I Can See for Miles and Miles and Miles

700 miles - 1/3 of the way and counting!

Made it about 21 miles with one overnight in the woods, and what a hike it was. This is one of the most famous sections of trail, between Catawba and Daleville, Virginia, and it only took me about 4 miles to realize why. This hike included some of the most incredible views I have seen yet, and although there was some rough and steep hiking to get to them, it couldn't have been more worth it. The first landmark we got to, after passing the 700 mile mark, was McAfee knob. It's one of the most photographed places on the entire AT, and it's immediately obvious why.

McAfee Knob Panoramic View...

...in all directions...

...and the ability to get as close as possible to them.

We had lunch at the Knob, and couldn't have asked for a better place to picnic. Nonetheless, we got one, at the spot we chose to stay that night. We could see Tinker Mountain from McAfee Knob, and after a 5 mile hike along a high ridge, we'd walked around a horseshoe-like path and were standing on the Tinker Cliffs, staring back at McAfee Knob. It seemed much further away than it actually was. It was so beautiful, with the sun just starting to set, that we decided to stay.

Settling in at the Tinker Cliffs...

...just in time for sunset.

It's been so hot the past few days that we decided to try a new ULTRA-ultralight form of backpacking. We didn't take a tent, and instead set up hammocks in the trees...

Camp Nano, Hammock Style.

...which ended up being great (the hammock is really, really much more comfortable than it looks), except for the fact that complaining about the heat came back to bite me. The temperature dropped drastically on the Tinker Cliffs, and I was downright cold. I managed to sleep using my poncho for a blanket, but that's the last time I complain about the weather. It cold always be worse. We also left our cooking supplies at the RV and just took extra dry food...

...which apparently includes potted meat...My Grandpa was a real man for eating this stuff. I couldn't do it. If it didn't kill me in my sleep, the bears that smelled it would have.

Overall, this strategy worked pretty well, since I got to carry just my tiny slackpack, and survived the night. The next day started out a little chilly and wet, but with a nice breeze...

...and cliff walk to go with it.

Almost the whole hike on the second day was along a ridge, so it wasn't too steep, except for a few short stretches, but it was very rocky. One of these rocks even claimed the life of one of my hiking poles, which snapped in two when I fell on it after snagging my foot on a boulder. RIP, left hiking pole. You were a good pole, and you let me escape that fall with just a bruise instead of a broken leg.

The Hay Rocks, near where my pole met its end.

Because sometimes hiking horizontally just isn't challenging enough...

We got good, panoramic views of the town below us and the James River all day, even though it was cloudy. There are many, many pictures, all of which look about like the view from Tinker Cliffs, and none of them do the actual sight justice. When we finally got to the bottom of the ridge that afternoon, I was sad to see it end.

Something just isn't right with this picture....

We made it about 12 miles total on the second day of this leg, and were glad to go get some pot roast and cobbler with the Trail Angel Mamma. Wouldn't you know, 5 minutes after we got picked up, it started raining. Sometimes things just work out.

Life is good.

Do the Rockslide

Dragging myself up a steep climb.

We underestimated the difficulty of our 14 mile hike today. On a topography map, it doesn't look too bad. A gentle climb with lots of ridge hiking afterwards. But, a topography map doesn't tell you whether you'll be walking over neatly packed dirt, loosely packed rocks, or thin air. Today happened to be a day for the second of those. The first mile or so was relatively innocent, but things change quickly around here. We had a steep and rocky 4 mile climb up to a stone monolith called "Dragon's Tooth," because, well...it looks like a giant tooth. We had lunch there and enjoyed the view and the breeze.

Dragon's Tooth.

Rock Climbing.

View.

I'd like to say that we had a nice, leisurely climb down from Dragon's Tooth, but it was less nice and leisurely and more terrifying, and less climbing and more sliding. The climb was down completely sheer rock faces, and the "trail" down them was clearly designed by someone with legs twice as long as mine. I had to sit down and use my hands in lots of places. I have a serious aversion to the idea of breaking an ankle or falling off a cliff, so I crawled at a snail's pace down those rocks. I did get down though, eventually. In hindsight, it was pretty fun.

Trying to decide how to navigate down the rocks...

...There were even metal steps in the rock faces...

...which took every ounce of whatever grace of movement I have not to fall off of.

Then it started to rain...crawling over those same slick rocks in the rain is not so much fun...

Sliding up the rocks in the rain.

...but it only rained for an hour or so, just long enough to make me put on my rain gear. I really have to find a better way to stay dry. Hiking in my rain gear is like working out wearing plastic bags. I realize celebrities pay thousands of dollars to have someone make them sweat that much, but that's not what I'm going for here. Rain or no rain, it took us almost 9 hours to make it 14 miles, much slower than our pace of late, but there was some hard hiking to be done. We had some good hearty food at a restaurant in Blacksburg, namely a baked potato loaded with chili, cheese, onions, jalapenos, salsa and sour cream for me. I know I'm going to be sore tomorrow from scrambling around those rocks, but with food like that in my stomach, I can't complain...

...or when the views are this good.

Mileage Update:

Miles from Springer: 699

Rocks Galore

Climbin' that mountain...

We went about 10 miles yesterday, and about 8 today, both days over some very rocky terrain. Yesterday, when we got to the top of Sinking Creek Mountain, we hiked for several miles on exposed boulders at the summit. It hit 90 degrees again, but we found a nice shady rock at the mountaintop to eat lunch on, with a great view. It's absolutely moments and sights like that that make a really hard climb and sore feet worth the effort.

Rocky ledge.

Our lunch spot.

After that trek, we made a little detour to Blacksburg, home of the Hokies, and I loved it there. They have some serious school spirit in that town. Everyone was walking around in Virginia Tech gear, and it seems like all the stores and restaurants are Hokie-themed. We got burgers at the Hokie House and Italian Ice at Rita's, right across the street from campus. It made me miss college.

Hokie House.

Today we only went about 7.5 miles, up and over Brush Mountain. I really pushed myself with the pace today, because it looked like rain the entire time and I didn't want to walk uphill in my hot rain gear. But, fortune smiled on us, and it was just cloudy, no rain, which was great since it made everything much cooler. Today, the terrain wasn't rocky, but there was a very special rock at the summit. Audie Murphey, the most decorated American soldier in WWII, was killed in a plane crash on Brush Mountain in the 1970s, and there is a monument to him there now. It's amazing that a war hero like Audie survived enough battle wounds to earn 3 Purple Hearts, and lost his life in a plane crash 30 years later. The monument is well cared for, and there were red, white and blue flower wreaths there, along with a very impressive kairn that has apparently been built by hikers over the years. Daddy and I added to it and had lunch there with Audie.

The Audie Murphy Monument.

So we had two days of really good hiking, both of which ended with more swimming in the river. Can't ask for much more than that, even when there is medical school paperwork to be done...

Just hangin' out.

Hot, Hot, Hot

Dinner at a real table in the woods. What a treat.

It just keeps getting hotter out here in Virginia, and more humid. That, combined with some really rocky terrain and steep climbs, made the hiking over the past two days pretty slow going. But we made it another 20 miles, and managed not to sweat off any vital organs. We stayed near a shelter on our overnight, mostly because there was a really nice creek there, and most of the other water sources we've passed lately have been completely dry because of all the hot weather. We hiked through forests most of the first day, but on the second day, after a very rocky 1,700 foot climb, we got to a great view at Kelly Knob.

On Kelly Knob.

The view.

We also did several miles of hiking through open fields on the second day. Nice views, but brutal walking exposed through the sun.

If you look really close, you can see me.

Needless to say, I was one hot and happy camper when I got to the pickup spot today. It's been so nice having the Jeep here so the Trail Angel Mamma can come get us without dragging our whole house around. The Trail Angel and Trail Dog were waiting for us with root beer and ice (oh how I miss ice when we're out overnight...), and we walked a little further up the trail to see the Kefer Oak. It's the second largest tree on the whole AT, and it's estimated to be 300 years old.

Uninspired by the promise of the Kefer Oak, Trail Dog prefers the creek.

Me standing next to the Kefer Oak. It's 18 feet in circumference. That's almost 4 of me.

An epic treehouse could be built in these 300 year old branches.

The Kefer Oak is older than this country. If only trees could talk. What changes that thing must have seen. Just one of the many things about being out here that never ceases to amaze me. Even more amazing was the dip in the river that I got to take to cool off when we got back to the RV park. Way better than some old puny shower. I don't have any pictures of the river, so another picture of the giant tree will have to do.

Save a teddy bear. Hug a tree.

The Critters are Out!

Trail Angel Mamma leaves her mark everywhere.

We made it about 2o miles over the last 2 days in just over 13 hours of hiking time. We were lucky to have beautiful weather, although the abundant sunshine made things as hot and humid as ever. It hit 90 degrees both days we were out, and I definitely had the sweat on my forehead to prove it. The entire hike was a high elevation ridge walk, so pretty flat except for the big climbs up and down to the ridge. For the most part, the trees made for scarce views, but in a few spots there were wide open meadows. The amazing thing about these meadows was that they were all completely full of butterfly bushes and blackberries, making them prime habitats for critters. And they were out in droves.

Kudzu Tunnel to Butterfly Field.

Butterfly Bushes.

Butterflies.

Bunny.

Frog.

Two of the most exciting critters we met on this hike were as scary as they were beautiful:

Rattlesnake.

Look close. See it? Bear!

I was one step away from stomping on the rattlesnake when I finally noticed it laying in the trail. It was being sneaky and not using its rattle. It didn't even move while we stood there and looked at it. So we went around it. In this instance, fangs won out over superior intelligence for right-of-way to the trail. The bear looked at us like we scared it more than it scared us. It stuck around just long enough to snap a picture, then went running off through the blackberry bushes. We saw that big guy about 100 yards from our campsite for the night. I was concerned about camping so close to bear territory, but nothing bothered us or our food all night.

Camp Nano at the edge of the field.

Sunset at Camp Nano.

We got finished in time today to get back to the RV to cool off and have some good food. It'll be another overnight on the trail tomorrow, and I hope there are as many things to see as there were on this section. Perhaps a few that are less deadly, though.

Hiking Buddies.

Goodbye Hooter, Hello Paperwork

The 3 Amigos, heading out.

I apologize profusely for the long delay in posting. I have not succumbed to the elements, disease, or attack by wild animals. I've merely been distracted by paperwork. But first thing's first. On Friday the 16th, we took Hooter on his first long hike. It ended up being over 15 miles, most of which was pretty flat, but it did include a nice 1,200 foot climb at the end. Of course, none of it was made easier by the shenanigans of my hiking partners...

So THAT'S why Daddy's pack was so heavy...Thanks for the rock, Hooter.

The Docs at Doc's Knob.

But despite the tomfoolery, it was a beautiful day. We met a young man from Sweden who was section hiking. It's a long walk from Sweden, for sure. The AT draws them from all over the world. We were pretty worn out after the long hike, and really excited to go out to eat. My bison burger was delicious. It was Hooter's last night with us too, and we were glad to share that with him. The next morning, Hooter dropped us off at the trail, and we had to say goodbye. It was so good to see you, Hooter. Thank you for your diesel truck, your ice cream maker, and your endless sense of humor.

Even if you were always laying down on the job...

After we got dropped off, we made it about 2.5 miles before it started pouring down rain. We had 10 miles to go total. Within 30 minutes after the storm him, I was completely soaked. That's what I get for forgetting my rain pants.

Nice view, bad weather.

Yeah, we have a trail umbrella. So what?

Hiding under rocks works well too.

It was definately an occasion where I was very happy to get to the RV. It was an extra special arrival too, because it signaled the beginning of a few days of rest. I've recently received several secondary medical school applications, and it would be very bad to get behind in that paperwork and miss a deadline. Even more exciting, the minor revisions to my publication were due back to the journal ASAP, and I was chomping to get that finished. So, we parked the RV, and Trail Angel Mamma and Daddy stayed in a Bed and Breakfast while I got the RV to myself to use as my office.

Sunrise at the B&B.

The Office.

The good news is that I got the revisions finished on my paper, which is on it's way back to the publisher and I submitted 3 more secondary applications. So overall, a few days well spent. We also got a visit from a special friend from home, Razz, who drove up with his son to bring us our Jeep so we have a less unwieldy vehicle to buzz around in.

Thanks, Razz and Razz Jr.!

Unfortunately, the Jeep had some minor difficulties which left Mamma and Daddy stranded in town 2o miles away from the RV park where I was working for a night. But everything worked out in the end, and all technical problems have been resolved. We even got to go out to eat to a very nice restaurant here that serves all local, organic food to celebrate me getting my MCAT scores back. They are so committed to it that their menu changes daily depending on what is fresh, and it was delicious. Today, I wrapped up some final paperwork and we hiked about 2.5 miles to the last road in town. Tomorrow, we'll head out for an overnight in the woods. I've had to take a lot of zeroes this week, and I feel like I'm still getting the hang of juggling this adventure and the "real world" responsibilities I have, namely applying to medical school. But so far, it seems to be working out, and hey, you have to kiss a few frogs before you get things right.

And I don't mean figuratively.