thru hike. You gorge yourself with food to the point where if you take one more bite, you'll throw up, and then two days later, you recall the experience and regret not finishing that sandwich. Guthook is the creator of the interactive trail guide app for the iPhone.

Mon 5/26

Neville gave me a ride to Pearisburg where I resupplied at the grocery store and got back on the trail. I walked through the historic Pearisburg cemetery which includes the grave of Captian George Pearis, for whom the town is named, as well as a dozen other civil war veterans. I found another trail cat. This one ran right up to me and followed me for a while. 

Here is another beautiful view from the trail. This factory produces cigarette filters.

I ended up hiking seven miles to Rice Field Shelter and shared the shelter with Shroomer who is working on finishing his triple crown. Shroomer is from Martinez, California. Martinez is known for three things:

1. Invention of the martini. 

2. Birthplace of Joe DiMaggio

3. Home of John Muir

Shroomer, comparing the AT with the other two trails, says that he likes the AT just as much. The AT is more difficult but the other trails require more planning and are more dangerous.

Tues 5/27

I hiked 16 miles to Bailey Gap Shelter. The 12 miles in the morning were slow. I thought it was me it wasn't. The trail was rocky and not well maintained through this section. There were comments is the shelter log such as:

"12 miles in 7 hrs, a personal worst."

"This trail needs Bob Peoples [the infamous trail maintainer] and Bob Peoples needs this trail." 

In the afternoon, I passed the Captain's house. The Captain invites hikers to camp on his property and has a zip line set up so we can cross over onto his property.

Wed 5/28

In the morning, I passed Mountain Lake, the location for the filming of Dirty Dancing. I took a nap at War Spur Shelter and ate lunch. I enjoyed view on Kelly Knob. I night hiked through some pastures making 17 miles and camped with Jukebox and Litttefoot who have recently been doing longer mile days. Jukebox met a girl at Trail Days and has been is pink blazing ever since. The AT has white blazes marking the trail but there are some other terms to familiarize yourself with:

Blue blazing- taking a side trail to bypass a section of trail.

Yellow blazing- hitching a ride or taking a road, bypassing a section of trail by following the yellow lines.

Pink blazing- slowing down or speeding up for the purpose of meeting up with a female hiker.

Aqua blazing- bypassing a section of trail via a waterway.

Thurs 5/29

I hiked 10 miles to Niday Shelter. I took lots of breaks and hiked a little bit with Glorious Laughter and Studmuffin. It rained in the evening and I didn't feel like hiking any farther today. 

Fri 5/30

I hiked today with Hot Pop. We came across the Audie Murphy Monument on the top of Brush Mountain. Audie Murphy was the most decorated American soldier of World War II and died in a plane crash near this site. At the bottom of the mountain we crossed a stream that had a chair. When you see a chair in the middle of the woods, you have to sit in it. There were a couple benches on the top of the last mountain as well. They were only about a 100 yards apart but I sat in both of them. I hiked up to Dragons Tooth on Cove Mountain. This is a stone monolith overlooking the town below. 

The descent from here was the most technical I've experienced so far on the AT.

I got down to the road just in time for a ride to the Homeplace Restaurant. 

This place served up family style all you can eat country meals. Everyone there was dressed up and then here we come, the dirty and smelly hikers. I stayed the night at 4 Pines Hostel where I met up once again with the Piñata Party. This hostel is run by Joe, a railroad worker and old alpaca farmer. He has a 3 bay garage with cots and a shower and takes donations.

Sat 5/31

The Piñata party was getting shuttled to Daleville and they took my pack with them in the morning so I could slackpack the 26 miles and meet up with them in Daleville. I passed the 700 mile mark and hiked to McAfee Knob. 

McAfee Knob is the most photographed point on the AT. I saw more day hikers here than anywhere else on the trail. Tinkers Cliffs, which I hiked across a few miles later, is a half mile of cliff walking. I shared a room at the Howard Johnson with Big Sexy, Southbound, and Smoky.

Sun 6/1

Just hung out in town all day. Dinner at the Mexican restaurant across the street. We stayed a second night at the hotel.

Mile 580.5 Laurel Creek, VA

Wed 5/7

We camped last night at a campsite a half mile outside of town. It's so easy to get stuck in these little towns, especially in a town like Damascus. Progress is made each time we leave, even if it's only half a mile. We saw a trail cat on the hike up to the campsite. 

It's not unheard of for people to be hiking with cats. Some even complete thru hikes with them! Here's a photo of a hiker a few years ago that just put his cat on the top of his pack and hiked with it. 

People thru hike with all sorts of stuff. The strangest thing I've heard of was a man who thru hiked with a tuba. In 2000, Super Scott the Tuba Man hiked southbound with a 30 lb tuba! Today our group spent a couple hours relaxing at the river which included lunch and naptime on some rocks.

I hiked back to the trail after this. The rest of the guys continued on the Creeper Trail along the river. The Creeper Trail is a 35 mile multi purpose rail trail that goes through Damascus. 

By hiking the Creeper Trail, they bypassed a mountain and were able to stop for ice cream and burgers at a place along the trail. I spent the night at Lost Mtn Shelter. 14 miles for the day. 

Thurs 5/8

Today I hiked alone 12 miles to Thomas Knob Shelter. This has been one of my favorite days out here so far. Lots of awesome views.

The AT skirts around the summit of Mt. Rogers, Virginia's high point. There is a side trail that takes us a half mile to the summit. I wasn't planning on doing it ended up doing it anyway. Besides being the high point in VIrginia, there is really nothing special about the top of Mt. Rogers. There are no views from the top, not even a sign marking the summit. All we get is a little geological marker at the top. But I knew this was the case before I went up anyway. Apparently, I had nothing better to do besides perhaps taking a nap at the nearby shelter (or hiking the remaining 1690.3 miles to Maine). The AT passes over several other state high points: 

Clingmans Dome, Tennessee 

High Point, New Jersey

Mount Greylock, Massachusetts 

Mt. Washington, New Hampshire 

Mt. Katahdin, Maine

I also saw some ponies! The little pony in this photo was only a few days old and still didn't have her teeth.

Fri 5/9

Today we hiked the Grayson Highlands many more ponies. There were lots of heards grazing throughout the park. 

I hiked 16 miles today and slept at Hurricane Mtn. Shelter. Today we passed the 500 mile milestone.

Sat 5/10

I rained most of the day as we did 20 miles to Partnership Shelter and ordered pizza. 

Reason #16 to hike the AT: You can call and have pizza delivered right to the shelter. I ate a large pizza and breadsticks. It was a pretty nice shelter too- a double decker with a shower. 

Sun 5/11

Big Spoon called a cab to take us to Marion. There is usually a 50¢ shuttle to town but they don't come on Sundays. We went did laundry and ate lunch at a Mexican restaurant. Here we are goofing off at the laundromat. Thru hikers doing laundry is loads of fun (pun intended)!

At the Mexican restaurant, Big Sexy ordered the "special dinner for 2" and ate it all by himself. I had ate fajitas and had fried ice cream for dessert. We spent the night at a cheap motel with all six of us in one room. 

Mon 5/12

I took the 2:30 shuttle back to the trail. The rest of the crew stayed in Marion an extra night but I didn't want to take two zero days in town so I left. I met up with K-Wamp and hiked until we got to an old farm and set up camp. We got some nice views and hiked through rhododendron tunnels along a stream. The rhododendron is now starting to bloom. We hiked about 9 miles today.

Tues 5/13

In the morning we came across an old one-room schoolhouse. There was trail magic inside provided by a couple whose son thru hiked last year. The man's great grandfather used to teach there.

We were told that hikers are welcome to camp anywhere on this property. This included the 1890 farm where we stayed last night. There is also a museum here that hikers get to visit for free.

We hiked across a stream and took a break to jump in the water.

I found my first tick crawling on me. I know ticks are a big problem on the AT but I was really hoping to not have to worry about them just yet. The moment I crossed over to Virginia was the moment the bugs came out. The bugs are only going to get worse as we hike north. I hiked 17 miles with K-Wamp to Knot Maul Branch Shelter.

Wed 5/14

After a 2000 ft climb, we took a break under a tree. The climb up in the morning was tough but the heat is making it even more difficult. I continued climbing and arrived at Chestnut Knob Shelter at the top. Chestnut shelter is made of concrete and is fully enclosed with cables in place to secure the roof. I imagine it gets pretty windy up here.

At the shelter, I took another nap and ate dinner. I night hiked an additional 15 miles and camped just passed Laurel Creek. My friend, Ryan, thru hiked last year and is driving down from Connecticut for Trail Days. Trail Days is a big hiker festival in Damascus. Ryan is picking me up from here to take me to Trail Days.

Thurs 5/15

Ryan picked me up at 6am to drive me to Damascus. It rained all day. The festival doesn't start until Friday. The venders were setting up and people were slowly starting to trickle in. Hikers come back to Damascus from wherever they are along the trail. We set out tents up in a field called tent city. Tent city will soon be packed full with tents. Tents will be set up all over the town- in the woods and on people's front lawns. There was a shower truck available for hikers and free haircuts were being offered to hikers. I showered and got my hair cut. Ryan met a friend that he hiked with from last year and the three of us went to dinner at Pizza Plus. In the evening, a video of last year's hike was shown.