Saturday, November 2, 2024

Backpacking the AT - Day 6

 Wednesday, October 16, 2024

Ed Garvey Shelter to Pine Knob Shelter

Northbound miles 1033.0 to 1049.6



The songs of the owls serenaded us all night long. The night was a chilly one, dipping into the 30‘s and Kara was quite cold overnight.  We are definitely going to have to figure out a better sleep system for her! It sure was hard to crawl from our bags and get ready for the day, but the sun shining through the trees helped a bit!




We moved at a slow pace, packing up camp and cooking breakfast, and got back on trail a little after 8am.  




The trail was a bit rocky but mostly flat to start the day and we cruised through the first few miles. 




Our first attraction of the day was Gathland State Park. It was a beautiful place, filled with history and amazing stonework. They also had a water spigot, so we all filled up!

This part of the AT is located right along the borders of The North and The South sides of The Civil War. There were reminders everywhere of the battles fought on this land. 












This section also had many markings of the AT, and I took photos of every one I saw. Ha!















We continued on our way, struggling against the rocks, warming up and cooling down, depending on whether we were hiking up or hiking down the hills.  Once in a while we'd catch a good view, and we'd stop for a moment to look down at the world below us.






In the afternoon, we came to Washington Monument State Park. 

There was a beautiful old church near the entrance and of course I had to stop and admire it.




The trail continued, up, up, up as we hiked through the park.  The climbing was endless.  I fantasized about a car picking us up on their way to the top!




We stopped to refill our water once again, and to charge some electronics.  We hadn't had a chance to charge our phones and watches in a few days, and our power banks were running low.  I was starting to get a bit nervous about that.  We then made our way to the very top, where the monument sits.  This monument was built in the 1820’s, in a single day, by the people of this town to remember George Washington. 





The door was open, so we climbed to the top and the view from up there was pretty great!  We even met a couple men doing some bird watching up there. 





We had about 3.5 more miles to hike to get to camp, and I was ready to get there. The rocks on this day were killer on my feet and I just wanted to relax.

The trail took us down out of the hills, and we crossed a couple roads and then we took a bridge across Interstate 70. After being in the woods for several days, the noise from the road was shocking to my ears.  There were also several men on the bridge holding campaign signs for the cars passing by below.








After another little uphill climb, we made it to Pine Knob Shelter. 




There were a few other people there when we arrived, but there was plenty of space for everyone.  We found some flat ground near a fire, ring and set up our tents.




Misty and Kara decided to share a tent this night to see if it would keep Kara warmer. After we were settled, we cooked our dinner by the fire and chatted about the trail ahead. Once again, when the sky got dark, we retreated to our tents. It was supposed to be in the 30's again tonight and I hoped Kara stayed warm!


Daily miles: 16.99

Time on trail: 8:50:31

Elevation gain: 3287 feet

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