Virginia Blues on the Appalachian Trail

Last time I updated we were taking a day off in Pearisburg, VA. Due to weather, distances, and terrain difficulty as well as being plain homesick, this is the area of trail where many hikers experience the Virginia blues. Along with my fellow hikers I was feeling pretty down. It is amazing though, how a good meal and some decent weather can turn things around.

My spirits started to pick up again at a place called Four Pines Hostel. It’s a four bay garage where for the first time in a while, Mac and I found ourselves amidst a large group of hikers. We made our way to an all you can eat restaurant called the Homeplace and stuffed our faces. That night the garage was full, so Mac and I slept in a nearby barn and got to make friends with the Alpacas that slept there as well.

The following morning after being awoken by an alpaca walking by the bench I was sleeping on, we headed out towards McAffee Knob.

Early on in the hike we came across the 700 mile mark and had a celebratory swig of whiskey.

Six miles in we hit the trailhead for the knob and realized it was a Saturday based on the number of day hikers attempting the climb.

The weather was amazing and we hiked fast making the 4 mile climb up the knob in an hour and a half. Our newfound hiker friends made it up at the same time and we had lunch together.

The last part of our hike that day was over Tinker Cliffs. I took a quick video as we walked along the cliff side and you can click here to watch!

There ended an awesome day of hiking, and everyone’s mood seemed a little better. The next day we hiked into Daleville and ran into a group of hikers that we had met our first day on the trail! We decided to stay at their hotel and spent the rest of the day catching up around the pool.

Eager to put in some big miles on the next section, Mac and I left early the next day. Our plan was to hike two 18 mile days and two 20 mile days to get to the next town. The first day was hot, but we managed our goal of 18. On day 2 we were excited to get to a swimming hole around lunchtime. To our surprise we were met by a group of hikers who handed us beer and burgers. We could go no further.
Here is a video of Mac and I at the swimming hole.

With our plan derailed and only 10 miles done on day 2, we set out on day 3 with a goal of 21 miles. We were starting to worry if we had enough food to finish the section. Around 430 we wandered up to a shelter where a man asked us if we were hungry. 20 minutes later we were eating eggs, pancakes and sausage. Breakfast for dinner never gets old. It took us until dark to hike our 21 miles, but we made it and saw some great views on the way.

On day 4 we still had 30 miles before we could get to a town. We resolved to hike as far as we could that day and finish the rest the next morning. We were tired from the day before, and got a late start, but the weather was nice and we felt good. That day we came upon the James river bridge. It is the longest footbridge on the AT, and a hiker tradition to jump off of it. We were excited to get there and cool off in the river. I arrived last and found Mac and some friends sitting on the ground on the other side of the bridge. I knew why no one was jumping in. Nobody had expected a footbridge to be so tall! After some poking and prodding I managed to get a few hikers on the bridge, Mac included. Here is the video for your viewing pleasure.

With a late start and time spent on the bridge we knew we would probably be hiking well into the evening. Especially with an elevation gain of over 2000 feet still ahead of us. We got to a shelter around 730 and made dinner. The amazing Julia Comerford provided us we some dehydrated meals, and we enjoyed beans and rice with chicken. Afterwards, we got out our headlamps and started our first night hike of the trip.

We decided to call it quits around 11pm. We had hiked 23 miles that day and were getting a little unnerved by the darkness. The following morning we came across the 800 mile mark. We were so hungry we barely stopped eating to take a picture. Thus we couldn’t get a good shot and only have pictures of us chewing.

We hiked 6 miles to the road and found a ride into town. MacGuyver had two consecutive lunches and we were invited to stay with a hiking buddy at her godfathers house. Today we are taking the day off. We are 220 miles away from Harpers Ferry, WV which is the half way mark!