AT ‘23 Post 8 - Day 55 (956.0 KM) - Quarter Way to Katahdin

The Grayson Highlands

A strained “what year is it!?” from Waynesboro, VA. It’s been a long time since I’ve uploaded dear blog! Can’t believe a couple of months have passed already. Don’t worry, I’m still taking daily notes and pictures. I just haven’t had the time or energy to post in awhile! Time moves fast on a thru hike, and I couldn’t believe it’d been this long already. I’ll be doing double posts for the next few weeks to catch up. I’m done trail days, 860 miles in and almost into the Shenandoahs. It’s been a blast, but the VA blues have set in a bit. It’s a long state. I'm staying positive by remembering I’ll get through to Harper’s Ferry, and into Maryland, soon. This post includes passing the quarter way mark, hense the title. It's hard to wrap my mind around. Soon I'll be halfway home.

Fr Apr 28/23 - Day 47 - Damascus VA (757.5 KM)

A much needed zero in Damascus today. Started off with breaky at the diner, joined by Gadget, Taric, and Kaylee. A breakfast burrito for me. It really hit the spot.

The Methodist chuch hostel we stayed at

After breaky I dropped my bag off at the Dragonfly Inn, my lodgings for tonight. Then it was off to the outfitters. The outfitters here has amazing selection! I grabbed a new set of proper trail running shorts. I can use the Walmart ones as town clothes and forgo the rain skirt of laundry shame. I also grabbed some new underwear, as my backup pair were getting holey as well. Some body glide later I was done with gear updates.

Wings posing at the outfitters

I went back to the inn and hung out for a bit. Eventually Ralph, the proprietor, gave me a little tour of the place. I sat in the living room, his dog Jake on my lap as we chatted. Ralph kindly offered me a ride to the local grocery store, and I took him up on it! I grabbed a case of beer and some small things to spice up my resupply. By the time we got back my room was ready, so I headed up to shower once more and get unpacked. The room was beautiful and the bed comfy. I even had a private bathroom. A big luxury on trail.

I drank my beers and worked on my next blog post. Around 5 I messaged some fellow hikers, and we decided to meet up at the Damascus Brewery for yet even more karaoke. As I arrived at the pub, I ran into Sun God walking the opposite direction. Apparently there’s no food at the brewery! What a sham! I joined him for the short walk down to a local pizza shop. He ended up going to the grocery store and eating a pint of ice cream for dinner. I sprang for a large pizza.

The karaoke crew!

At the brewery I drank with Fossil, Wings, and Tetris. They’re a pretty cool crowd. We sang terribly and had a mirthful time. Wings did some pretty good renditions of “Hey What’s Going On”. She’s definitely the most competent singer of our group. Fossil did her signature heavy rock deep voice singing. Hammy is the only way to describe our performances. I was dragged into Bohemian Rhapsody by some locals, and once more for “I would walk 500 miles”. I’ve heard 500 miles about 20 times at karaoke in these trail towns. Fitting I know, but the locals must get tired of it quickly.

We stumbled out after last call and headed back for our respective lodgings. As I sang an impersonation of Wings’ performance, I slipped on some mud and fell back onto my ass. I got a scrape on the top of my foot (crocs) and on the top of my calf. They bled a bit but were otherwise just cosmetic in nature. Everyone got a kick that I managed to keep my leftover pizza totally fine despite sprawling out on my ass. What can I say, saving the pizza was a bigger priority than my body.

Just a flesh wound

I thanked the group for a fun night, and went back to the inn. I watched some YouTube and ate my leftover pizza. Tomorrow I might nero in town, chilling out a bit then heading off around noon. Let’s see how things work out.

Sa Apr 29/23 - Day 48 - Saunders Shelter (772.8 KM)

Got up around 7:30 and was out for breaky by 8:30. I had a free breakfast at the diner for staying at the Dragon Fly. Apparently the inn owner, Ralph, also owns the ice cream shop and diner across the street from him. At the diner I met Sun God et al and stole a seat beside him. I had a big breaky, some coffee, and chattered along with the group. I was gifted a free French toast from a fellow hiker, which I appreciated very much.

Afterwards I headed back to the inn, got packed up, and chilled out a bit finishing off my next blog post. Around 11 I was all caught up and headed off for the trail. After a delay chatting with Fossil, Tetris, and Wings, and a quick Subway stop, I officially was on trail around 12:30. Gadget headed out at 9. Yikes! Not sure I’ll catch up.

I climbed up the ascent out of Damascus. It was warm and humid, forcing me to drink excess water and slow down a bit. It was a tough slog, but around 5:30 I made it to Saunders shelter 15 KM out. I had hoped to push for 25 KM (16 miles), but the nero and climb made it tough to push on. At the shelter I caught back up with Patriarch, and met High Def (hey close to my trail name!), Pinto, and some others I’ve sadly forgotten the names. I ate my packed out sub, drank my packed out PBRs, and had some packed out gin in pineapple water flavouring. We gossiped around the campfire, meeting Reese’s from Sweden. He said the chocolate in Sweden sucked, and that he fell in love with Reese’s on this, his first trip to America. I told him he had good taste. It’s also my fave too.

Tomorrow it’s going to rain all day until 3. I hope to sleep through the worst of the rain and head out in a dry spot. Not sure with the slip and slide day if I’ll make it to my goal, Thomas Knob Shelter 30 KM away. I think if I’m fast I can catch up with Gadget.

Su Apr 30/23 - Day 49 - Thomas Knob Shelter (803.2 KM)

Got up and out by about 7:50. It was raining on and off, but I resolved to get to the next shelter for breaky. Today looks like a bit of a climb but flat compared to what we’ve seen recently.

The rain made sections of the trail resemble a craggy creek. After a mile or two, a Kiwi named Skippy caught up with me, and we started hiking together. She’s a big hiker; completed the PCT, along with a few other 2000+ mile adventures in New Zealand and across the globe. I find people in the commonwealth tend to click quickly; we share the same sense of humour and a love of all things sarcastic and dark.

Skippy posing in the rain

We hiked through the rain for a few hours, slipping and sliding along the rocks and mud. We came to Lost Mountain Shelter around 11 and took our breaky. As we were packing up, Pinto arrived, declaring it was time for a rainy day siesta. We wished we could join, but the trail calls!

We pushed on through the climbs and descents. The gradient wasn't terrible, and with the windy cold rain, we marched fast. Hail came every now and then to mix it up a bit. I was soaked and frozen most of the day. In the afternoon Skippy put on her afterburners and boosted off for Thomas Knob shelter. I hiked alone for the second half the day, taking only short breaks to keep myself from freezing. Getting water and filtering it sucks the worst in these conditions. Your hands are numb from the water source, and all while you filter the rain and wind are sapping what little heat you still have. Nice and miserable.

What a day

I put on a Sherlock Holmes audiobook and powered through the rest of the day. Around 6:30 I made it 30 KM (18.6 miles) to Thomas Knob. My biggest day yet! I arrived to gear Gadget hailing me. With my big day I had caught up! It was nice to be out of the weather and done for the day.

Fog everywhere

I headed up to the enclosed top part of the shelter and setup shop, running back into Skippy and Badger. We cooked dinner and shivered in our sleeping bags, commiserating about the weather. I ran out of fuel today. Big mistake to not get some at the last stop. Badger kindly let me use his fuel to cook my dinner. A mistake I won’t make again!

Overall it was a freezing day, made a little more pleasant by Skippy’s buoyant attitude and hilarious Kiwi stories. I’m glad I finally managed a 30. I’m frozen right now, so I’ll make a plan of attack for tomorrow, tomorrow.

Mo May 1/23 - Day 50 - Grayson Highlands Base Camp (834.6 KM)

It was freezing this morning. Around 3 AM I had to get my emergency Mylar blanket out. The cold and high winds made for a slow morning. We slept in till 7:30, got packed slowly, had some breaky, and hit the trail by 9:30.

Finally some clearer skies

Today we hiked through the famous Grayson Highlands, a flat meadowy section featuring wild ponies. Unfortunately due to the cold, windy, cloudy weather, the ponies seemed to be hiding in the trees rather than grazing on the open fields. It was snowing on top of that. Snow in May down south! Gadget keeps accusing me and my Canadianness of bringing the cold weather.

The Grayson Highlands

I fell on my butt three times in the first hour we were out due to the bullying wind and slick rocks. The wind was its worst on the exposed meadow ridgeline sections. You’d have to walk diagonally at times, contorting your body to fight against it.

Through our hike we did run into one pony, a big fat blondie munching on some grass. Despite the lack of horsies, we did get some beautiful views of the mountains in the distance through the meadows. A well earned consolation prize.

My only pony through the highlands

My goal today was to make it 30 KM to Dickey Gap, so that I can go to the Grayson Highlands Basecamp hostel. I need fuel, and it’d benice to escape another cold night. Around 12 I started putting on the boosters so that I could get to the gap by 7:30. We left late, so I need to boogie. I sped on past Gadget, not seeing him again for the rest of the day. Shire vibes all day

I took my lunch at Old Orchard shelter with Ween, so named due to owning a hotdog stand. As I headed off Badger caught up, informing me that Gadget wasn’t too far behind. I pushed on for Hurricane shelter at top gear. I ended up trail jogging my way for the next 3.5 hours to catch my 7:30 hostel shuttle. It was a real slog, and I felt some weird pains start developing in my legs as I jogged on. I really hoped I wasn’t giving myself an injury trying to make my shuttle, but I pressed on. A light drizzle started around 6:00 to make my last sprint even more fun. Time to test the legs once more.

More highlands beauty

Around 7:40, I made it the 30KM to Dickey Gap and made my hostel shuttle. Arriving at the Grayson Highlands Basecamp, I discovered I had the place to myself! The whole bunkroom was mine, despite the wicked weather. I showered, laundried, had some frozen pizza, and relaxed with some Star Trek. It was a nice treat to have the whole place to myself, even if just for a short night!

Tomorrow I’m turning down the mileage a bit. I just finished back to back 30KM (18.6 mile) days, my first time on the trail. My legs are sore in new and innovative ways, but I don’t believe I’ve given myself any injuries. I’ll aim for Partnership shelter, about 25 KM out, and I’ll take the whole day to get there if I need to. It should be a flatter day too, a blessing for sore feet.

Tu May 2/23 - Day 51 - Partnership Shelter (859.6 KM)

Woke up alone in the bunkhouse and started getting packed up. My legs feel worse for wear, and my ankles are a bit stiff from all the tumbles through Grayson Highlands, but I don’t feel any injuries. I made some coffee and ate my leftover pizza. Coffee and leftover frozen pizza seems like a common thread this trip.

I hit the trail around 9 AM, immediately being passed by Marathon. Today was the weather was a bit bipolar. Rotating from dark clouds to sunny skies, high wind to low wind, pretty much the whole day. You were cold then hot then cold again.

As I hiked, Happy Hour caught up with me. I hadn’t met her, but heard some stories from Gadget. She was surprised when her reputation proceeded her. We ended up hiking together for the whole day, gossiping about video games, matchmaking on trail, coming from broken families, and other fun topics. It’s interesting how quickly you get into deep conversations with almost total strangers on trail. It’s a good thing that’s my favourite type of chat. On the other hand, I told her about a joke Gadget made about Canadians being “well endowed”. She resolved to make it a reoccurring joke on trail. You also can get a little silly too.

On the way to Partnership Shelter

We took a lot of breaks, which was fine for me with the big days I had just hauled. Despite our slow attitude, we still made flying time. The terrain was cruisy and the gradients were smooth today. We crushed miles at a fast click.

Around 4 PM and 25K later, we made it into Partnership Shelter. I was considering moving on, but there was a visitor centre and pizza delivery available at the shelter. So I stayed and schmoozed a bit, letting my legs recover a bit. I met Cruise Control and Encore from MA. They gave me the hardest laugh of the trail yet, as they rotated around the campfire making Bostonian jokes and commentary one after the other. I laughed so hard I cried, regrettably slowing down my progress on a cheesesteak sub I ordered from the pizza place. By the way, cheesesteak subs (or “hoagies”) are amazing down here. In Canada, in general, they suck. We just don’t know how to make them right I guess.

Colossus pizza at Partnership

I helped the group order their pizza. 10 people to feed, how many “colossus” 32 inch pizzas to buy? I wagered 3, considering we’re all hungry thru hikers. Long story short, I was off by one. As in, everyone including 2 extra hikers, could barely finish the first 2 colossus pizzas. We literally had 1 full colossus pizza leftover at the end of the night. As a programmer would say, I was only off by one… Gigantic bike tire sized pizza.

Gadget rolled in around 6, reuniting with me again. He pushed 19 to make it into camp today! Good stuff, I haven’t even pulled a 19 yet. Around the campfire, Happy Hour made a joke about Canadians being “big” as she threw one of the colossus pizza boxes in the fire. There was an awkward silence, followed by a resounding burst of laughter from Gadget. He didn’t know the ploy yet, and was tickled silly by our antics.

Burning the colossus pizza box

After dinner and much laughs by the campfire, I headed up to bed. Today was a much needed rest and recuperation reprieve. Tomorrow we plan to push 18K (12 miles) and head to the Long Neck Lair Alpaca Farm Hostel. Yes, it’s an alpaca farm and hostel. I’m excited for some cute long neck grazing alpaca action.

We May 3/23 - Day 52 - Long Neck Lair Alpaca Farm (878.2 KM)

Got up and out early. Another frozen morning. Come on, VA. It’s May! Give me some warmth!

Cold morning beauty

The morning commenced with hail and winds. Gadget said “at least it’s so cold it’s not wet”. I guess there’s always a silver lining. We stopped to eat breakfast quickly at the first gap, shivering the whole time. As we scarfed down the leftover colossus pizza, Tetris and Fossil caught up with us. Gadget and I boogied on, walking along and gossiping with Fossil.

Fossil has been fun to hike with. She’s rode her bike across America, skateboarded across America, and now is walking across America. She loves any form of long distance sport. Fossil is semi retired; she built up a successful cryptocurrency marketing company and sold it off a couple of years back. Now she’s working on her own personal projects, like a video game. A MTF trans, she’s a vocal advocate for more inclusiveness in sport and competition. More importantly, she’s fascinating and an endless well of amazing stories. Looks like she’s going to hike a storm while I chill out in Atkins at the Alpaca Farm, so I probably won’t see her again for awhile. Was a blast embarrassing ourselves at karaoke!

Saying goodbye to Fossils

We boogied fast, arriving at the Atkins gap around 1. I took a milkshake break at the gas station, then headed on for Long Neck Lair Alpaca Hostel. As I rolled onto the farm I was surrounded by incredibly cute, big headed, thin bodied, recently shaved alpacas. After a quick phone call with Cyndie I was all setup in the hostel. This is one of the best hostels on trail, up there with Around the Bend and Your Home in the Woods. The showers are amazing, made from a pipe directly fed into a steel bucket with holes in the bottom. It makes for an amazing rain shower head that covers you in water. It almost felt like a standing bath. On top of that there’s easy access to laundry, great little private bunks with fans and plugs that you can close off with a curtain. They’re a new hostel but seem to be very aware of hiker needs.

Home for tonight

Gadget ended up rolling in to the hostel at 2:30. As he got cleaned up I started working on my laundry and my blog once more. Around 5:30 Cyndie gave us a ride into town to resupply and grab some dinner. She is an incredibly friendly teacher, working the hostel and farm with her husband. They are a part of a bell choir at their local church, and we caught a ride on their way to practice. Look up the Raleigh Ringers if you’re curious about bell choirs! I’d never heard of it, so I was very enlightened.

Alpacas

After a quick resupply at Walmart it was over to the local Mexican restaurant Mi Puerto for dinner. I’m noticing these small towns almost always have a Mexican joint. I wonder if that’s because Mexican works for most diets or if it’s just that popular. Probably a mix of both. The food was good, but the Margaritas were amazing. Huge and amazing. I finished off two with the fajitas me and Gadget split. I also got some enchiladas to go. Gotta have my second dinner.

Gadget and me enjoying giant margaritas

Back at the hostel we met Bagel and Scoops, who had just arrived. We laughed and drank, learning that Bagel is a master winemaker, and Scoops a bike mechanic. We tried to fix my sleeping pad leak, but we couldn’t find the hole with water in the dark evening. The chatting and hiker chores went on till about 11. I ended up staying up even later watching Star Trek on my phone. What can I say, I’m starting to miss TV!

Tomorrow we’ll leave around a reasonable time and see how far we get. Always sucks out of town, even if just a nero.

Th May 4/23 - Day 53 - Knot Maul Shelter (901.9 KM)

Got up around 6:55 to pet and feed the alpacas with Cyndie. They are very curious but cautious animals. Some were suspicious of me, but a couple let me stroke their freshly shaved necks and rumps. I stayed away from the back of them, not wanting to be kicked! None of them took any food from my hands. Cyndie said it was probably because they smelled some soap on my fingers. Punished for being clean! Roosters and chickens came into the alpacas fenced off space and started helping them finish off any little bits of food they missed.

A curious alpaca

Two cups of coffee and some cold enchiladas later, we were on the road. We swung by the gas station for a quick protein shake then hit the trail earnestly. The beginning of the day was beautiful pastures specked with mountains. We quickly ran into Jules and his tramily once more. We caught up a bit as we walked.

A suspicious alpaca

Pretty soon into the day, we crossed the official 1/4 mark of the AT! Quarter way to Katahdin. Very pumped. With the adrenaline boost we powered on through the climbs of the day. It was an unremarkable day otherwise; terrain wasn’t too bad, the weather was warm and sunny, and the climbs were manageable.

Quater way home

At the end of the day we ran into some trail magic! I powered down quite a few hard boiled eggs, some fig newtons, baby bell cheese, and lotsa pop. At the trail magic I ran back into Tetris, who had just finished The Cakewalk. It’s a slackpacking challenge hosted by a local hostel to finish a literal marathon, 26.2 miles, in one day. If you do it, you get a free cake. Quite the cakewalk indeed, if you ignore the literal marathon.

More alpacas; this guy has a punk rock haircut

We used the motivation of the trail magic to push on up the next climb to shelter. At the shelter we ran into Guns and LuckyColleague, two amiable chaps that were friends with some hikers at the trail magic. We chat and I drank four lokos as me and Gadget got set up in the shelter. Tonight it’s just me and him in the shelter! Score.

Overall it was a great day and a fun night. Tomorrow we have a bastard climb coming which I’m trying not to think about. Let’s see how she goes.

Fr May 5/23 - Day 54 - VA Route 623 (927.0 KM)

Slept in a bit today but got packed up fast from the shelter stay. Hit the trail by 8:15. A beautiful day again today. Finally some warmth.

We hit our first river ford pretty early on. Breakfast first to raise our spirits. We ate in the shadow of a wrecked bridge, the former way of crossing. Pizza hands caught up and we chilled with him a bit as we ate. I had a Deathwish coffee, traded for some Starbucks instant from Gadget. Way too much caffeine for me! I was buzzed to my tits after half a cup; those caffeine sweats are real!

First ford

The river ford was easy; the water only came up to our ankles. After that it was on to the bastard climb of the day. Seems like we get a big climb every couple of days now. I thought VA was supposed to be flat!

Lunch

Most of the way up the climb, we came to a meadowy pond. We took our lunch by the spring there, enjoying the warm sun and much needed food. Afterwards we proceeded up to Chestnut Knob shelter. Chestnut knob is beautiful! Great views down into the valley and town from the top. We ran into Blue and gossiped. Unfortunately we got there a bit too early, so we only stayed for a quick break and powered on.

Atop Chestnut Knob

We ran into a nice ridge walk after, and proceeded on to our planned campsite at a dirt road crossing route VA 623. As I arrived I ran into Sherpa, Galileo, and Chipmunk. Sherpa was supporting his brother Galileo on his thru hike, and gave me some trail magic in the form of Oreos and cheetos! Always appreciated.

Gadget and I tented on the glorious flat sites there, and gorged on our thanksgiving dinners.

Tomorrow we want to push an 18 miler (29 KM) so we can get into town early. Hopefully the weather and terrain stay cooperative.

Sa May 6/23 - Day 55 - Helvey’s Mill Shelter (956.0 KM)

Another quick morning. Was out by 8 AM. We booked it this morning; finished 7.5 KM in 2 hrs. Considering I usually do 3 KPH that’s fast! We had breaky at the first shelter we ran into, sharing it with some former thru hikers making their way down to Damascus for trail days. Good to meet you Zen et al! They recommended we try packing out frozen burritos for meals. They’ll be melted by the time you get to camp, and you get sick of all the other hiker food you eat day in and day out. They said by the end of their hike, they’d pack out 15 burritos only and eat them for a few days straight. Guess I’ll give it a shot! I’ll eat almost anything once.

We powered on. The terrain and climbs weren’t anything too crazy, so we made some good time. Around 1:45 we came to have lunch by a nice view. Then we powered on some more. We ran into an unexpected desert section after this; 12ish KM with no water. Fun. I didn’t refill at a good time either, so I’ll be chewing gum and conserving for the rest of the day.

After the 12 KM dry walk, we made it to a river with some Debbie cakes left for hikers. I tried a Star Crunch cookie, and it was amazing. Potential replacement for honeybuns? We shall see.

We powered up the last climb of the day and made it to Helvey Mill Shelter just before 6 PM. 18 miles before 6! A productive trail day. At the shelter we ran into the wicked MA kids. They had started a fire and were eating dinner. Lots of Boston accented jokes were thrown around, making for great dinner company. I tried a Walmart pulled pork package in instant potatoes. Instant classic. Highly recommend the Walmart pulled pork package. It looks terrible but tastes great, much like all hiker protein. Hiker protein sources, like jerky and tuna, resembles dog treats or cat food at the best of times. You get used to it.

Around 8 someone came up to the shelter on an ATV. We met Bill, a retired pilot and airforce vet, dollying some fresh water jerry cans to the shelter. He sat down and chatted a bit; apparently this used to be his land before imminent domain took it from his family. Apparently he doesn’t mind, as he routinely comes and helps the hikers out with fresh water and other resources as necessary. We chatted with him for awhile, listening to airforce stories and couch stories. Apparently someone once hauled a giant couch up to the shelter. Bill suspects it was his nephew Patrick, but never found proof. That damn Patrick, always up to tricks!

Around sunset Bill headed home, and we sat by the bonfire enjoying the glow of a good day. I went to bed in the shelter shortly after. Tomorrow we hope to push another bigger day to Dismal Falls. I wonder if the name will fit the scene.

One final alpaca shot for good measure