Hiking The Appalachian Trail: Mt. Rogers Nat. Rec. HQ 534.6 to Possum Creek 558.7

 We had a 7:30am shuttle scheduled for Friday morning.  This left just enough time for us to get to our favorite little coffee shop beforehand.  As we were getting packed up, our driver texted to ask if we really wanted the 7:30am shuttle since it was pouring rain outside.  Absolutely!

We said goodbye to The Merry Inn, hopefully for the last time of this trip, and headed across the street in the rain to Better Coffee Co.  A warm maple bacon donut and a hot white chocolate mocha sure hit the spot for me.

Carrie, today's shuttle driver, was right on time and we hopped into her car and headed to the trail.  She informed us that another hiker was looking for a ride to town because he had norovirus and needed some downtime.  The whole shuttling community was trying to figure out how to get him to a hotel without actually coming into contact with him.  One thing nobody wants, on or off trail, is norovirus.  This was also the reason we had been avoiding all of the shelters and pretty much all other hikers.  We had heard several reports of a big upswing in cases in Virginia, and we wanted no part of that!

Carrie was very sweet and had just been the Flower Grandma in her granddaughter's wedding the day before.  I think she thought we were a little nutty to be heading onto the trail in this weather, but we had miles to get to!  We decided that no matter what, rain or shine, we weren't getting off trail until we made it back to our car.

The trail was dark and dreary, and very quiet.  Of course, we had a steep uphill to start the day.  At least the climb would warm us up!

We love hiking among the rhododendrons, and I'm sure someday we will get to see them in bloom!

The rain continued to fall, but we embraced it and didn't let the weather slow us down.  Besides, there was beauty all around us!

And then, we saw a sign.  A true GIFT appeared...

Trail magic?  Was it true?  We hurried up to the little old schoolhouse to check it out!

There, inside, there really was magic!  Three bins of treats!  Salty treats, sweet treats, even flavored water and toilet paper!

What a great use of this little one room schoolhouse, as well as a welcomed shelter from the rain.  We were very thankful for this surprise!

The trail once again led us up into the forest.  I swear, those AT signs and white blazes get me every time!

The next few miles were a combination of wide-open spaces and tall, tall trees.  A common thread was how green everything was!  Just check out that color!

Around Mile 11, we crossed a set of railroad tracks and came to Atkins, Virginia.  

Most towns we have been to on the AT required at least a short shuttle, but this town was a part of the trail!  Hotels, restaurants, resupply stores-Atkins had it all.  We actually needed none of those things and kept on truckin'.  I was anxious to get away from the noise -it was so loud!

The light rain that had been with us most of the day had come to a stop, and I was happy to be able to dry out a little.  It was a chilly day, though, and our raincoats were keeping us warm!

We crossed another bridge and entered more Davis land.  We had been seeing a variety of Davis Family signs the last two days, and it seemed they owned many, many acres here surrounding the AT.  We were very thankful they allow the trail to pass through so much of their beautiful land!

Around this time, we realized we were running very low on water, and there were limited options ahead of us.  FarOut indicated we'd be approaching Davis Hollow, which would be our only option for water in the next six miles or so.  Thankfully there were blue blazes marking the path because it wasn't right on our trail.  Davis Hollow is listed as a "pooling spring" and we could see it flowing slowly away, but still, we really prefer rapidly flowing streams.  Plus, the color was a little...strange...  We needed water, though, and it would have to do.

We had a couple big climbs over the next few miles, and we were starting to feel the day.  It was too early to stop, though, so on we went.  A little bright spot was passing the 1/4 sign, which marks the first quarter of the trail complete for thru hikers heading north.

By this time, our outer layers were completely dry, so of course the sky decided to open up again.  At first it was a light rain, but soon it was full-on raining.  With the rain came the fog, making the forest a little spooky.

In the middle of the rain, we both hit a bit of a mental low spot and decided to make a stop.  We threw down our packs and ate some food.  Food always makes things better, right?  

A thru hiker passed by us in that moment and said, "Embrace the suck!"  I fake-chuckled a little, but we got our things together and continued on.

There was so much farmland around, and we were going through a lot of gates designed to keep the livestock on the right side of them.  Every time we came to an open field, we hoped we wouldn't meet up with a territorial cow.

And while some gates swung open and closed, some were designed like ladders that you had to climb up and over, unless you've got really long legs like me.  Right, Misty?  Hahahaha!

After our last gate, we were along a river.  I always love it when the trail follows a river, as it is usually filled with moss and roots and lots of little flowers.

By this time, it was getting very late in the day, and we had hiked an enormous number of miles.  Our last campsite option was five miles behind us, and we had a least one more mile to go before the next option.  I started yawning and literally couldn't stop.  I was tired.  

Finally, we crossed a road and came to a large, covered pavilion with lots of flat camping ground alongside it. It was just before 8pm, and the light of day was rapidly leaving us.  We made quick work of getting our tents pitched and gear unpacked.  All we wanted to do was eat dinner and crawl into our sleeping bags.  I was actually so tired that I cooked my food and crawled into my sleeping bag to eat it!  I could barely stay upright long enough to finish my meal.  

I'm telling you, when I was finally able to lay flat out in my tent, snuggled into my sleeping bag, it was the best feeling in the world.  We had hiked more than 24 miles, which beat our old record by six miles!  We had had a great, long day on trail, and we fell asleep to the faint sound of a stream trickling by in the distance.  

Miles hiked:24.54

Elevation gain: 5,577 feet

Calories burned: 5,722

Hiking The Appalachian Trail: Hurricane Campground 518.9 to Mt. Rogers Nat. Rec HQ 534.6

 We had a clear night, and the full moon left the sky never fully in darkness.  The first night on trail always has me tossing and turning a bit, but I awoke feeling rested, to the sound of many birds singing all around me.  Temperatures had stayed in the mid-40's overnight, so it wasn't too difficult to crawl from our sleeping bags and begin our day.  After quickly packing away most of our gear, we met at the picnic table for breakfast.  I had been thinking about our fisherman visitor from the night before and wondered out loud how many trout were legal to catch in a day, as well as the required length.  Just then, I glanced up and noticed a sign tucked in near the river on a tree.  As I approached, I got answers to all of my questions!  

We finished our coffees and small meals, packed away the rest of our gear and headed out of the campground.  

On our way, we passed another fisherman pulling a trout from the river.  This was a great spot to fish, apparently!  Goodbye, Hurricane Campground, we loved our short stay with you!

Since we had already come down part of the high water route, we decided to continue on this path, bypassing Comer Creek Falls.  We didn't have any kind of update regarding the falls, and this seemed like the best option for us.  A bit of road walking would mean some fast miles to start our day, and we were definitely going to take advantage of that!

After a couple of miles, the road rejoined the trail, and we were once again on the AT.  Rain was expected at some point in the day, but so far there were no drops!  

At one point, leaving Raccoon Branch Wilderness, I found a hammer hanging on the sign.  And well, if you find a hammer, I think you're required to pick it up.

I wasn't about to add that weight to my pack, though, and left it there hanging on the sign for the next passerby.  

The forest floor was filled with all kinds of color, and it was a welcomed sight after the winter we've had here in Michigan.  These mushrooms were everywhere, too, but don't be fooled!  They're not morels and you don't want to eat them!

The trail alternated between wooded sections and wide-open meadows, and I loved it all.  The rain began to fall at some point, and it didn't phase us one bit.  In fact, at one point I jokingly said to Misty, "You know, we could easily hop into Marion via shuttle when we get to the next shelter-we'll already have 16 miles for the day!"  But we were content being on the trail, even if we were getting a bit soaked.  

The rain even let up for a bit, leaving Misty to pose for some senior portraits.  

Her orange tried to get away during the photo shoot!

We continued on, over bridges, through the forest, and climbing the small mountains of Appalachia.  

Our plan for the day was to just hike as far as we could and then find a place to set up our tents.  We were wet, but we were looking forward to the warm, dry clothes in our packs.  And then, just a couple miles from Partnership Shelter, Misty said, "So, what if we did shuttle to town tonight?"  

Just like that, our plans changed.  Tempted by our beloved town of Marion, along with a stay at our favorite hostel, pizza at our favorite restaurant, showers and clean clothes, we sent a message to Coach, asking if there was room at the hostel and a driver to get us there.  He promptly replied, "Yes and yes," and we picked up the pace to meet our shuttle.  

Soon, we were headed towards Marion in the back of a car driven by a shuttle driver named Phoenix.  Pheonix looked exactly how you're picturing him in your head right now, but our trip was a quick one, and we didn't get the chance to get to know him.  We were thankful for his quick pick up, though, and thanked him as we headed into Marion Outdoors to check into our hostel.  

And then, we were punching in the door code and climbing the steep staircase to The Merry Inn Hiker Hostel.  After having spent a lot of time here back in February, we knew just what to expect.  We briefly met a thru hiker hanging out upstairs before choosing our bunks for the night, throwing our dirty clothes in the washer, and hopping into the showers.

The rain that day had been a bit of a soaker, and anything not in waterproof bags in our packs was drenched.  We exploded our gear all over the bedroom, hanging everything we could, and putting our shoes on the shoe dryer.  We impatiently waited for our clothes to come out of the dryer, and then Misty and I headed down the street to Moon Dog's for pizza.  The beer, salad, and pizza hit the spot, and just as we were finishing up, a face we recognized passed by and did a double take.  It was Aaron, our shuttle driver from the day before!  We literally knew four people in this town, and here was one of them!  We chatted for a bit until the people he was meeting arrived, and we thought that would be the end of it.  As it turned out, the other two men were dentists in the area, and when they found out that we were not only hiking the trail but that Misty was in the dental field as well, we became fast friends.  Throughout their dinner, Neal, the oral surgeon, kept coming to our table talking about a tree house he had built, and showing us pictures.  At some point it was decided that we were all going to check out the tree house.  Aaron, of course, shuttled us there as we had no car.  Where were we going?  Was this five minutes away or an hour?  We had no idea; we were just along for the ride.

Well, it turned out that the tree house was in the backyard of Neal's home, and it was amazing.  We met his lovely wife, Nancy, and got the full tour.  Yes, the tree house had an actual tree growing inside, along with an amazing view of Marion from the balcony.  This was some place!  

Just as we thought we were ready to head back to the hostel, Neal disappeared and then reappeared with a karaoke machine!  This was not on my Thursday night bingo card, but here we were.  We actually all took turns singing ridiculous songs, and even duets.  It's a little unnerving singing karaoke to an audience of three, if you're wondering.  

Clearly, Neal did not want us to leave and even offered us a place to stay the next time we were in town, but it was time to go.  We thanked him for his generosity, and Aaron drove us the short trip back to the hostel.  We were asleep before 11pm, needing some good sleep before tackling the next day of hiking.  

Miles hiked: 16.1

Elevation gain: 3,425 feet

Calories burned: 3,276

Hiking the Appalachian Trail: Fox Creek 512.2 to Hurricane Campground 518.9

 We said, "See you later," to the Appalachian Trail on February 19th of this year, and Misty and I immediately started trying to figure out when we could go back.  That February trip had dealt us some wicked weather, and we were unhappy with the fact that we had cut the trip short.  Misty happened to have a few days off in April, and I set to work coming up with a plan to hike the missing miles.  With just five days to hike the 82 miles we needed, we planned to carry all the gear and food we'd need for the entire trip.  Our packs would be loaded up, but we'd be ready!

The tentative plan was to drive down to Bland, Virginia on Wednesday, car camp, get up early and hike a small out-and-back section we had missed last year, and then catch a shuttle down to Fox Creek and head north from where we had left off in February.  A week prior, Misty got in touch with our friend, Bunny, to set up the shuttle ride.  All systems were go!

And then the plan changed...before we even started.  Anticipation got the best of us, and Misty decided not to work Wednesday, allowing us to leave first thing in the morning.  That would mean we could get a few miles on trail Wednesday and take it from there.  She contacted Bunny again to change our shuttle plans.

My alarm went off at 3am and I took my last shower and headed out.  There had been a heavy frost overnight, and when I turned on my windshield wipers to clear the glass, PING!  My wiper blade broke off and went flying.  So, I had to go back inside to wake up Jason, and he thankfully was able to fix it.  I was on my way.

Of course, I was early to Misty's, but she was ready.  I threw my pack into her car and away we went!  Bland or BUST!

This was my first time riding in a vehicle with Misty driving, and I was not prepared for the stress of it!  Before we made it an hour down the road, we had flashing lights behind us and Misty earned a ticket!  We were not having the best start to our trip!  And then, Bunny called.  Her truck was out of commission, and she would not be able to shuttle us after all.  No need to panic, though, she was sending a replacement shuttle driver, Aaron, in her place. 

The rest of the drive passed quickly and soon we were back in Bland!  Owen had dropped us off on our very first section hike in Bland, but due to the parking situation, that left a .8 mile gap we needed to pick up.  We opted to leave our packs in the car, and enjoyed the easy walk down the trail, which was actually all road in this area.  We ended up hiking this little section with Captain, another section hiker on trail from Texas.  We chatted with him as we walked and just enjoyed the sunny day.  At the .8 mark, we came to where it all started!  After wishing Captain happy trails as he continued on, we turned around and headed back to meet our shuttle.

As we waited, along came Chuck Wagon, Captain's hiking buddy.  Chuck Wagon got his name because he apparently carries ALL the food, making fancy meals at camp, complete with olive oil and a variety of seasonings and spices.  I need a hiking partner like that!  (Ahem, Misty...get it together!)

Aaron arrived right on time, and we headed towards Fox Creek.  As it turned out, this was Aaron's very first day of shuttling, and we were just his second booking!  He had a logbook we signed, and we gave him some tips and tricks and talked about the adventures we had all been on as we traveled.  Soon enough, we made it to Fox Creek, said goodbye to Aaron, and headed for the trail.

Before we could get started though, two southbound (SOBO) ladies passed through the parking area.  They had been on a thru hike last year when Hurricane Helene hit and forced them off trail.  They were back to finish it.  They told us the trail was great behind them, and we'd have a nice three-mile downhill hike.  Nice!  

When we had started SOBO from Fox Creek in February, the new bridge was still under construction.  Now, it was completely finished and beautiful!

The day was quite warm, and we were loving it.  It was so nice to be back on the trail, among the rhododendrons.  Misty and I had discussed hiking three miles in to a campsite, but once we were on trail, we decided to see how far we could get before dark.  We hopped over streams and climbed up, up and up.  Where was the three-mile downhill section the ladies had mentioned?  We soon decided that they must've been playing some sort of joke on us, because we never did have a significant downhill section that day.  Rude!

We passed through the first camping area and were glad we had decided not to stay there-there were several tents and hammocks already set up and not much room for more!  Onward we hiked, happily chatting, and enjoying the day.

We came to a fork in the trail, with the Appalachian Trail turning right, and an alternate trail heading left.  This trail leads out to a road, which is designated as the "high water route" in the event the AT isn't crossable at Comer Falls, a few miles away.  There was also a sign indicating a campground to the left.  We hadn't really seen a suitable campsite in the last hour or so, and I was getting just a tiny bit anxious about finding a spot to settle down for the night.  We decided to take the trail to the left and head to the campground.  

We had passed a few people throughout the afternoon, but now that we weren't on the AT anymore, it was almost eerily quiet.  Soon, the campground was in front of us, and it was closed.  Closed meant closed to vehicles and RVs, right?  There was a little footpath around the locked gate, and we took it.  It was instantly clear that Hurricane Campground was closed due to hurricane damage, coincidentally. There were downed trees and branches everywhere.  A lot of work had been done to clear the grounds, but there was still a lot of debris all around us.  With darkness slowly creeping in, we wandered further into the campground.  Every time we'd approach a tent pad, I'd look up and see huge, dead branches looming overhead.   We definitely didn't want anything falling on us in the night.  In the end, we found a little flat ground and tucked our tents up against some low bushes, with nothing threatening overhead.  A picnic table nearby was the perfect spot to cook our meals, and the river next to us sang lovely background music.  

Just before dark, we looked up to see a man walking down the campground road from further inside the park.  Tall and thin, with a hat and carrying a bucket, we assumed this was a park ranger.  As soon as he saw us, he headed right towards us.  Great!  I was sure we were about to be kicked out of the park for trespassing.  As he approached, I saw that he was actually smiling, and he was carrying a fishing pole.  And then I realized he wasn't a park ranger, but an excited fisherman.  He nearly ran up to us and then pulled out a long string of fish!  Would we like a fresh trout for our dinner?  Wow!  Fresh trout!  And he was offering one to us!  He even offered to clean it for us.  I have a big regret in saying no to him, but we had just finished our meals, didn't even have a fire going, and it was almost too dark to see.   We should've said yes.  I feel like that was a once in a lifetime trail opportunity and I wish I could have a do-over!

All in all, it was a very good day.  We had left Michigan early, made the drive to Virginia, and hiked more miles than planned.  For our first night of camping, we had a great tent site, in a quiet campground, next to a river that was just loud enough to drown out all the little sounds the forest likes to make at night.  Life was good.

Miles hiked: 8.61

Elevation gain: 1,473 feet

Calories burned: 1,709