Halfway

I crossed 2000 miles today. Spirit had spelled out 2000 in twigs arranged on the trail, so I let out a whoop as I crossed over it.

Halfway. Halfway between what? Sure, halfway from Key West to Halifax. But that is just the topography. I'm halfway from the person I was when I started to whomever I will be when I finish.

That's a change I welcome.

Elite or Ordinary?

Today I meet Buttercup and Trilium, a couple of marathon athletes backpacking the length of Shenandoah Park. They were thoroughly in awe of thru hikers, which was ironic because they out hiked all of us. 

I've heard the occasional thru hiker expecting favoritism from hotels or other businesses, such as hiker rates, free shuttles, extra hours or other favors. I've even heard, with some sense of entitlement, "But we're thru hikers, so they should. ..."

At each of the shelters there is a spiral notepad for hikers to record their progress and thoughts. An entry at Rock Spring Hut reads "You thru hikers think you are so special. You're not. You're just ordinary people."

 

I agree with the author in the log book.

Blessings in Disguise

Recently cut grass triggered itchy eyes and throat, sneezing and a runny nose.

I had hay fever as a child. Many summer afternoons were spent on the couch waiting for an allergy attack to pass. My eyes and throat were the main targets. The eyes would get insanely dry and itchy but if I rubbed or even touched them they puffed up into red dry balls. Touching them only made it worse. My throat was parched and the roof of the mouth and sinuses itched fiercely. If I lifted my tough to the back of my mouth to sooth, it set off a sneezing storm. I had to just lay there, motionless and breath. I'd fantasize about driving a fork into my sinuses to stop the itching. 

My Mom had the worst part, staring into my puffy eyes and hearing me wheeze, helpless to relieve her child's suffering. 

As I reflect back now I am grateful for the childhood allergies.

Shenandoah

Shenandoah is a full National Park with all the usual backcountry and frontcountry features. But it is a linear park, a hundred miles long and pencil thin. The frontcountry follows the Skyline Drive, while the backcountry follows the Appalachian Trail often only a hundred yards away. It is easy to switch between the two, so visitors can get a sample of the backcountry. 

The front country has full service campground with Ranger talks, camp stores and cafes. That means hikers can get food!

Entering Shenandoah National Park

Beyond Waynesboro, the Appalachian Trail traverses over 100 miles in Shenandoah National Park. I'm entering on Monday of Memorial Day weekend, hopefully as the crowds are headed out.

Town Food: Waynesboro

I think I've put 5-8 pounds back on, even adding a few more pounds after I halted Operation Fatten the Turkey. 

Ming's Chinese Buffet here in Waynesboro is rather famous among hikers and I've been hearing about it for hundreds of miles. It helped power us through the easy 14.5 miles to town in just 5.5 hours. Six dinner plates and nine desserts later I have to agree it is the best buffet I've been to.

Pleasant Days

On Monday the 20th the warm humid weather is here.  Maybe to stay?  Maybe for just a few days? 

I'm seeing more familiar faces now. More people are doing rougphly the same 18-20 miles per day so I see them more than just once. There are still a few faster hikers who fly by doing massive daily miles in Virginia, and also some who started a month before me and are going slower to fully enjoy the trail. But it's nice to see familiar faces.  I've been hiking with Shaman since Daleville.

Back on the Trail Again

I broke out of town! I was ready again at 8:30 but it took until 10 am to get the group on the trail. The miles came easy anyway, 18.5 for the day.

The weather was much like a lush Oregon coastal fog, with the gentle dripping of leaves all day and more rhododendrons in bloom. 

Incremental Zero

Plan: 18 miles

Weather Forecast:  increasing chance of rain through the day to 90% by 3 pm.

Actual:  Packed up and ready at 8:30, checked in on some other hikers and hung around to chat. They are zeroing due to the weather forecast. I join them for lunch, then hang around some more. Ultimately I took an incremental zero. 

The weather turned out perfect for hiking, neither hot or cold, no rain, no wind. Finally at 5pm there was a brief sprinkle, but not much.

I enjoyed the time with other hikers and pigging out at restaurants, but in retrospect would have preferred to hike. 

Sounds: Daleville

Last night the National Weather Service issued a localized storm advisory for dime-sized hail and 40 mph wind from 9 pm to midnight. I checked the radar and it was 15 miles to the west, headed east. I opted for camping inside a shelter for just the fifth time. But nothing showed up except some wind in the tree tops. I guess it went southeast and just missed us.

As the first morning light glimmers, intense bird song erupts. There have been birds every day but this is far greater than I've heard before, even in tropical jungles. As the sun rises different species join in or fade away. For about 90 minutes all sorts of beautiful song and noisy raucous are mixed into a cacophony.

Enjoying the hike: John's Spring Shelter

What a glorious day!

First, I've relaxed the pressure for more miles. I stopped longer at viewpoints, or to chat with other hikers. I enjoyed the day and ignored the miles, hiking it like I'm just doing the AT and in no hurry. 

I also started taking breaks. On the other long walks my style has been to just keep a slow pace going all day without much stopping. Since the AT is more physically demanding I'm going to experiment with breaks and see if the body likes that better. 

But the real reason today was glorious was about the trail not me.

Balance: Trout Creek

I've been reworking my projected finish dates and it looks like I'm doing well to get to Halifax in mid-late October.

My current miles per hiking day is 19.3. Including zero days it is 17.4. Just extrapolating this pace I'd reach Halifax on Sep 21, about a month early. 

But I won't sustain that pace.

Miles on the social trail

I passed a milestone this morning.   I have now hiked 1000 miles. We're in triple digits!  1700 miles including the kayaking. 2300 more to go. 

There was another milestone yesterday. For the first day in what seems like months my feet were not wet and cold. Yeah!  The trail is drying out. Rain is forecast in a couple of days but I'm going to ignore that for now.

Dickenson Gap

Now that I'm in Virginia the miles will come fast. I fantasize about just blasting through the state.

Except that I get up in the RV and then find myself crawling back into the warm bed. Twice. Then we go out for a big breakfast. It's afternoon by the time I hit the trail. 

Retirement? Pearisburg VA

We're not in the bigger mountains anymore. Now the mountains run in long ridges for many miles, and the trail follows along the crest, coming down for water or to cross over to a different ridge. The trail is much faster - one hiker covered 16 miles in just four hours and another pair made 33 miles yesterday. 

This section is timed perfectly. The spring green leaves and grass couldn't be brighter. Fran and I both talk about what a wonderful place this would be to retire to. Wildcat and Rest Step may have it right, living near these beautiful mountains. I wonder if this is like Oregon - many visitors in July through September think they have found the promised land until they move to Oregon and endure the nine months of gray. But we fantasize anyway about living in these hills. 

Yesterday I walked rather deliberately, paying attention to my form to see if I could hike faster and with less effort.

A Break in the Weather

The weather is improving! Well, we have a forecast of one good day before it rains again. That's something!

Easy trail, good tread, nice weather. 

The trail has now dropped from the high elevations in the south and bounces around 3000 and 4000 feet so we are fully in Spring. The forest is largely maple and the hills are that fresh bright green of new leaves.

Zero

A zero day means no miles. 

This zero day was no miles, no motivation, no energy, no nothing. 

After a big breakfast I just went back to bed. I didn't really decide to not hike, I just looked at the rain, albeit lighter than normal, and didn't hike. I slept, ate, and was lazy. No motivation for more miles. Just stayed in the RV, where it is warm and dry. 

What does this mean for completing the hike? I don't know. Today I don't care. I'm not walking today. Pull up the covers and go back to sleep. Today I'm not hiking. 

My Sweetie is Back! Atkins VA

I'm in a hurry to get to Canada before winter, but with Spirit just back I am not wanting to start in on a multi-day section today. Instead we spend most of the day together and I just hike a short 11.5 mile piece to the next road crossing and we get back together again.

There are zillions of hikers. Over the past week it seems the number just keeps climbing. I see dozens today but do not recognize any of them.

Ferocious Storm: Marion VA

The storm came through ferociously. The shelter I'm in is aptly named: Hurricane Mountain Shelter. 

As I hear branches crashing in the dark I am trying to remember if this shelter is made of sturdy logs or just boards. Food bags blow down. A hammock strung under the shelter eave gets blown like a wind tunnel, and the occupant repeatedly adjusts the tarp cover until eventually abandoning it and coming inside. 

This would be a very tough night for tenters. If a tent blows over then the sleeping bag would be wet instantly. No safety net. I've experienced that once and only had time to wrap the collapsed tent around the bag on jump in and hope enough of the bag stayed dry enough to keep warm.

Go or No Go? Hurricane Shelter

The National Weather Service issued a High Wind Advisory for sustained winds of 28-34 mph and gusts to 50. That's just one step below gale force wind. They forecast heavy rains the next day, then two days of thunderstorms.

We talk it over at breakfast and are ambivalent. We really don't want to take four zeroes. A couple of us need to get to Maine by mid-August, and another has the look of a caged animal in her eyes at the thought of being stuck here. I pull out topo maps to see how exposed the trail is. Today perhaps only 25% of the trail is protected in the trees, and perhaps a third is exactly on the ridge.  We'll definitely get blown. 

Bailed Off: Elk Garden

Today was old and extremely windy. All of us off were getting literally blown off of the trail and had to lean and push hard with poles and legs to get back on it. Two bald areas near Whitetop Mountain were particularly tough.

14.2 miles into the day, around 3pm, I found eight hikers at the Elk Garden roadside parking lot, all huddled in one roadside privy. They had decided to bail and had called a shuttle. Apparently another group before them had also bailed and left in a shuttle not too long before. 

The wind was biting cold, but manageable. I was going to push on.

Shrinking: Saunders Shelter

I weigh only 145 pounds. Yikes, I'm eating like a horse and still losing weight. At this rate I'll be 105 in Maine and 85 in Halifax.

EAT MORE! 

On the way back to the trail we stop at the grocery store for Ben & Jerry's and Sun Chips. I wolf down 1500 extra calories between breakfast and lunch. 

I'm beginning to recognize the physical challenge of this trail.

Tennessee Turnpike

The miles today are easy. With minor ascents and descents, great tread and trail, and an empty pack the miles fly by fast and furious. 

I planned 20 miles, and hoped for 22. But  I just kept going all 28.8 to Damascus and cross over 1500 total so far. 

I'm 35% of the way to Halifax. Get ready Lucy, I'm almost there!  Only 2500 miles to go. 

That also makes me a landlubber again since that's 800 miles by land and 700 by sea. I find that disappointing - the kayaking portion feels like much more than just a little portion of the whole trip. 

As I stepped off of the trail I was met by Rest Step for a homestay. Before long I was in a plush robe eating meal after meal while laundry was running and batteries were recharging. I enjoyed great conversation with this Triple Crowner and his wife until midnight, took a hot shower and climbed into a bed. Bliss. 

Spring is Happening

It's May Day.

The highest mountains are still gray and sullen, but most are coming alive. Distant hills have several shades of greens and reds with the diversity of hardwoods. Some maples have the red tinge of new leaves opening, others have the bright yellow green maple flowers. Even the oaks are waking up with the tiniest specs of green at the top of the canopy. And of course there are wildflowers everywhere. In one patch there are three different blue blossoms. 

Today looked to start with a tough climb and then easy cruising, but turned out to be the opposite.