May 29th, 2013 to June 4th, 2013
Day 44 - Day 50
Marion to Pearisburg
119.9 miles, 630.8 miles total
At this point, I am hiking with Avo, a guy in his 30s, and Roam(e)(?), previously mentioned as Alana.
Day 44 and 45 - Marion and onward - 19.8 miles, 7 miles
We hiked 19.8 miles to the Mt. Rogers Visitor Center outside of Marion, VA. There is a really nice shelter there called the Partnership Shelter, and it has showers (!), but it was being taken over by some rather sketchy people, so we decided to get a motel room in Marion. After a nice night of resupply and A/C and TV, and some time the next day at the library, we headed out and hiked a short 7 mile day to the next shelter.
Today we passed the old Lindamood Schoolhouse on our hike as well as a restaurant called The Barn, where our meals were paid for by some section hikers just being trail angels. That is one of the reasons I love hiking the trail. People are so nice to you because they truly want to help you on your journey. Today, we also reached the 25% mark! Woohoo! Still a ways to go, though. But I also solidified my trail name today.
Trail names are usually given to hikers by people with whom they are hiking, and they come from something they do or something they said. For example, when Avo resupplies he always gets an avocado for each day he will be on the trail. Rome says "when in Rome" a lot, and also likes to say she is just roaming the AT for six months or so. Anyways, my trail name is now Zeus, for multiple reasons. First of all, Avo says that I simply hop on my lightning bolt to get to the next shelter. Secondly, we like to joke that I can summon trail magic at will because there was a time today where we didn't really want to go any further, but still had some miles to the next shelter. Avo requested that I summon up some trail magic, since he had been calling me Zeus all day. I said, "Don't worry about it. I got you." Surprisingly, at the next road crossing, there were sodas and snacks waiting for us. So there you go, I'm Zeus, I can summon whatever you need, and use my lightning bolts to travel the AT.
Day 47 - Just another day - 19.1 miles
Today was just an average day: some uphill, some flat, rocky terrain, and some downhill. Although near the end of the day, the downhill felt like it would never end. We thought we were going to be at the shelter around an hour before we finally arrived. That was rough. Even worse, just before the downhill, there was trail magic, but it was all gone! That really gets you down when it's getting late and you're tired.
On the upside, we passed a pretty cool shelter called the Chestnut Knob Shelter. It was completely enclosed, had a door, and was on top of a bald with a great view. It was an excellent lunch spot.
Day 48 - Rain, and more rain, and 24 miles - 23.8 miles
So it was pouring all day, we were all completely soaked by the first shelter, but we had already hiked 14 miles by 1PM, so we decided to push on even through the soggy shoes and clothes. But there was something really cool that happened today, I saw a baby deer. The fawn couldn't have been more than a few hours old. It was still walking pretty awkwardly, getting used to its legs. But the exciting part is how I encountered it. We were hiking uphill, naturally, and I saw a deer and its fawn up ahead, but they ran away down the trail. Luckily, about 50 yards later, I see them again, and the fawn runs again, but this time, towards me! It was almost as if the fawn was trying to bluff charge us! It stopped literally a foot in front of us and just stared up at us. Avo got a really good picture, and I'm trying to get him to send it to me. I could tell the mother deer was freaking out, trying to decide whether we were a threat or anything, but eventually they both just turned and started climbing uphill to the right side of the trail. It was such an amazing experience to see young fawn so up close!
Day 49 - Woods Hole Hostel - 21.4 miles
About six miles after we started, we crossed a road that led to a convenience store half a mile away. After a nice late-morning chocolate milk and snack, we headed to Dismal Falls, which is a really nice swimming hole with a small waterfall leading into it. After a brutal uphill, the trail flattened out a little and we dragged our tired legs into Woods Hole Hostel, a hostel that places an emphasis on sustainable living with bee keeping, farming, organic gardening, and yoga. They also have an excellent breakfast.
Day 50 - Pearisburg, VA - 10.4 miles
We spent most of the morning just hanging out at the hostel, eating breakfast, relaxing, drying out clothes and such. The hike today was quite nice and mostly downhill into Pearisburg. There was a really nice overlook called Angel's Rest about 2.5 miles outside of town. Once we got into town we ate dinner at an all-you-can-eat Chinese buffet place called Lucky Star, and then we resupplied from the Food Lion next door.
What a cool deer picture and experience! You must have been freaking out as it was running towards you!
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