2017 Appalachian Hike

Very good day today. Overslept a little this morning. I didn’t get on the trail until 6:45 this morning. It started with a great view on Thunder Hill.  Timber and I hiked together most of the morning. Around lunch time he stayed at a shelter site to eat. I moved ahead to find a sunnier… Continue reading Thunder Hill Shelter-Punch Bowl Shelter. 795.4 done/1394.4 to go. April 30, 2017

Very uneventful day. I hiked 23.7 miles today. I started at 6:00am with Double Knot. We hiked together for about four hours. He got a little ahead and I stopped for a break and I never saw him again. This is Double Knot from a distance. I was really taking a picture of the flowers.… Continue reading Bobblets Gap Shelter-Thunder Hill Shelter. 770.3 done/1419.5 to go. April 29, 2017

I ate the hotel breakfast and was on my way on the trail by 8:50. The first two hours were all climbing. At the first shelter five miles in was Timber taking a break. He and I hiked together for the next several hours. He had to stop at around mile 10 to filter some… Continue reading Daleville, Virginia-Bobblets Gap Shelter. 746.6 done/1443.2 to go. April 28, 2017

Today had it’s good and bad.  First the bad. I didn’t get my picture on McAfee Knob. All six of us in the shelter got up early because we wanted to be at McAfee Knob for the sunrise. As usual I was the first up. I have to get a head start on these young… Continue reading Catawba Mountain Shelter- 728.1 done/1461.7 to go. April 27, 2017

My son just pointed out that one of my blog posts didn’t publish Bally Gap Shelter-Niday Shelter. I just updated it.  Hopefully it posted. If it didn’t Ryan will let me know. I’ll be posting another one later tonight. 

Today was a good day. It started with a climb up Brush Mountain.At the top is a monument to Audie Murphy, the most decorated American soldier ever. Evidently he died in a plane crash near here  After that came the hike up Cove Mountain. There were lots of great views. The climbing and hiking was… Continue reading Niday Shelter-Catawba Mountain Shelter. 710.3 done/1479.5 to go. 

Another fairly uneventful day. Mostly because of the weather.  I’m starting to feel a little cheated.  My guidebook is really good about noting all the scenic vistas. Even the ones you have to hike a little ways off trail to see. I feel cheated because I’ve missed so many of the views due to rain… Continue reading Bally Gap Shelter-Niday Shelter. 685.6 done/1504.2 to go. April 25, 2017. 

I started my day with Hardee’s breakfast burritos and coffee. Then I had to hike seven tenths of a mile to get back to the trail. Nobody picked me up this time.  It rained a lot here yesterday and last night. There are flash flood warnings in our area. The rain stopped shortly after I… Continue reading Pearisburg Virginia-Bally Gap Shelter. 658.6 done/1531.2 to go. April 24, 2017

I didn’t sleep well last night. It got much colder than I anticipated. It got down to 38 degrees last night in Pearisburg. We were about 2000 feet of elevation higher than that so it was somewhere around the freezing mark. My feet kept getting cold. My sleeping bag and everything thing I own was… Continue reading Docs Knob Shelter-Cross Ave VA 634. 634.3 done/1555.5 to go. April 23, 2017

I slept pretty good last night. It rained again overnight. I’m glad I was in the shelter. I was up early as usual. On the trail by 6:00.  The first couple of hours it wasn’t raining and then it let loose. It rained the rest of the day until I got to the shelter about… Continue reading Jenny Knob Shelter-Doc’s Knob Shelter. 626.0 done/1563.8 to go. April 22, 2017.