Damascus, VA
Spent two days catching up on the important things like eating cheeseburgers and updating the blog. Mike finally got new shoes (thanks Garmont and Sundog Outfitters) without having to pay anything, spent 2 nights at the Place (an honor-system hostel run by a local church), and are very ready to get back on the trail this morning (5/7) and see the ponies that we've been hearing about. Trail Days will be held here next week, but we're not sure if we'll make it back for it or not- we'll figure that out later.
Friday, May 7, 2010
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Day 39
Day 39 - Low Gap to Damascus, VA - 15 miles (464 miles total)
We had town on our minds today, so we did the miles pretty quickly (not to mention that they were some of the easiest we've seen yet) and made it to Damascus by 5pm. It was another quiet day, with no real views, but we were glad to be finishing our 3rd state (GA,NC,TN- completed) and heading into Virginia where we'll be for the next month, at least.... Also, we were followed by 2 more dogs today, until some other hikers passed us and they took off after them. Apparently it's custom for people to let their hunting dogs run wild in the woods in order to train them, so that explains why there has been so many stray dogs on the trail. Anyway, got to town and ate giant hamburgers, then headed to a campsite we saw right outside of town where we spent the night.
We had town on our minds today, so we did the miles pretty quickly (not to mention that they were some of the easiest we've seen yet) and made it to Damascus by 5pm. It was another quiet day, with no real views, but we were glad to be finishing our 3rd state (GA,NC,TN- completed) and heading into Virginia where we'll be for the next month, at least.... Also, we were followed by 2 more dogs today, until some other hikers passed us and they took off after them. Apparently it's custom for people to let their hunting dogs run wild in the woods in order to train them, so that explains why there has been so many stray dogs on the trail. Anyway, got to town and ate giant hamburgers, then headed to a campsite we saw right outside of town where we spent the night.
Monday, May 3, 2010
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Day 37
Day 37 - Side trail to US 321 to campsite past Vandeventer Shelter - 15.5 mi - 431 total
Our hike today started straight up. From the river it was a steep climb 1700' up over 2.5 miles to Pond Flats, our last big up and over until VA. On our way up we passed what might have been more than a dozen hikers who were staying at Kincora and taking the opportunity to slackpack that difficult section (they hiked the opposite way so it wouldn't be so steep and left their packs at the hostel). They all warned us about how steep it got, and as per usual, all the hype made the hike seem easier- by the time we reached the top we wondered what all the fuss was about. We quickly made our way down the other side a couple of miles to Watuga lake, then around the (very big) lake, and over the Watuga Dam. It was a hard climb up Iron Mtn. in the heat and suffocating humidity (this is how it's been recently), so we made camp at a really cool site past the Vandeventer shelter. The site had a small rock outcropping behind it which dropped down to the lake and valley below. Once it got dark out, we could see all the tiny lights from the towns beneath us. We decided to have a small fire again (because there was a nice pit and someone had gathered wood and left it stacked) and then slept well.
Our hike today started straight up. From the river it was a steep climb 1700' up over 2.5 miles to Pond Flats, our last big up and over until VA. On our way up we passed what might have been more than a dozen hikers who were staying at Kincora and taking the opportunity to slackpack that difficult section (they hiked the opposite way so it wouldn't be so steep and left their packs at the hostel). They all warned us about how steep it got, and as per usual, all the hype made the hike seem easier- by the time we reached the top we wondered what all the fuss was about. We quickly made our way down the other side a couple of miles to Watuga lake, then around the (very big) lake, and over the Watuga Dam. It was a hard climb up Iron Mtn. in the heat and suffocating humidity (this is how it's been recently), so we made camp at a really cool site past the Vandeventer shelter. The site had a small rock outcropping behind it which dropped down to the lake and valley below. Once it got dark out, we could see all the tiny lights from the towns beneath us. We decided to have a small fire again (because there was a nice pit and someone had gathered wood and left it stacked) and then slept well.
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Day 36
Day 36 - White Rock Mtn. to side trail to US 321 (Hampton, TN) - 7.5 miles (415.5 miles total)
Got to Dennis Cove this morning where we walked up the road to the Kincora hostel. There we took showers (and braved run-ins with a very fast and VERY LARGE spider who lived in there), did our laundry, and hung out. Left by 1:30 to take a blue-blaze trail that led us down the river, past the falls, directly into town. At the trailhead we were lucky enough to score a ride all the way down the road to the McDonalds/MiniMart. Stuffed ourselves, Laura got a soda stomachache from the free refills, and resupplied at the dollar store across the way. As we were outside then repacking our goods into our packs, a guy approached us (wearing an AT shirt) and offered us a ride back to the trailhead. Turns out he was a local section hiker named Candy Wrapper and his offer of a ride couldn't have come at s better time since it started to *pour* as we drove back. At the trailhead we got out of the truck, became completely soaked putting on our raingear, and trudged off into the woods feelng sticky wet and uncomfortable. Hilariously, the rain stopped no more than five minutes later and the sun came back out. We now remember the east's sudden downpours more vividly - they sure are a far cry from Seattle's "mizzle". We camped on the riverbank, dryed out in the last hours of daylight, and had a great night.
Got to Dennis Cove this morning where we walked up the road to the Kincora hostel. There we took showers (and braved run-ins with a very fast and VERY LARGE spider who lived in there), did our laundry, and hung out. Left by 1:30 to take a blue-blaze trail that led us down the river, past the falls, directly into town. At the trailhead we were lucky enough to score a ride all the way down the road to the McDonalds/MiniMart. Stuffed ourselves, Laura got a soda stomachache from the free refills, and resupplied at the dollar store across the way. As we were outside then repacking our goods into our packs, a guy approached us (wearing an AT shirt) and offered us a ride back to the trailhead. Turns out he was a local section hiker named Candy Wrapper and his offer of a ride couldn't have come at s better time since it started to *pour* as we drove back. At the trailhead we got out of the truck, became completely soaked putting on our raingear, and trudged off into the woods feelng sticky wet and uncomfortable. Hilariously, the rain stopped no more than five minutes later and the sun came back out. We now remember the east's sudden downpours more vividly - they sure are a far cry from Seattle's "mizzle". We camped on the riverbank, dryed out in the last hours of daylight, and had a great night.
Friday, April 30, 2010
Day 35
Day 35 - Campsite before Campbell Hollow Rd. to White rocks Mtn. - 16 miles (408 miles total)
Aside frm the kid riding the ATV down the trail right past our tent last night before we went to bed, it was a quiet night/morning. Eventually the people who we saw at the shelter the night before caught up to us as we were taking our time breaking camp, and we had a chance to fully explain to them what had happened with the dog. It turns out that they thought he was just a drunk local scoping out the area looking for trouble, so they were weary of everyone involved. Most of the day felt to mike like we were just wandering around a viewless labrynth in the woods. Some really cool highlights of the day were Jones Falls and Mountaineer Falls, as well as relaxing on the bank of Upper Laurel Fork. We really appreciated the sheer awesomeness and almost modern look of Jones Falls and are looking forward to seeing more waterfalls up the trail. Later, we passed some unfamiliar thru-hikers who were staying at the Moreland Gap shelter, but because it was still light we opted to look for a secluded spot on White Rocks Mtn.
Aside frm the kid riding the ATV down the trail right past our tent last night before we went to bed, it was a quiet night/morning. Eventually the people who we saw at the shelter the night before caught up to us as we were taking our time breaking camp, and we had a chance to fully explain to them what had happened with the dog. It turns out that they thought he was just a drunk local scoping out the area looking for trouble, so they were weary of everyone involved. Most of the day felt to mike like we were just wandering around a viewless labrynth in the woods. Some really cool highlights of the day were Jones Falls and Mountaineer Falls, as well as relaxing on the bank of Upper Laurel Fork. We really appreciated the sheer awesomeness and almost modern look of Jones Falls and are looking forward to seeing more waterfalls up the trail. Later, we passed some unfamiliar thru-hikers who were staying at the Moreland Gap shelter, but because it was still light we opted to look for a secluded spot on White Rocks Mtn.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Day 34
Day 34 - Ash Gap to campsite before Campbell Hollow Rd - 21 mi - 392 total
What a crazy day! Hiked through snow and ice to reach the top of Roan mtn. this morning, took a break to hang out where the old Cloudland Hotel used to stand (a late 19th century resort for ailing urbanites), then popped out of the woods and onto the road crossing at Carvers Gap. There we met "Reverend" a past thru-hiker who lived in Hampton TN (41 trail miles away). He was a little drunk and taking a 100 mile bike ride. He offered to take any trash of ours that could fit in the back of his bike shirt but we declined and dumped our trash off at the restrooms. From there it was up the well-used gravel walkway to the top of the first bald. 5 in total, the balds of the Roan Highlands stretched for about 9 miles and were very unique. We'd already been to a couple of balds on this trip but to hike over so many in a row was a neat experience. We took the time to hike a blue-blaze up to Grassy Ridge, the only natural 360* view above 6000' on the trail. It was nearing the end of our day, just after we had stopped for snacks past an old barn-turned-shelter, when we started noticing a jingling noise as we walked. Laura kept turning around and looking at Mike thinking it was him and Mike thought it must be something on Laura's pack. Eventually Mike turned around to find that the jingly noise we'd been hearing for the past half hour was a little dog following us. Apparently she'd been back there for a while. She was young looking and mostly white with a few black spots, a tiny bit skinny. Thankfully she had a collar on her and we were relieved to find a phone number on it. At a loss (we are definitely not dog people), we thought the right thing to do would be to try and contact the owner. Since it happened to be Laura's mom's b-day, we'd been going from peak to peak anyway looking for phone service. Once we found a bit of signal Laura called her mom and we watered the thirsty dog. Mike then dialed the number on the collar, unsure of what to expect or who would answer. After a number of rings, thankfully, someone answered. It was really hard for Mike to understand the guy on the line and he apparently didn't even know which dog of his was missing. When Mike described the dog to him he seemed confused and kept asking what color the collar was. The guy offered to come meet us where we were on Hump Mountain, but since meeting strangers in the woods wasn't what we'd had in mind, Mike convinced the man to meet us at the next road crossing where the dog could be exchanged in a more public setting. Hanging up, it all felt somewhat surreal realizing we were now responsible for this dog until we gave it back, that the owner didn't seem to care about the dog or he'd know which dog of his was missing, and that we now had to tack on another 5.5 miles onto our day and it was already late in the evening. Despite these things we hurriedly set out to cover the ground and return the dog. Initially, the dog, who we then began calling Green Collar, was well-behaved walking behind and alongside us as we trekked up and over the last of the highlands. Green Collar's cuteness powered us for a couple of miles and we embraced the novelty of hiking with a borrowed pet. As it started to get darker and the miles added up, the cuteness wore off as the dog became fatigued and increasingly moody. First it whined. Then it started throwing child-like tantrums where it refused to walk any further. At this point we jerryrigged a leash using a carabeaner and our bearbag rope which proved to be an excellent idea when little Green Collar turned crazy when she saw some deer up on a ridgeline above us. (So very) Tired and ready to say goodbye to our foster pet, we finally reached the Apple House Shelter which was only .5 miles from the road. At this point we could hear someone down the trail yelling and whistling and it was confirmed with the people at the shelter that it was the guy looking for his dog. Rudely, they told us to go and not let the guy come back, so off we went, annoyed at the lack of understanding with the shelter people, to return this darn dog. Not a quarter mile down the trail we found the owner, Mack. To our surprise it was immediately apparent he had been distraught about the dog because he became a bumbling fool as soon as he saw her. It also didn't help that he was completely tanked. Thru slurred speech and a very thick southern accent, he introduced himself ("Mack" was pronounced exactly the same as "Mike"), thanked us many many times, and handed Mike a can of Bud Lite from his pants pocket insisting that he'd "been able to tell from his voice over the phone that he'd be wantin' a beer". The three of us and his girlfriend (the sober one whodrove him to meet us, but unfortunately we never got her name) walked to the road where she told us how he'd been loosing sleep over this, and they actually had 3 dogs that had run away which explains why he didn't know which dog I had found when I called. They said they were headed to the convenience store and offered to give us a ride to get some snacks. On the way back to the trail, she stopped at a drive-thru bar and bought us a 12 pack of cheep beer to split with Mack as payment for our good deed. As they drove away in their Jeep that was about to fall apart, we checked the time (it was almost 9:30pm and completely dark), so we agreed to camp at the first available spot we found. Too bad that wouldn't be for a few miles- all uphill and in the end the spot we found was no even close to being called 'flat'. By now it was 10:30 and we were both completely exhausted so we drank the spoils of our day and sat in disbelief of what had happened before falling asleep.
What a crazy day! Hiked through snow and ice to reach the top of Roan mtn. this morning, took a break to hang out where the old Cloudland Hotel used to stand (a late 19th century resort for ailing urbanites), then popped out of the woods and onto the road crossing at Carvers Gap. There we met "Reverend" a past thru-hiker who lived in Hampton TN (41 trail miles away). He was a little drunk and taking a 100 mile bike ride. He offered to take any trash of ours that could fit in the back of his bike shirt but we declined and dumped our trash off at the restrooms. From there it was up the well-used gravel walkway to the top of the first bald. 5 in total, the balds of the Roan Highlands stretched for about 9 miles and were very unique. We'd already been to a couple of balds on this trip but to hike over so many in a row was a neat experience. We took the time to hike a blue-blaze up to Grassy Ridge, the only natural 360* view above 6000' on the trail. It was nearing the end of our day, just after we had stopped for snacks past an old barn-turned-shelter, when we started noticing a jingling noise as we walked. Laura kept turning around and looking at Mike thinking it was him and Mike thought it must be something on Laura's pack. Eventually Mike turned around to find that the jingly noise we'd been hearing for the past half hour was a little dog following us. Apparently she'd been back there for a while. She was young looking and mostly white with a few black spots, a tiny bit skinny. Thankfully she had a collar on her and we were relieved to find a phone number on it. At a loss (we are definitely not dog people), we thought the right thing to do would be to try and contact the owner. Since it happened to be Laura's mom's b-day, we'd been going from peak to peak anyway looking for phone service. Once we found a bit of signal Laura called her mom and we watered the thirsty dog. Mike then dialed the number on the collar, unsure of what to expect or who would answer. After a number of rings, thankfully, someone answered. It was really hard for Mike to understand the guy on the line and he apparently didn't even know which dog of his was missing. When Mike described the dog to him he seemed confused and kept asking what color the collar was. The guy offered to come meet us where we were on Hump Mountain, but since meeting strangers in the woods wasn't what we'd had in mind, Mike convinced the man to meet us at the next road crossing where the dog could be exchanged in a more public setting. Hanging up, it all felt somewhat surreal realizing we were now responsible for this dog until we gave it back, that the owner didn't seem to care about the dog or he'd know which dog of his was missing, and that we now had to tack on another 5.5 miles onto our day and it was already late in the evening. Despite these things we hurriedly set out to cover the ground and return the dog. Initially, the dog, who we then began calling Green Collar, was well-behaved walking behind and alongside us as we trekked up and over the last of the highlands. Green Collar's cuteness powered us for a couple of miles and we embraced the novelty of hiking with a borrowed pet. As it started to get darker and the miles added up, the cuteness wore off as the dog became fatigued and increasingly moody. First it whined. Then it started throwing child-like tantrums where it refused to walk any further. At this point we jerryrigged a leash using a carabeaner and our bearbag rope which proved to be an excellent idea when little Green Collar turned crazy when she saw some deer up on a ridgeline above us. (So very) Tired and ready to say goodbye to our foster pet, we finally reached the Apple House Shelter which was only .5 miles from the road. At this point we could hear someone down the trail yelling and whistling and it was confirmed with the people at the shelter that it was the guy looking for his dog. Rudely, they told us to go and not let the guy come back, so off we went, annoyed at the lack of understanding with the shelter people, to return this darn dog. Not a quarter mile down the trail we found the owner, Mack. To our surprise it was immediately apparent he had been distraught about the dog because he became a bumbling fool as soon as he saw her. It also didn't help that he was completely tanked. Thru slurred speech and a very thick southern accent, he introduced himself ("Mack" was pronounced exactly the same as "Mike"), thanked us many many times, and handed Mike a can of Bud Lite from his pants pocket insisting that he'd "been able to tell from his voice over the phone that he'd be wantin' a beer". The three of us and his girlfriend (the sober one whodrove him to meet us, but unfortunately we never got her name) walked to the road where she told us how he'd been loosing sleep over this, and they actually had 3 dogs that had run away which explains why he didn't know which dog I had found when I called. They said they were headed to the convenience store and offered to give us a ride to get some snacks. On the way back to the trail, she stopped at a drive-thru bar and bought us a 12 pack of cheep beer to split with Mack as payment for our good deed. As they drove away in their Jeep that was about to fall apart, we checked the time (it was almost 9:30pm and completely dark), so we agreed to camp at the first available spot we found. Too bad that wouldn't be for a few miles- all uphill and in the end the spot we found was no even close to being called 'flat'. By now it was 10:30 and we were both completely exhausted so we drank the spoils of our day and sat in disbelief of what had happened before falling asleep.
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