Appalachian Trail - Porters Gap to VA Route 56 to Rockfish Gap

 I slept until 1:30am and then I only dozed briefly after that.  It was so quiet at that campsite-no sound of wind or animal or insect.  Dead. Silent.  I rolled from side to side, just waiting for daylight.  Around 6am, I heard distant footsteps.  Hiker? Deer? Bear?  They were far enough away that I wasn't concerned, but I was paying attention.  The footsteps continued but they didn't seem to be coming any closer.  Then, from the other direction, there were close, confident footsteps.  "MISTY!"  "Blow your horn!"  Misty always carries and air horn and we've had to use it a few times.  I was not interested in meeting whatever was out there.  Misty quickly said, "For real?!" And I said, "YES!"  She blew the horn loudly and then it was silent again.  We stayed very still, waiting for the sound of retreat, or advance, or anything it at all.  There was nothing.  WHEN would it be daylight?  I just wanted to get out of there.  

Very slowly, dawn came, and we made quick work of packing up and getting ready for the day.  Our plan was to either hike 13 miles or 20 miles.  We'd see how things went.  A quick picture and we were off!

The first thing we had to do was, you guessed it, climb a mountain.  At this point in the trip, we were preferring the uphills rather than the downhills.  The downhills hit different and made our packs feel even heavier.  So, we climbed up, up, up. It was a beautiful morning with clear, blue skies and those awesome fall colors surrounding us.

After a 1.5 mile climb, we took a detour and made our way to the top of Spy Rock.  Spy Rock gave us our best views of the entire trip, and thankfully, it also gave us cell service!  We hopped around on the rock, taking pictures and checking in with our people.  

And then I got a message from Corey.  He was in Rockfish Gap and had sent a picture of my truck.  I wanted my truck.  Then Corey mentioned that he'd be at a road crossing about 8.5 miles ahead of where we currently were that afternoon, about the time we'd be passing through there.  Misty and I had a brief conversation where we realized that we were both kind of done with the trail for this trip.  I asked Corey if he could pick us up and take us to my truck.  "WHAT?!" "I'm serious," I said.  "Please meet us at Route 56 at 3:00 and take us to my truck!"  He agreed and we were relieved.  I can't really explain why, but I had just realized that I did not want to sleep another night on trail, let alone three nights, and I really just wanted to go home.  Misty felt the same.  

We had 8.5 miles to hike, and we didn't have a lot of time to waste.  After hiking down off of Spy Rock, we got busy.  We had a little bit of a downhill section, then a hike up to the top of The Priest Mountain, elevation 4,018 feet.  It really was a beautiful day, and because we knew we were going home, our spirits were lifted.

Once we made it to the summit of The Priest, we then had to go down.  And I mean, all the way down.  I'm talking four miles and 3,100 feet down.  Of course, the trail was filled with rocks of all sizes, and it was a slow go.

About halfway down, we needed a break and there was a great spot with a view to take one!  We dropped our packs and stretched out, enjoying the sunshine and taking in the world below.  We were still quite far up the mountain!

Down, down we went, and there were no more stops.  We dumped all the water we had except what we needed for the last few miles.  We were on a mission-we were getting out of there!  

And then we were there!  The meeting point!  Except we were really early.  So, we took off our shoes and socks and lounged in the sun for what felt like forever.  

Finally, Corey and Ada arrived, and they whisked us off to a local brewery for one last meal in Virginia.  If you're ever headed towards the Shenandoahs, make the stop at Bold Rock Brewery, sit out on the back patio, and enjoy.  It's a great spot!

And then it was really time to go.  We needed to head west.  On the way to my truck, Corey stopped one last time to take in the views.  Misty really wanted to fly off the wall, but I wouldn't let her!

We came to Virginia to finish Virginia.  Did we cover every mile?  No.  Will we be back?  Maybe someday.  But we are content with leaving things in Virginia as they are.  We have dreams of hiking other sections of the trail, so we will go in other directions.  Virginia has been so much fun, though.  We've hiked in 90 degree heat and slept at below zero temperatures.  We've been drenched by rain and had our tent collapse in the night.  We've challenged ourselves every single trip and reached so many places you can't get to in a car.  Most importantly, we've met so many amazing people: shuttle drivers, hostel workers, and other hikers.  We have sung karaoke in a tree house, ran over a road sign while riding in a truck, eaten half-cooked, questionable bacon, and slept to the sound of thru hikers eating endless calories in the dark.  Every single trip has been an epic adventure, and we have loved each step in Virginia.  

Total Day 6 Miles: 10.86 

Elevation Gain: 2,008 feet

Elevation Loss: 4,518 feet