VA hike #2, day 8

Saturday, April 2nd, 2016
Start: US 220/Daleville
End: VA 624/Newport Rd (4 Pines Hostel)
Miles: 25.7 (+0.4 for water, +0.3 for hostel)

I got up at 6am, packed up, and grabbed breakfast at the motel, hitting the trail by 7am.

I climbed Hay Rock (1955'), passed by Lamberts Meadow campsite and Shelter (2000'), went through Scorched Earth Gap (2600'), climbed the Tinker Cliffs (3000') with views of McAfee Knob, went down to Brickeys Gap (2194'), passed by Campbell Shelter (2636') and Pig Farm campsite (2682'), climbed up to McAfee Knob (3197') where some day hikers kindly took pictures of me, passed by Catawba Mountain Shelter (2203') and Johns Spring Shelter (1957'), and down to VA 311 (1990'). I then went through a trail section with a lot of 200-500 ft shifts in elevation, arriving at VA 785 (1790'), followed by VA 624 (1810'). Between VA 785 and VA 624 there was a climb of ~500 ft.

I arrived at VA 624 around 6:15pm, getting to 4 Pines Hostel by 6:30pm. At 7pm, after a quick shower, they brought me to Homeplace Restaurant, a local AYCE family-style, southern cooking restaurant. The restaurant is only open limited hours and only Thur-Sun so the line is out the door. I'm still waiting on a table; they close at 8pm. I assume that's when they stop taking people to the list, not when they actually close.

The crew here seems a little odd; it's owned by Joe but Eddie lives there and does the grunt works. Eddie seems to have an intellectual disability. The hostel is a separate garage with a host of old couches, lazyboys, pool lounge chairs, and 2 real beds, all in one large open room. There are meat hooks for deer hanging from the ceiling and automotive/construction tools clutter the walls and cabinets. There's soda in the fridge and supplies to make eggs and pancakes in the morning, should hikers want to do so. There's a single private bathroom with a shower. Laundry is done down the hill at the main house, though it seems like one should arrive earlier than I did to access this benefit. The men here are dirty, loud, and think swearing horribly at each other is a sign of affection. Hiking is the only circumstance under which I would ever occupy such a space and as it is, I'm a bit nervous being here. However, it's set to get cold tonight (low 30s) and I'd rather be under a 4-sided shelter tonight so it works for me.

VA hike #2, day 7

Thursday, March 31st, 2016
Start: Bearswallow Gap/VA 43
End: US 220/Daleville
Miles: 21.6 (+0.2 for shelter side trail, +0.8 for in-town walking)

I got up at 6:15am, after waking every 15-30 minutes since 5am, and was out the door by 6:45am. I walked down to the the nearby Shell station and got breakfast. While I was eating it and considering how to best go about soliciting a ride, the young fellow who'd checked me in and gotten me my pizza arrived and offered me a ride to the trail. I gratefully accepted; I was back on trail at Bearswallow Gap (2228') by 7:15am.

I passed over the Blue Ridge Parkway many times, passed by Bobblets Gap Shelter (2086'), past Harveys Knob Overlook  (2527'), past Wilson Creek Shelter (1854') and Wilson's Creek (1549'), past Salt Pond Rd (2248'), and then up to Fullhardt Knob Shelter (2632'). From there, it was all downhill to Daleville's US 220 (1253').

On my hike, I stopped and chatted with Nightingale, a NOBO section hiker who's a nurse at a local primary school (currently on vacation). We had lovely conversations about children, schools, teen pregnancy, and sex ed.

Overall, my body is doing well. I did develop blisters on my heels yesterday, as my feet have swelled and shoes that used to fit no longer do. I used a spare pair of thinner socks today and that seemed to help prevent chafing. Additionally, my left knee has begun to hurt on downhill portions of trail, so I'm going to see about getting a knee brace/ace bandage here in town.

With today, it's been 7 days straight of hiking up some pretty big mountains. It's supposed to rain most of tomorrow; so I think I'll take tomorrow as a zero day and let my body heal! Also, it should give me time to figure out the issue with my friend's stove.