Rain, Mud, Rain, and Snow??

Stats: Sunday night 5/8, MM 634.6

(90.8 new miles, 643.4 total miles)

This has been one rainy week, with mud and even a little snow. I stopped more than usual at hotels or hostels, but still managed 90 miles in 6 days because I didn't have a zero day until this weekend with Mary.

Started last Sunday with a big breakfast at the Barn in Atkins before heading out. Clouds looked ominous, started raining while we were in the restaurant. We hiked about 3-4 hours in the rain, trail was muddy and slippery. I stepped on a large stone and fell down hard, just scraped up, though. Highlife and I hiked together today and camped at Knot Maul Shelter. Cleared up a bit as we hiked.

Before Atkins, schoolhouse part of Settler's Museum,
right on the trail.

Monday it rained and started to get colder, in the 50's. My knee bothered me more than usual, maybe because of the cold and rain. Stopped at Chestnut Knob shelter for lunch. Unusual in that it was closed in. A fire ranger used to live there.

Stopped at Jenkins Shelter to camp after 19 miles, saw OneShot, Fugitive, Professor, Hammer, Holiday, and Tagalong. Rained off and on all day. I also fell again because the trail was so muddy. Thankfully it was dry when we went to set up camp.

Met Bandit at the shelter, a deaf woman in her 20’s who could not speak. She communicated using her phone. I watched as she typed something in to share with another woman, who read it and responded. It takes a lot of courage to hike by yourself when you can’t speak or hear, she seemed to be doing really well.

Fugitive and One-Shot

With One-Shot, a former ranger and retired NJ police officer.

Next day we hiked 12 miles and requested a ride into Bland (locals provide shuttle service from trail to town), stayed at a hiker hotel (basic, clean, no frills). Fugitive, Highlife, OneShot and I all stopped there and had some good meals, shower, bed. OneShot’s mom and sister picked him up for a zero day, then she was going to hike with him for a few days when they dropped him back off. Rained off and on all day, temps still in the 50’s. Thankfully I still had my winter coat, winter sleeping bag, and long sleeve shirt.

Wednesday Highlife and I headed out, it rained off and on. We got to our campsite at around 2PM, campsite next to a stream, and set up our tents.

Thursday woke up to drizzly rain, packed up quickly and got to Wapiti Shelter around 12:30, it had been drizzling all day. Only hiked 13 miles to the shelter.

(Side story...Found out when we got to Pearisburg that in 2001, some local guy came up and shot two people in the shelter and killed them, a random crime. He got 10 years in prison b/c they didn’t have enough evidence. After he got out, he went back to the shelter and shot two more people at random, they survived. In police chase he wrecked his car, and later died from those injuries. Other than that, I’ve not heard about any violent crime on the trail.)

When we got to the shelter we had to decide whether or not to stay there or hike another 7 miles to a hostel in the cold drizzle. We decided to leave b/c it was so early. Bad decision.

Highlife, very rocky part of the trail.

As we hiked the rain picked up and the temps dropped to 39 by the time we got to the hostel. We were still hiking in the mud, which made hike very slippery. Then it started snowing, which I thought was definitely over by now. It’s May!

(sorry about sideways video, not sure why it's that way)
By the time we got to the hostel, my fingers were so cold it was hard to unbutton my pants. We had to shower in an outdoor shower, BUT they had dry clothes for us to wear after the shower so our clothes could be washed. 

Bunkhouse at the hostel

Bunkhouse was like a barn, open with thin mattresses available to put on the floor and then we slept in our sleeping bags. No heat or cooling. Glad I still had my winter gear. Did I mention it was cold?

Owner on the left, Neville

Relaxing out of the cold and wet

The hostel owners fed us a great dinner and breakfast, there were about 20 of us. Per the host’s request, we all shared something we were thankful for at each meal. The house where the meals were was heated and hosts were very gracious. They also had us share chores. Total cost was $44 which included both meals, shower, laundry, bunkhouse.

Great Mexican dinner in Pearisburg

Friday we hiked into Pearisburg, about 11 miles, and that ended my hike for the week. After not having any full days off for almost 2 weeks, I decided to take 2 full days off with Mary. Rain had finally stopped so it was not a bad hike, although still muddy.

Mary had her own adventure coming down to pick me up. Just south of Roanoke, she heard a truck engine breaking. Only no trucks were around so she thought she might have a flat tire. Sure enough, the left rear tire was flat. She got out the manual and started to change it. After 15 minutes no one had stopped so she posted a prayer request on Facebook. Within 5 minutes 2 people stopped and helped her finish the job.

Pizza was delicious, we ate it all!

She knew she needed tires but not quite so soon. And her tire is not an easy one to find. The fourth store we called had them in stock and they were over $300 cheaper than the other prices we got! The Lord kept her safe, then led us to cheaper tires AND a great lunch at a local Italian restaurant near the tire store. God is good!

Mary had a hotel for us in Blacksburg, and our room was at the end of the hall so very quiet - God's provision again. We did a little shopping, had a nice dinner, and went to church this morning. Now we're hanging out, repacking, and enjoying a quiet Sunday afternoon. Mary will take me back to the trail tomorrow then head to her job in Raleigh.

A friend of mine asked a few questions about charging phones and water (thank you, Sharon!). I leave my phone on airplane mode most of the time for picture taking. Whenever I stop at a hostel or hotel I charge all my devices, including a portable charger that will charge the phone one time during the week.

Charging stick and Nook. I've already read 4 books

For water, the map book tells us where there are streams or other water sources. I have a bag that I dip into the stream to collect water, then attach a filter and squeeze the water through the filter into a Gatorade bottle. I carry two 32-ounce bottles with me, and fill them up 2-3 times per day. I also have Gatorade packets that I use once a day and other electrolyte tablets.

My filtration system, just one kind of many

The A.T. Guide 2016, every hiker has one

If you have any other questions about the hike and what it’s like, please leave them in the comments and I’ll answer next time.

If any of you wondered, these are
the tools for taking care of business.

The trail is constant up and down hill. Sometimes when you’re going up you think you’re at the top, only to level out for a short time then go up again. My knee is doing OK, although some days better than others. Thank you for keeping up your prayers for it.

Spring is here!

I continue to be encouraged by all the people following the blog, and when I hear that people ask how I’m doing. I can’t thank you enough for all your support and prayers. It means a lot to me, and I know God is sustaining me on my journey.

Here are a few pictures from last week that I didn't get to Mary.



Damascus, VA



Hiker Inn, Damascus, where I stayed



Damascus, trail marker; trail goes right through town

Damascus, VA

On the way to Damascus