Day #60 - Deer or Beer?

Miles: 14.8 to Bailey Gap Shelter
May 20

Writing in my journal is getting tiresome, but I don't want to miss any of the details. I know I'll appreciate having this record once the trail is over. I saw two deer today. One let us get very close. When Wing It and I stopped to look, Bluebird caught up with us. She asked what we are looking at and we whispered "A deer." She asked, "Beer or deer?" several times. Lol. If it was a beer, it would have been gone by the time she arrived. Another group saw an albino deer. I'm sorry I missed that!

The first five miles of our hike were pretty flat. I kept tripping over sticks though. There are caterpillars (I think they are web worms) EVERYWHERE! They get on your pack and all of your stuff if you stop for even a few minutes. I am not a fan. When we stopped at Pine Swamp Branch Shelter I noticed two partially charred mice on the grill over the fire pit. It was really gross. We talked for a while about what sort of person would do that. And leave them there. I'm glad we didn't stay with whoever did that. Not much else to note today, but I did snap a few photos. Enjoy!

Best Thing: Seeing a deer up close.
Looking Forward To: Another shortish day tomorrow.

Day #59 - On the Trail Again

Miles: 8.8 to campsite 

May 19

We ate a delicious breakfast at Mojoe's this morning, then I was able to mail my bounce box up to Harpers Ferry. Woohoo! We'll be there before you know it! Bluebird's parents dropped her off at our hotel, then we headed off to Pearisburg to get back on the trail. Her dad drafted our car for an hour or so. Dad was very entertained and they managed to go quite fast. Right before we returned to the trail we stopped at a gas station to use the bathrooms and get water. One of the other customers was talking loudly on his cell phone and he was very irritated. He was threatening to take his ex-wife/girlfriend to court and talked about her sticking her nose up her boyfriend's ass. Yeesh! He was very animated and a bit scary. Glad he left us alone! 

Mom and Dad dropped us off where they picked us off and, after snapping a few photos, we were off! The hike out of Pearisburg was the lowlight of the trip. It was a hell hole. We walked across a big, high traffic bridge then under an overpass. We passed an industrial landfill and walked through construction zones. It was hotter than heck too, which compounded the ugliness. Hopefully the pending trail reroute will bypass that nasty section of trail. I'm glad my parents picked us up in the woods at Cross Avenue rather than at one of the many ugly spots in Pearisburg. It would have been a totally different experience.

We stopped for lunch at a pretty creek, but dared not drink the water that flowed past. We were too close to the industrial landfill. A section hiker named Bob, who was miserably hungover, caught up to us there. He seems like a really nice guy. I felt bad for him. He visited some friends in Blacksburg last night and was paying the price.

Later up the trail, we heard a bunch of crashing through the woods and saw a juvenile black bear scurrying away. My first bear of the trip! It stayed near enough to take photos, but not good ones. I made sure to note the encounter at the Rice Field Shelter a few miles away. It's always good to let other hikers know when there are bears in the vicinity, especially at shelters. 

We ended up at a trailside campsite with a bunch of other hikers, including Squirrel. She has a new Osprey pack too! Did I mention Bluebird got the same pack as me? Ospreys are probably the most popular brand out here. I'm sleeping in my "new" (it's 12 years old) summer sleeping bag and trying my pillow for the first time. Hopefully I get a great night's sleep!

Best Thing: The bear sighting!

Looking Forward To: "Flat" terrain tomorrow!

Day #58 - Take Your Parents to "Work" Day

Miles: Technically 0 although we did hike
May 18

Another awesome day with Mom and Dad. Breakfast at our hotel was really bizarre. When we came downstairs, it looked like someone had started to set up a breakfast buffet but gave up. There were a bunch of empty chafing dishes lined up and a smattering of breads, yogurt, and fruit placed on random tables. Apparently, that was the continental breakfast. There was one guy in the kitchen cooking eggs to order. We were one of only two tables there. It felt like the place was abandoned. Little did we know that would be the theme for the hotel that day.

After breakfast, Mom and Dad laced up their new trail runners and we headed out to the Grayson Highlands. I was excited to show them one of my favorite parts of the trail and maybe see some ponies. Mom was carsick during the ride but the views were pretty. Three Porsches pulled up behind us on the road. Seems odd to see such nice cars out here. We passed a ramp festival (kind of like wild onions) where the Porsches pulled into a grass parking lot. We thought about stopping but were eager to get to the Highlands.

We took a 0.8 mile spur trail up to the AT. Mom and Dad did great, especially considering we didn't have any hiking poles. The terrain was pretty flat but there were a few roots and muddy areas to contend with. We went southbound on the AT towards the spot where I saw the ponies last time. Mom got in front and did a great job following the white blazes! 

For a while I was worried that we wouldn't see any ponies, but then we came across a big herd of them near the entrance to the park. They even had babies! We took a bunch of photos. One of the babies looked like he might have been half donkey. Who knows?!

Near the ponies, we met a 2012 thru-hiker who said the Grayson Highlands and New Hampshire were his favorite parts of the trail. He talked about how dark the New Hampshire spruce forests get and how deep the pine needles get on the ground. He said it's hard to even stake your tent. Sounds comfortable to me!

We hiked 0.5 miles down the Rhododendron Trail to get back to the car. I'm so glad my parents got to see a little of what I do all day, every day. Dad asked me if I ever get winded while hiking. I thought it was a funny question. I am panting much of the day, every day. It takes a lot of work to haul a 30ish pound pack up and down mountains all day. I'm definitely in great shape and never feel out of breath, but I do sweat and breathe hard and all of that.

We stopped in Abingdon, a really pretty little town, for lunch and then went back to Damascus to resupply. It was fun taking my parents grocery shopping. They got to see some of the horrific food I eat. Yum!

When we finally got back to the hotel, we discovered the entire place was locked up. I knew how to get in using a special blue key they had given us, but no one else got that tutorial when we checked in so no one else knew how to get in. They gave us no warning that the hotel would be locked all day. Poor Wing It. If I had known, I would have given him the key and shown him how to get in. Instead, he was locked out all afternoon. They had even locked our rooms, which we intentionally left unlocked so that Wing It could come and go as we pleased (they only gave us one key per room). When we got in, there was no staff anywhere. Who locks up the nicest hotel in town on one of the biggest weekends of the year? The whole thing was just weird.

I sorted through my resupply and gave mom a bunch of stuff to take back to Austin. I now have my summer gear, including a lighter sleeping bag and a tank top. Even with four days of food and two liters of water, my pack feels light and roomy!

We ate dinner at the Blue Blaze (again!), then just relaxed for the rest of the evening. I'm sad to see Mom and Dad go tomorrow, but it's been a great visit!

Best Thing: Seeing the baby ponies with Mom and Dad.
Looking Forward To: Riding back to the trail with Mom and Dad in the morning.

Day #57 - Trail Days

Miles: 0 in Damascus, VA
May 17

We did so much today! I had a list of talks I wanted to see, but we had to throw that out the window because time got away from us. After breakfast at the Blue Blaze Cafe, we headed to the vendor tents to sign up for raffles. I became a member of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy and got a free t-shirt and a special Trail Days rate! I had to get a medium shirt because free shirts are NEVER offered in size small. Drives me crazy and I want to make it my personal mission to change that. Anyway... I can't wait to start getting the ATC magazines.

At another vendor booth, Dad bought me a purple AT cap. I love it! We also visited David "AWOL" Miller's booth. He wrote the guide book everyone carries out here. He was much more soft spoken and unassuming than I expected him to be. He was very nice though and asked Dad if he'd tried using the GPS coordinates in the book to find road crossings on the trail. Dad said he had. That's how they found us in Pearisburg! I guess it's a new feature or something. I also put my name on the map AWOL had taped to the side of his booth. It was all of the pages of the guide book taped together and everyone stuck their name where they last left off. It looks like we are at the leading edge of a big bubble, but I'm guessing the people that are significantly further ahead of us didn't both coming back to Trail Days.

We stopped by the Hyperlite Mountain Gear booth and picked up one of their reversible pillow stuff sacks on Bluebirds recommendation. She has one and thinks it might help fix some of my neck problems. (I have been sleeping on it for about 3 weeks now and can attest that my neck feels MUCH better!)

Next stop, Gregory. I saw in the Trail Days brochure that they had a pack similar to my Osprey Aura but with features I might like better (like a longer zipper on the brain and bigger hip belt pockets). The guy working there was SUPER nice and measured me for the proper size. I liked the pack, but I don't need a new one right now. While I was chatting with this guy (I wish I could remember his name), he told me that they had a prototype pack in my size and asked if I'd be interested in testing it for them. Um, hell yes! They took me back behind the booth where a woman pulled a pretty blue pack from the trunk of a car. I loved the new features it offered, some I've never seen in packs before. I can't say what they were, but it's enough to make me want to wait until next year to buy one of these cool new packs. Everything was going great until I tried the pack on and she put a watermelon in it to add some weight. Neither she nor I were happy with how the shoulder straps fit me. The pack rode on the sides of my neck rather than my shoulders. She took some photos and we agreed it wasn't going to work. Boo! That would have been awesome to test a new pack. Wing It visited the Gregory booth separately and got a men's pack to test! What are the odds? I signed up for the Gregory raffle before leaving but forgot to go back during the drawing later that day. Wing It thinks he remembers one of my ticket numbers being called, but I'm going to pretend that I didn't win anything. Hopefully someone that needs the gear more than I do won instead.

We wandered down to yet another booth full of cheap gear, mainly shoes. For some reason, Mom and Dad didn't bring any good hiking shoes when they came to visit, so they bought some Montrail Mountain Masochist trail runners for a great price. The same shoes that I've worn the past 600 miles! Now we can go hiking tomorrow! I'm excited. We started to walk down to Sundog Outfitter to find some new shoes for me, but were picked up by a shuttle van on the way there. Mom and Dad's first "hitch!" The shuttle driver was named King Tut and works with a group that knits free beanies for thru-hikers. Some of my friends have those!

The experience at Sundog was disappointing to say the least. The employee asked my shoe size and just brought out every pair of women's trail runners they had in that size. He didn't measure me or help me with the shoes. He just stood sort of nearby while I put them all on and walked around the store. None felt quite right, but I took a picture of the box of the best-fitting pair so I could come back and purchase them later if I didn't find anything better. Apparently the employee assumed I was just going to buy the shoes online and made some snide comment to his buddy. When I went to use the bathroom he complained to another employee about how he hadn't sold any packs that weekend because everyone was buying online. Dad got upset and let him know that I had no intention of buying online. If I am going to hike another 500 miles in shoes, I need to be sure they fit perfectly. The employee pretended not to hear him. Not cool.

Luckily, our experience at the other outfitter in town, Mt Rogers, was MUCH better. A former employee had come back to help out during Trail days and was a shoe expert. He measured my foot and my arch (apparently I have narrow feet with a slightly high arch) and explained the pros and cons of the shoes they carried. He also talked about insoles and why my arches might have been hurting even though I have the proper insoles. I really liked a pair of Oboz he had me try. He gave me a hand while he had me jump up and down and stand sideways on a ramp they had in the store. He was very thorough and very concerned with ensuring the proper fit. I bought the shoes and some insoles. Dad bought some things too. I was happy to give my business to Mt Rogers rather than Sundog. The customer services experiences were night and day.

After that, we walked BACK to tent city to drop off my poles at the Leki booth. I'm excited to finally have the twist lock on my right pole repaired. I also entered Backpacker magazine's huge gear giveaway. While we were over there, I saw Boss at one of the booths! I haven't seen that kid since Hot Springs! I gave him a big hug and asked if he was going to hiker prom. He jokingly asked if I was asking him on a date, so we became unofficial prom dates. Unfortunately, he stood me up! He got sucked into a party in tent city that night and never made it out to the prom. Not cool! Haha

Mom, Dad and I tried to get Philly cheese steaks at Blue Blaze for lunch, but it took so long to get our food that I had to ditch them to go line up for the hiker parade. Guess who I ran into there? Doug "Banzai" Douma! I hiked with him a few times in Austin before he thru-hiked the trail in 2013. It was great to see him!

People lined up for the parade according to what year they hiked. Current 2014 hikers were at the back. Some people were wearing some crazy things! There were two guys in AT-themed body suits, a man in a leotard and tutu, and LOTS of people with water guns. It was cold and I crossed my fingers I wouldn't get wet. We walked down the main street through town waving at the crowds that had gathered on the sidewalks. Many of them sprayed us with water, but I managed to stay dry by dodging and hiding behind people. When we got to Blue Blaze, I left the parade to find Mom and Dad. The fire truck in the parade sprayed water all over the place. It looked awesome, but I kept my dry distance. 

When I FINALLY found Mom and Dad back at the hotel, we walked back down to the Leki booth to pick up my poles. They replaced the bottom sections of both poles for free! Awesome!

After picking up my poles we wandered back to the park to watch the hiker talent show. So much walking, especially for my parents! My friend Squirrel and her dog Zima performed in the talent show. There was also a guy dressed like pizza juggling fire, several singers, a comedian, a hula hoop dancer, and a guy doing martial arts, among others. Some two stepping Aggies won the contest. They were pretty impressive!

Wing It, Bluebird and I prepartied in my room before prom using the bottle of Makers Mark my mom brought me. World's Best Mom! Then we walked over the Damascus Brewery for the party. None of us wore prom attire, just our town clothes. That seemed to be the trend, although some people had hit up the thrift stores beforehand. There were definitely a few old bridesmaid dresses in the crowd. The place was PACKED and there was hardly room to stand, let alone dance. It took forever to get drinks too because the bartenders were way overworked. It was the first thru-hiker prom the town has ever attempted, so I tried to keep that in mind. It didn't feel like prom at all though and we ended up leaving after two drinks. Jess, the helper from Elmer's in Hot Springs, was there and said hello to me. It took me a while to figure out who he was, although I knew I recognized him. I also ran into a girl at the bar that I followed last year on YouTube. She didn't complete the trail last year, but plans to finish the parts she missed this year. All in all, it was a very FULL, very productive and fun day.

Best Thing: Everything.
Looking Forward To: A more laid back day with Mom and Dad tomorrow.

Day #56 - Family Reunion

Miles: 10 to Pearisburg, VA
May 16

Where to begin? I got to see my parents today! After 10 miles of walking on relatively dry trails (some parts were still streams) and seeing some pretty nice view, we made it to Cross Avenue in Pearisburg where Mom and Dad were waiting. Wing It saw them first and let me get in front for the hike down to the road. I introduced Wing It and Bluebird to Mom and Dad, then we piled into their rental car for the drive to meet Bluebird's parents. We met them at the Dairy Queen in town, then drove to Nagel's Grill where we had a lovely lunch. My parents got their first glimpse of the infamous hiker hobble. When a thru-hiker sits down for an extended period of time (during a lunch break, for example), their legs stiffen up to the point where they can't really walk. You kind of hobble around like an extremely old person that just got off a horse. It's not comfortable, but it's part of my life now.

The drive in to Damascus took about two hours. We checked into the Old Mill Inn, the nicest spot in town. Our rooms are awesome! I expected to fill mine with more hikers, but it's only me and Wing It. Not sure where all of my other friends ended up, but that means more room for us! Wing It is staying on the pull out couch and I get an entire queen bed to myself! Dad went down to the front desk to get my bounce box for me. Guess who put on makeup for the first time in 60ish days?! Woohoo! Mom brought my town clothes so I got to wear real clothes including jeans and a real bra. Such luxuries! I shower, blow dried, and even straightened my hair. It looks so weird to me. Normally it's pulled back under my buff or just an air-dried, half-wavy, half-straight mess. I also opened a card signed by my relatives and a picture Joshua scribbled for me. That was great!

I discovered that my missing Mountain Hardwear delivery ended up at the outfitter, so we walked over there (Damascus is small so it was a VERY short walk) and picked up my new shorts! Love them! They have biker shorts built in so I don't have to worry about them riding up too high when I sit down. They are very comfortable. I highly recommend them! Bluebird has them too. Dad really wanted to buy me something at the outfitter, but I didn't really need anything. Or so I thought. When we left the store, none other than Gene Espy, the 2nd man to ever thru-hike the AT, was standing at the door selling and signing books! I had to have one, so Dad got one for me. I had a great time talking to Gene. He flipped through the book and explained many of the photos to us. Since you couldn't take selfies back then, he propped his hiking pole at the Katahdin sign and took a photo of that. I jokingly told him I thought the pole might have been him given how much weight he must have lost on the trail. He laughed at that. He was a really nice guy. I'm so glad to have that book. I can't wait to read it when I get back home.

I introduced Mom and Dad to my hiker friends as we passed them in town. I didn't recognize as many people as I expected to, but there were a handful of familiar faces around. I had my photo taken for some sort of thru-hiker yearbook. Not really sure what that is, but I look forward to seeing it. We walked down to tent city, where most hikers stay, and saw some cops searching a car for drugs. I've heard they really crack down during Trail Days. Apparently so.

Mom, Dad and I ate dinner at the restaurant in the Old Mill. We ordered a bottle of wine. The waitress twisted the corkscrew in, but she didn't pull it out because she said she wasn't good at it. She gave it to Dad to finish. Very strange. My steak (yes, I like steaks now) was way overcooked so I sent it back. It was still a great meal though with great company! I'm glad my parents get to meet my friends and see a glimpse of what life is like out here.

Best Thing: Seeing Mom and Dad and meeting Gene Espy.
Looking Forward To: Everything about tomorrow!

Day #55 - Woods Hole Hostel

Miles: 7.2 to Woods Hole Hostel
May 15

It's raining! It's pouring! It started raining in the middle of the night and hasn't stopped since. Thank God we did 22 miles yesterday so today was a short hike. I packed my tent up in the rain for the first time, which wasn't too bad. Knowing I'll spend the next three nights indoors probably helped my mood because I knew I had time to dry my gear before having to use it again.

Wing It and I got off to a fast start. Bluebird takes more time on the uphills so we left her behind to try to snag bunks in the hostel before the heavy downpour started. I knew several people were headed to Woods Hole that day and that even more would probably show up because of the rain. I wanted to make sure we had dry places to sleep! I could feel the water rushing down between the back of my rain jacket and my pack. There was also one flash of close lightning and thunder that made me hesitant to climb up the ridge. It was just one strike though, so we kept going. The trail turned to a river in places and my feet were soon soaked. Moving kept us warm though.

We got to the road to Woods Hole much sooner than anticipated. The guidebook (I also call it AWOL sometimes. Hope that's not confusing!) said that some people confuse a previous road crossing with the correct turnoff, so I had a hard time believing we were actually there. We allotted four hours (worst case scenario) to get there and it only took two hours and forty five minutes. Five of us ended up on the road at the same time. We discretely tried to outwalk each other to get to the hostel first.

Neville, the owner, met us on the porch and showed us the ropes. Her grandmother discovered the place as a newlywed and Neville decided to take it over when she grew up. This place is not at all what I expected, but it's not too bad. We were able to hang out wet clothes on a line on the front porch of the hostel and I hung my tent over the railing. They probably won't dry by morning, but at least I tried.

We climbed to the top level of the hostel to find beds. I snagged the last real mattress. Bluebird and Wing It ended up having to sleep on crappy pads on the floor. They still had to pay the same price though, which sucks. This hostel seems to me just like a glorified Overmountain Shelter (that big barn we stayed in during the last big storm). There's no insulation (and it's cold outside!) and there are mouse hangers over each bed to hang your food bag. Most (if not all) of the other hostels we've stayed in have had heat, beds, and solid walls with no drafts. Oh well. At least there's electricity to charge our devices. They have an awesome extra-long powerstrip with a bunch of outlets for hikers to use. Downstairs in the kitchen area they also have a refrigerator full of sodas and some hiker goodies for purchase. They also have homemade cookie bars that I can't seem to stop eating. There is a shower, but it's outside and the floor is made of gravel. It doesn't drain, so you are standing in a puddle the whole time, but it's hot water.

We dropped our laundry off at the main house. It'll be nice to have clean, dry clothes. The other day, I ordered a new wool T-shirt and a collapsible water bucket from REI. My shirt has weird black stains near the armpits (I guess from rubbing on my pack straps all day?), holes ripped in the back from a washer incident early in the trip, and is permanently twisted to the right from when I put on and take off my pack. Time for a new one! The bucket will allow me to do trail laundry and clean off DEET and sweat before bed without contaminated the water sources. I got the idea from Sprinkle Burst.

One of the selling points of Woods Hole is that they offer massages. I got my first-ever professional massage. Oh my! It was amazing and sooooo relaxing! Neville's husband did it. Anyone who massages a hiker's nasty body, especially their blistered, callused, feet, is a saint! I know I still had bits of dirt stuck to them from the walk from the hostel to the main house. I've hiked 600 miles and my body really needed the massage. My neck is still a bit stiff and sore, but I'm sure it will feel even better in the morning. Sleeping without a pillow hasn't done my neck any favors. Plus I'm pretty much looking down all day, every day. Hopefully the massage will help.

At the end of the day we went back up to the main house for a delicious dinner. Before dinner, we all held hands and went around the circle introducing ourselves and saying what we were thankful for today. I said I was thankful to see my parents tomorrow. I'm so excited! Neville and her crew made a special gluten-free, vegan version of the Mexican casserole for Bluebird. The salad they served was amazing! After dinner, we had icecream cones for dessert. It was a nice evening!

The main house:

The hostel:

Playing cards on the porch: 

Hiker map:

Day #54 - Not-So-Dismal Falls

Miles: 22 to Wapiti Shelter
May 14

I had crazy weird dreams last night. I dreamed I was Emma Stone in some sci fi movie with Miley Cyrus and Elijah Wood. The dream involved a whale with the head of an angler fish. No, I hadn't been drinking, smoking, or eating strange things I found in the woods. So weird...

It was hot today. What's new? We decided to take a break mid-morning at a road crossing to cool down and take off our packs. Bluebird has a Hyperlite Mountain Gear pack that she's exceeding the weight limit on. It's uncomfortable so she's planning on getting a new pack during Trail Days in Damascus. I invited her to try on my pack once the sweat had dried, but she tried it on right then, sweat and all! Even I didn't want to put that pack back on! It was nasty. She must really be desperate to find a more comfortable pack! She also tried on Wing It and Spice's packs. She said they were all more comfortable than hers. This whole thing took 15 minutes or so. When I stood up to get going, I noticed not one, but four deer carcasses just yards from us. I can't believe we sat there that long without noticing them. There was fur everywhere and an intact deer leg, complete with hoof, at the edge of the road closest to us. Some hunters must have dumped the carcasses there. Not the most responsible thing to do, but I like skeletons so I enjoyed looking at them. Bluebird, on the other hand, is a vegan and was horrified.

We lunched at Jenny Knob Shelter and had our first chance to fill up on water during the past 18 miles (excluding the gas station in Bland). I offered to carry some of Bluebird's pack weight since she was struggling so much today. She gave me her cook kit and fuel to carry. It wasn't much, but hopefully it helped at least a little. Spice spotted another smaller rat snake just past the 600 mile mark after lunch. Those things are everywhere.

Later this afternoon we reached Dismal Falls. The name didn't sound promising, but we had heard it was a great swimming hole. We dumped our packs at the intersection for the side trail (a blue blaze) and hiked 0.3 miles to the water. Aviator, Ygrette, Indy, and Merman were there too. The water was COLD but it felt sooooooooooo good to be able to "wash" my hair and do "laundry" (both without any soap) and cool down a bit. I still need a real shower (it's been 6 days now) and a laundromat, but it helped a little and gave us the motivation we needed to complete the rest of the day's hike. We dried ourselves and our clothes in the sun then hiked the last six miles to Wapiti Shelter. We hit Woods Hole Hostel tomorrow! I get to see Mom and Dad on Friday! It's the beginning of an awesome few days.

Best Thing: Dismal Falls
Looking Forward To: Woods Hole Hostel, a shower, and laundry.