2017 Appalachian Hike

Short day today. Only 10.6 miles. 

I got up around 5:30 and at 6:30 started hiking the .3 miles to the highway, then the .8 into town. I tried to hitch a ride but nobody picked me up. I went to the Villager Cafe for breakfast 

Maple Syrup and Engineer went about a mile the wrong way when they reached the highway so they arrived later and got some extra miles. I could have easily made the same mistake because when I got to the highway my instincts were to go left instead of right. Luckily I decided to use google maps instead of my instincts. 

So Maple Syrup took our dirty laundry and went to the laundromat and started the wash. He picked up his new shoes at the post office and came back to the diner to order breakfast. When I got done eating I went and moved everything into the dryer and went back to the diner for another cup of coffee. 

By this time Cheese and Coyote had shown up and were doing laundry and eating also. 

After breakfast and laundry we all went to the IGA grocery store to get supplies. I only needed four Clif bars and one package of tortillas to get me by until my daughter picks me up on Wednesday. I had enough of everything else. 

I did buy some extra things to eat before I left town because it was noonish by this time. Two bananas, milk, a pint of ice cream and a package of Oreos I shared with everyone else. 

With rain in the forecast we started hiking. The trail was pretty mild except for one descent at about mile four. This is also where it started raining. I was glad Engineer and Made Syrup were with me. It was long, steep, scary and the rocks were getting wet. 

It’s hard to describe how steep and scary these are, but at one point I had to drop my trekking poles down to the rocks below me because I needed both hands to lower myself. 

We got some trail magic from a guy we met way back in Damascus Virginia when Engineer and I stayed at Crazy Larry’s Hostel. He had his camper sitting next to the trail and was handing out ice cream sandwiche bars. 

At about mile seven it really started raining pretty hard. By the time we got to this campsite we were all completely soaking wet. This site does not have a shelter but is very nice. It has a pavilion with two picnic tables, a privy and well with a hand pump. 

We hung all our wet stuff in the pavilion and then one at time helped each other construct our tents inside the pavilion so we didn’t get our stuff wet. Then we would carry the fully constructed tent outside and place it and peg it down. 

As soon as we were done Coyote and Cheese showed up and we helped them with their tent. Teamwork at it’s best. 

We all ate dinner together in the pavilion, organized our stuff and were in bed shortly after 8:00.

Once again I fell asleep after the first paragraph of writing this. It’s now almost 2:00am and I’m finishing. I had to get up to use the privy. When I put my shoes on they were still soaking wet. 

I’m sure I’ll be hiking with wet feet again tomorrow. There’s an 80% chance of rain tomorrow too, so it probably doesn’t matter. 

This could be getting posted late because we have no signal here and if it’s raining tomorrow I try to keep my phone put away. 

As for this moment the rain has stopped and it’s completely still outside. So, back to sleep for a while.