Day 35 (5/11/13)
Starting Point: Mountain Harbor Hostel: 392.3
Ending Point: Kincora Hostel: 417.0
Total: 24.7
We started off the morning with a great breakfast from Mt. Harbor Hostel. They are known for having one of the best breakfasts on the trail and they certainly didn’t disappoint. During breakfast we ran into Gandolf and were able to coordinate a sharing the costs of a 24 mile slack pack for the day. The owner of the hostel drove our packs up to Kincora Hostel. Our plan was to pick them up there and spend the night. We were pretty excited about ending the long day in another bed!
We didn’t get on the trail until almost 10:30; a pretty late start considering the miles we were planning on putting in that day. Luckily, the weather was awesome and we knew the terrain was relatively flat. We hiked most of the morning with Gandolf, a thru hiker from New York that we have run into multiple times during our hike. It was nice to get to know him a bit better. Early during the day we passed a group of hikers that had been swimming in a river that was running close to the trail. They tried to convince us to go swimming but we knew we had to push on if we were going to make it to the hostel before midnight!
One of the biggest highlights of the day was crossing the 400 mile mark. This one definitely came quicker than I expected! It seems like hitting the 100 mile mark took forever. Hopefully we will be hitting these milestones on a weekly basis from now on.
We made it to the hostel by 8pm. Our packs were waiting for us on our bunks for the night. We were greeted with leftover dinner that was dropped off by some trail angels earlier that day and spent the rest of the night meeting new hikers and catching up with others that we hadn’t seen for a while.
Kincora hostel is run by Bob Peoples, a legend on the trail. He has a huge heart for hikers and the trail. He only asks for a $5 donation for people staying at the hostel. I had heard about him multiple times but it was great to meet him and experience his generosity in person.
Day 36
Starting Point: Kincora Hostel: 417
Ending Point: Vanderventen Shelter: 434.5
Total: 17.5
Possible title for today: “A dip in the lake and a rattlesnake”
We got an extremely early start on the trail today. We knew we would be pretty tired/sore from our long hike the day before, so we wanted to give ourselves plenty of time to complete our mileage. We were on the trail by 7:30 which is a new record for us! Early in the hike we crossed Laurel Falls, a beautiful waterfall that I really wanted to take a dip in! We actually ended up missing a turn in the trail and ended up right by the shore. It took us a while to figure out where we had taken a wrong turn but it also allowed us to take a quick break by the water.
During our morning stretch/water break we found out we were only 3 miles away from a lake with beach access. We decided immediately to alter our lunch plans to include an afternoon swim! We definitely picked up the pace and made it to the lake around 1pm. We hung out with a new group of hikers who had gotten up at 4am and were planning on spending the day at the lake! They were kind enough to share a few beers with us while we were enjoying the water. The lake was amazing and it felt great to relax in the cool water. Unfortunately, we had to push on in order to make the shelter by night. It was definitely hard to leave!
A few hours after we left the lake we saw a guy in the middle of the trail about 100 yards ahead of us holding a 15 foot long stick! We couldn’t figure out what he was doing, I knew he wasn’t using it as his hiking poles. When we got closer he told us there was a rattlesnake right off the trail stuck underneath a rock. That made me stop in my tracks and make sure I kept a safe distance away. Apparently, another hiker had thrown rocks at the snake and instead of killing it, he just got it stuck and extremely pissed off (which is exactly how I would NOT want to encounter a rattlesnake)! The snake kept raising his head at us and opening his mouth. It was a pretty scary experience and at that point, I was very happy he wasn’t able to get closer. We decided to write a note and leave it on the trail to warn other hikers of the snake. I certainly wasn’t going to get any closer than I had to. As we were walking by the snake started rattling it’s tail. That made me pick up that pace and make sure I was a safe distance away!
Thankfully, the last few miles to the shelter were uneventful. We made camp by 7 and had dinner enjoying the amazing view from the overlook behind the shelter.
Day 37
Starting Point: Vanderventen Shelter: 434.5
Ending Point: TN 91 445.9
Total: 11.4
We slept in a bit this morning because we knew we only had 11 miles to do before getting picked up by a shuttle at 3. Our plan was to get a shuttle into Damascus and then slackpack the remaining 22 miles into the town the next day.
The weather was amazing and its always easier to enjoy the hiking when you know your day will end with a bed! We ran into a few people while we were getting water who told us of a rumor of trail magic at the road where we were getting picked up. The promise of trail magic will make you walk faster with a smile on your face! Fortunately the rumor was true and the trail magic didn’t disappoint. We actually had 2 trail magic instances within .25 miles of each other. The first was a cooler on the trail filled with sodas and baked goods. It was left by a local church who keep the cooler full daily. While we were enjoying a few (maybe 3 or 4) treats from the cooler, we ran into Grant. He is a thru hiker we met at Mount Harbor hostel who rowed in college at Rutgers. It is always great when you run into people on the trail with common interests.
Shortly after we got back on the trail we got to the road where we were getting picked up and hit trail magic #2! This one was being put on by a former thru hiker who was in town for trail days. He had a grill going with chicken, hamburgers and a cooler full of beer. We enjoyed the food and company while waiting for the shuttle to pick us up to go into Damascus.
Once we got into Damascus we ran into Half Moon, Doc and Tex! Half Moon had a rental car for the weekend. He drove us to the grocery store to resupply and even offered to take us back to the road the next morning so we didn’t have to pay for another shuttle. We happily took him up on his offer! We checked into our B&B for the night and got to bed early!
Day 38
Starting Point: TN 91 445.9
Ending: Damascus, VA 466.9
Total: 21
We met Half Moon at 9am to drive us back to the road. We were able to get back on the trail by 9:30 and ran into another trail magic by 9:35! This one was run by a group of former thru hikers who had literally set up their tents on the trail so you couldn’t pass by. We stopped for a bit and talked to some hikers we knew. Fortunately, we were able to get out of there relatively quickly when they realized we had just gotten dropped off 5 minutes earlier.
We were making pretty good timing and had a goal to be done by 6 that afternoon. About two hours into the hike we ran into another trail magic (we were definitely getting spoiled by this point. All the trail magic is a result of people coming back into town for trail days in Damascus). This time we stopped. We couldn’t pass up 2 trail magics in one day! We sat at a picnic table by the side of the road and enjoyed chips, cokes and lots of cookies!
The rest of the hike was pretty uneventful. The highlight of the day came near the end of our hike when we crossed the TN/VA border. We have made it to our 4th state! We said “goodbye” and “see you soon” to TN and happily crossed into VA! After crossing the border, we only had 3 miles to go to Damascus. It felt good to be in Damascus for real now!
We met up with Half Moon and took him out to dinner to thank him for his generosity. We ended up meeting up with Wolf who had done over 30 miles to make it into Damascus that day! It was great catching up with both of them and hearing about their trail experiences over the past few days.
Day 39
Starting: Damascus, VA 466.9
Ending: Bear Tree Gap Trail Campsite: 479.2
Total: 12.3
We didn’t get back on the trail today until after 12pm. We had to go to the outfitter in the morning to replace my boots. After only 500 miles they have come apart at the sole. I decided to go with a pair of trail runners for the next stretch of the trail. With the weather starting to get warmer, it will definitely be nice to have a lighter pair of shoes.
The weather today was calling for 100% percent chance of showers and storms. It rained off and on all morning but had cleared up by the time we hit the trail. We thought we were going to get lucky and hike the rest of the day in good weather. That luck didn’t last long. About an hour into the hike, it started pouring rain. This is probably the most soaked I have been on the trail to date. Everything was soaking wet and all I could do was put my head down and keep hiking. We had plans to make a campsite 14 miles down the trail. The weather caused us to stop about 3 miles early.
We set up camp quickly and stayed in the tent the rest of the night! We were soaked all the way through and happy to be out of the rain for the night!
Day 40
Starting Point: Bear Tree Gap Trail Campsite: 479.2
Ending: Elk Garden: 491.2
Total: 12
Today we got our earliest start on the trail by far. We were actually up and hiking by 6:50am! We had a shuttle planned to pick us up by noon 12 miles down the trail and we knew we had to hustle to make it by noon. Thankfully the rain had stopped but all our clothes and shoes were still completely soaked. I actually hiked in a pair of zip lock bags on my feet because I couldn’t bear the thought of having wet feet two days in a row!
We hiked pretty fast, even climbing a big mountain at a fast pace. We made it to the shuttle with 10 minutes left to spare! I was happy we made it on time, and happy our hiking was done for a while. We had a zero planned for the next day and I was glad to have the day to rest.
The shuttle took us back into Damascus and then Enterprise picked us up! We had hotel reservations outside of town in Abingdon, VA. We checked in to our hotel and then went to dinner and a movie! We went to eat Mexican and saw Million Dollar Arm at the local cinema. It was great to have our own car and have a normal date night.
The shuttle took us back into Damascus and then Enterprise picked us up! We had hotel reservations outside of town in Abingdon, VA. We checked in to our hotel and then went to dinner and a movie! We went to eat Mexican and saw Million Dollar Arm at the local cinema. It was great to have our own car and have a normal date night.
Day 41 and 42
Starting Point: Abingdon, Va
Ending Point: Abingdon, Va
We got up Saturday morning and headed back into Damascus to attend trail days. We had plans to visit some of the vendor tents and go to a few of the talks that were being offered. We first went to hear Warren Doyle ( a 16 time thru hiker!!) talk about some of his stories from the trail. He was very engaging and I really enjoyed hearing his perspective. If he ever decides to write a book I will definitely pick up a copy.
We then walked through the vendor tents to see all the latest gear. Fortunately, we were able to get out of there without buying anything new. I was glad not to add any weight to my pack or spend any more money.
We ended our time at trail days by listening to another talk by Warren Doyle. This time he was speaking about the history of trail days and how the thru hiker sub culture has changed over the past 40 years. He didn’t really go into a lot about how the people have changed and focused mainly on how the physical trail has changed. The trail has added about 130 miles (mostly in Virginia) over the past 40 years. This is mainly due to private land acquisition by the government.
Overall, I really enjoyed my trail days experience. It was definitely a lot tamer than most will have (and that was by design). A lot of hikers use it as an excuse to be drunk and high for 3 days straight and I am very happy to be able to avoid that. We were able to see the vendor tents and hear a few great talks. Which was exactly what we wanted to do.
We are now back in Abingdon and will get back on the trail tomorrow morning. We are enjoying this surprise extra zero by doing a lot of resting and reading. I am really excited to get back on the trail and start making forward progress again. We will be hitting the 500 mile mark tomorrow!!!!!
Happy Trails,
Z & Gia
Congrats on entering VA!! We miss you already in TN :) Keep up the awesome pace...and all the enjoyments of the trail!
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