Day 37 - 42

Day 37: Distance hiked: 26.1 miles. During my recovery the previous day, I had splurged for a full body massage at a spa (it was clean, people) and it did wonders.  I felt great on Day 37. After a taxi dropped me off back at Dickey Gap, I spotted a baby black bear (first bear cub I've seen out here) within twenty minutes of hiking.  When the cub spotted me, it stopped playing with a tree and bolted down the mountain away from me (probably toward mommy).  I didn't stick around too long (the only times bears really attack along the trail are to protect their cubs), and continued toward the first shelter.  That morning I also hiked through another cow pasture and came across some trail magic left by another church (root beer and peanut butter crackers, yum!). Later on in the day I made it to Partnership Shelter, where I ate lunch.  There is nothing that gets a hiker more excited than a shelter with amentities.  Partnership shelter not only had a shower, but almost what you could call a toilet, AND a nearby visitor's center with vending machines. Amazing.  You could even order a pizza from there and pick it up at the visitor's center.  Anyway, I had shelter envy as I knew I was hiking on and would not be staying at that one.  I then hiked Glade Mtn and then finally reached another road crossing complete with gas stations/truck stops/lodging, and a restuarant.  Very exciting.  I ended up hitching a ride back to Marion so I could continue my Navy work at the library.




 Day 38: Distance hiked: 13.9 miles. Finished up some Navy stuff in the morning at the Marion library and then had a cab drop me off at the trailhead around 2:30 pm. There were a lot of cow pastures this day and also some frisky groundhogs dancing around my feet. A deer and I startled each other and the deer bolted across the trail in front of me. Later, I saw another deer on a ridge. Around sunset I entered yet another cow pasture and this time, like out of the movie "Big Fish," time stood still for a few moments--except in this case I didn't fall in love, I just had every cow in the pasture stop moving in a 360 degree radius and stare at me. Let me tell you, it was a moment...











 Day 39: Distance hiked: 23.9 miles. I woke up early and started hiking in the rain. I took refuge briefly in Chestnut Knob Shelter (very excited to see a shelter with four walls and a roof!) before pressing on. Later in the day I dodged another bout of heavier rain and ended up camping near Laurel Creek. I was able to make a fire out of soaking wet leaves and logs by using paper and fire to dry them out first. Go me.





Day 40: Distance hiked: 25.5 miles. I left Laurel Creek early in the morning so I could meet my first visitor of the trip enroute. Seven miles into my hike, my buddy Dan from the Academy came out and met me. I met his wife Alissa (who dropped him off), and they presented me with Reese's Peanut Butter Cup banana bread. It was incredible! Dan and I hiked 17.5 miles together and he got the full trail experience: we saw a baby rat snake, a crazy looking spider, we hitchhiked to the grocery store, made an enormous campfire in the middle of the woods, saw a half dozen deer around dusk, and slept in the open on opposite ends of the fire. Great times.











Day 41: Distance hiked: 13.9 miles. So I may have had some things too close to the fire....We got up around 7:30 am and hiked out, dodging some rain in a shelter for 5 minutes, and saw a few more deer that morning. Around 2 pm, we made it to Woodshole Hostel which was pretty amazing. The dinner and breakfast were homemade from stuff around the farm. Soooo good. I was able to relax, take a shower, eat smoothies and ice cream, and play spades with some of the guys.





Day 42: Distance hiked: 21.3 miles. Started out from Woodshole Hostel around 9:30 am after an incredible breakfast. Made it to Pearisburg,VA at 2 pm, resupplied, had lunch, and hit the trail again. The views from Rice Field Shelter were fantastic by I decided to push on and night hike in order to make up miles. I learned that the problem with hiking at night is that you can't see the overcast skies as well. I got caught in a complete deluge and made an impromptu camp next to the trail while getting drenched. I managed to keep my sleeping bag dry though which was a major plus because I was frozen to the bone. I stripped off all my wet clothes, dove into my hammock and huddled in my sleeping bag to avoid hypothermia as the rain slammed my tarp above.