Fall AT section hike, day #12

Wednesday, October 5, 2016
Start: Whitetop Mountain Rd
End: Hurricane Mountain shelter
Miles: 22.6

This morning, I was up at 6am and met my shuttle driver at 7am in Damascus. I was on trail by 7:45am at Whitetop Mountain Rd  (5087').

Today was ponies! Interestingly, I only saw wild ponies before I entered the Grayson Highlands. In the Highlands, I saw longhorn steer but no ponies. According to signage, the ponies were introduced to keep the bald areas clear (I think for cattle). Each year, they're rounded up, provided medical checks and treatment, and occasionally sold to control herd size.

I climbed Brier Ridge (5215'), Mt Rogers side trail (5430'), Thomas Knob Shelter (5413'), Fatman squeeze (5358'), entered the Grayson Highlands, Wise shelter (4409'), exited the Grayson Highlands, Stone Mountain (4820'), The Scales livestock corral (4648'), Pine mountain trail (4950'), Old Orchard shelter (4066'), Fox creek/VA 603 (3480'), Chestnut flats (4240'), and down to Hurricane Mountain shelter (3788').

Today's miles were a bit long but I arrived at the shelter by 5:30pm. I'm sharing the shelter with another hiker, Chaser, who is a flip flop thru-hiker. Tonight should get down to ~50 degrees and it's windy. I'll bed down warm and won't want to get up in the morning, I imagine. I have 19 miles to hike tomorrow to get to the Partnership shelter, one of the few AT shelters where you can order a pizza!

Chaser recommended a new hostel between Marion and Pearisburg. I might check it out. It's currently set to rain (30-40% chance) on Friday and Saturday. I was supposed to camp out those nights but might need to shift my plans around a bit, depending on weather. I'm also currently planning on getting a shuttle to Angels Rest hostel and slackpacking into Pearisburg for my last day or so on the trail.

Fall AT section hike, day #11

Tuesday, October 4th, 2016
Start: Whitetop Mountain Rd
End: Damascus, VA
Miles: 22.1

This morning, I got a ride with three fellows off to start a NOBO section hike from Whitetop Mountain Rd (5087'). They didn't leave the hostel until 8am or so, but it was a free shuttle so I was happy. I started hiking at 9am and arrived back in town by 4:15pm.

Over the course of the day, I passed by Lost Mountain and Saunders shelters. I passed by Buzzard Rock (5080'), VA 601 (3526'), US 58 (3160'), VA 728 (2781'), Beartree Gap trail (3050'), Taylors Valley trail (2407'), US 58 again (2200'), Iron Mountain trail (2913'), and then down to Damascus.

Towards the end of my hike, my remaining pole from the original set broke in the same way as the other one did yesterday. I went by Mt Rogers Outfitters and talked to Lumpy. I gave him back the single pole he gave me and bought a set of cheap-ish new ones (and he gave me 10% off). I also arranged for a shuttle to Whitetop Mountain Rd tomorrow morning, since the hostel told me before I left for the day that they weren't sure when they could take me since they had a long shuttle already scheduled. I went to another outfitter to get Bodyglide since Mt Rogers Outfitters was out. I also stopped by the dollar store to get two cheap knee braces that will provide a light compression and keep them warm, as they're getting a bit creaky, especially on the downhill.

I managed to get back to the hostel in time to get the 5pm shuttle to the grocery store. I decided to cook up a big meal for myself - I got avocado, 5-grain mix, kale, onion, mushrooms, and tempeh strips. Also, manzanilla olives. I ate most of what I made and packed up the rest for tomorrow's breakfast.

Fall AT section hike, day #10

Monday, October 3, 2016
Start: TN 91
End: Damascus, VA
Miles: 21.2

This morning over breakfast, I met two fellows (Mark and Stephen who are father and son) who were going to TN 91 at 7am as well though they'd arranged it through a local outfitter rather than the hostel. I asked if I could accompany them. They said yes and in the end, since they weren't charged extra, let me go along for free. So I ended up not needing to pay for either of my rides between TN 91 and Damascus. I also just got offered a free ride to Whitetop Mountain Rd tomorrow. It'll be a bit later start than I normally would (8am departure, ~9am arrival) but I still anticipate I'll get to town by 5pm. And it's free, so I'll take it!

Today, I started out from TN 91 with Mark and Stephen. We kept pace with each other and hiked together for quite a bit of the day. I passed by Double Springs and Abingdon Gap shelters. I climbed past Locust Knob, Low Gap, Double Spring Gap, McQueens Knob, McQueens Gap, and the TN-VA border. I/we made spectacular time; after being dropped off at 7:30am, I was into town by 2:45pm.

During today's hike, one of my poles broke. While I like the light weight of the Black Diamond Z trekking poles, this is the third set to break on me. I'm not a big person; I don't use my poles in a particularly rough way. I called Black Diamond and they said they could replace them but only through their warranty department, which takes a few days just to process before they ship. So I went to the local outfitters, Mt Rogers Outfitters, where I'd made an acquaintance of a fellow who works there named Lumpy. He and I had chatted yesterday and he was nice; he was also this morning's shuttle driver. He showed me the poles they sold ($60 was the cheapest set); he then went in the back to see if they had any used single poles lying around. And he brought out a banged up REI adjustable pole and gave it to me for free, just like that. Trail magic is lovely. :)

At the first shelter, I chatted with some SOBO thru-hikers. Turns out, they'd stayed at the Broken Fiddle, a new hostel in Damascus that has connections with Boots Off Hostel. And they traveled with Kevin, the hostels' garden nome that travels between them.