Day 89 Mile 1120

✅ The AT’s “Triple Crown”

✅ Our 1/2 way!

Big day! We hiked Virginia’s three iconic waypoints in two days of sweltering summer heat, also passing our halfway point. We call this happenstance 3 + 1, as follows:

Dragon’s Tooth – A huge VA monolith with a hairy descent on its north side that surprised both of us.

The climb above is part of the 2.5-mile approach trail. Unlike the path from other parking lots, white blazing here is no gimmie!

McAfee Knob – We approached this iconic rock outcropping in late afternoon, doing our part to maintain its stature as one of the AT’s most photographed spots. Surprisingly, we shared it with just another couple and three young twenty-somethings. The ranger said there’d been lines to these side trails on the holiday. We felt lucky to hit it at a quiet time.

Tinker Cliffs – We stayed at Campbell Shelter after McAfee, which meant we only had a few miles to this gorgeous rocky cliffs-edge in them morning. We woke up to a five-mile look south at McAfee Knob and the ridge we hiked to get from there to here.

The miles added up, which became clearer from a distance.

Even better, we added a bonus fourth jewel to the crown: Mile 1096, marking the halfway point in our journey by foot to Katahdin.

For those seeking a visual representation of the mileage aspect, let’s revisit the Snickers “Dubba” metaphor first introduced in these pages at Day 50 Mile 554.

If this confection represents the 2192 mile Appalachian Trail…

…then the below image represents how much of the trail we have now “consumed”…

Will we chew through more miles? Not on Jen’s grit-abraded feet. With a Super 8 within sight of the Trail, we checked in to figure our next steps.

Day 84 Mile 1025

Hitting four-digit mileage is kind of surreal. Point the feet north, and go. Steps just keep adding up! Theres a life lesson in there.

We arrived in Pearisburg, VA, shaking with anticipation down to the scuffed tips of our hardworking shoes. We both had new orthotic inserts waiting! Dr Craig Cortese, our podiatrist, sent replacements with a surprise gift and a note. Many thanks, and for happier feet.

Jen decided to check that she had the right kind of shoes for a 5,000,000-step walk in the woods. When I learned how he helped her, I called for an appointment. We’ve seen how many other hikers walk in pain, and I realized this was one of our best preparations. (Ask if you’re curious for details.)

That is just one of the many reasons JJ earned her trail name “Marvel.” She comes up with ideas, some can sound whacky (and are), but others – like visit the podiatrist before walking 2,000+ miles – can give really great outcomes.

JJ also got new treads….600+ miles and they were way over baked. Nice heels.

Angel’s Rest Hiker Haven was a great hostel that put some lift under the wings.

And Wood’s Hole Retreat, a stop just prior to Pearisburg, was really special. It is the oldest hostel on the trail, where we had the 1880’s farm house to ourselves.

Our hike out of Pearisburg was rewarded with beautiful Rice Shelter overlooking a meadow and the valley below.

Day 76 Mile 935

Memorable day passing through Grayson Highlands State Park in southern VA. Wild ponies roam the park and are accustomed to guests.

Day 71 Mile 860

Stormy weather moved in for weeks along NC, TN, and VA sections. Soaked, we navigated steeps turned into little rivers, slippery roots, and swollen streams under a persistent drumbeat of rain.

With a respectful tip of our drippy, wide-brimmed hats to the intrepid trekkers who stayed in shelters, we dried out nightly in Rog’s Hiker Hostel Tour. He couldn’t have planned backpacker-friendly lodging better.

We watched hail pound moments after ducking into Mountain Harbour, a Hilton of a hostel created in a renovated barn with essentials plus great eats from their food truck and breakfast that lived up to its hype.

Black Bear Resort cabins had that summer campy vibe, except with a room heater that allowed us to walk out in dry boots the next morning.

Creative & quirky Boots Off was also really functional, with super space in our mini-cabin, plus morning donuts!

When the daily deluge finally stopped, we took our chances on scattered showers to camp near shelters. Mist through the trees looked lovely with the sun shining through it!

Day 66 Mile 798

As we headed into Tennessee’s higher and exposed elevations, thunderstorms were on the way, too! Yikes. Beautiful places to be (except when the lightning is flying).

We tackled 17+ miles each of the next two days. Tough ascending gig, but that’s what we signed up for. 🙂

The first ended with a 5-mile climb up Roan Mountain, a “globally imperiled Spruce-Fir forest.” The day went something like this:

We started at the left, and hiked to the top of the tallest peak, right. See that little cabin icon? Our home for the night.

Fun fact: the 15-sleeper High Knob Shelter, pictured below, is the highest on the AT at 6,186 feet.

We had the cabin to ourselves. I guess others figured it wasn’t a great place to be during storms! (The next night a thru-hiker shared it with two Boy Scout troops. You just never know!)

The mountain was truly magical and almost eerily quiet. And DRY, except for the clouds/fog that moved through overnight leaving our clothes hanging under the eaves wetter than they started. Oops.

The next day we trekked to a few rocky and grassy mountain tops known as the Roan Highlands. WOW! Impossible to take a bad picture.

Does The Sound of Music come to mind?

Could it get better? Yes! People left a cooler filled with “Trail Magic,” bags containing an apple, sweet/salty mix, beef jerky, granola bar, bottle of Gatorade, and a sweet note like this …

Awwww….

It’s hard – impossible – to carry and eat enough calories to make up for those we walk off daily. Hiker hunger hit hard – Jen left nothing but the fruit’s stem and the bag to carry out.

Not up for the big hike? Good news! You don’t have to stroll umpteen miles for the views. These gals enjoyed the Same peaks after a short walk from the nearby parking lot.

We didn’t dodge the rain much longer, as the next days proved. More on that next!

Day 63 Mile 751

Well, we missed seeing you at Uncle Johnny’s Nolichucky Hostel last night.

The Nolichucky River runs right through Erwin, TN, and just 100 feet from Uncle Johnny’s hostel where we spent a night. It’s well reputed on the trail, and lives up to its reputation.

Lots of rafting and stuff goes down on the Nolichucky. Beyond being a fun name to say, the Nolichucky looks like a big summer destination for water enthusiasts.

Erwin itself is a big draw, and uniquely if a man is in the market for plutonium rods that run submarines.

Interestingly, lots of legacy WW2 nuclear business lingers in Tennessee, including Oak Ridge (aka The Secret City – where the atomic bomb was built under the Manhattan Project label), which is just on the yonder side of the mountain from Erwin.

Yee Haw!! These hills are filled with….no, not sound of music…

Notwithstanding that rare radioactive quality, the sights are quite serene and most people stay here, with nature the main draw, not the otherwise enriched landscape.

How could we resist a pic of the hostel cat?

Our shuttle driver even shared that maybe, just maybe, the loose radiation might treat some [existing cancerous] cells! (Well, if hospitals use radiation to zap stuff – at a premium cost I might add – then why not get some of that action for free, right?)

Naw…we’ll just keep moving…and quickly at that! Er…as quickly as our worn boots can take us anyway into (more) days of forecasted storms while hiking to the highest shelter on the AT.

Here’s a (partial) screen grab. The silhouette on the left = us, and the 5-mile climb to the little brown shelter icon at the top of the mountain on the right our destination. We’ll check in after we get to the other side!

Day 57 Mile 647

Pretty typical routine. This day was spent bumping along the NC/TN border.

5:45 am – Early dawn awaken

5:50 – Fetch food bag from bear hang

6:00 – Instant coffee into water bottle. Eat energy bar for 250-300 calories.

6:00 – 6:45 – Pack gear into dry bags and load backpack. Drink water.

6:50 – Footbeds back into semi-dry shoes. Lace them up.

7:00 – Look for anything that might be left behind – Head north on trail

8:00 – Snack 1 – Don’t break stride. 250 calories. Coffee bottle goes back and forth, relay style.

9:30 – Snack 2 – Don’t break stride. 250 calories

11:00 – Snack 3 – 400 calories. Remove pack. Sit/stand/lay/stretch. Refill .5 liter carry bottles from 2 liter reserve.

11:20 – Resume hike. Drink water on the go.

1:00 – Snack 4 – Don’t break stride. 250 calories.

2:45 – Arrive shelter (15.5 miles).

3:00 – 4:30 – Unload packs. Fetch and filter water (6 liters). Set up camp.

5:00 – Dinner 400 – 500 calories.

5:30 – Relax. Get ready for bed.

6:00 – Retire.

The summit of Mt Cammerer and the old fire tower was serene and special on this particular day.

Mt Cammerer fire tower taken from a helicopter or something

Some young laddy back in the day…

And another more recently. 🙂

Typically, we don’t “blue blaze”, meaning take a side trail, figuring 2,000+ miles on the AT is enough. But we took a wrong turn. Up this:

And this:

The simplicity of living out of a 25 +\- backpack with the same routine, clothes, etc while making do to minimize trash (that we have to carry out) & waste is really refreshing. It forces resourcefulness, like this “spigot” left by some thirsty backpacker.

The experience reinforces how we use much more than we need everyday, and makes us consider how we’ll pare down when we return…

Day 50 Mile 554

If this Snickers “dubba” pack represents the 2192 mile Appalachian Trail….

…then this shows roughly how much of the trail we have completed…

…and although nobody is walking this sucker for us, we simply could not do it without the support of family and friends, and especially our “ground support” team of Rog’s sister Sue, husband Steve and dog Rosie (the cats are awesome, too).

They have welcomed our dear pups, Ferbie and Lucy, into their home for an extended “summer camp” stay.

They also act as our extended outfitter, sending us gear and goods as our needs evolve.

It is a lot of work and please know our Journey By Foot would not have made it past the Bloomington city limits without their help.

THANK YOU!!!

Lyddie and Sookie

Day 46 Mile 499.9

Hike Day 46 ushered in Franklin, NC for a food resupply and a stay at Baltimore Jack’s Hostel. Click on the image to learn more about this wild dude (Eight-time AT thru-hiker).

But to get to NC you have to get from the southern terminus of Georgia, which was six days of pure pleasure with the requisite dose of hiking pain.

Release hope, forget about control and just take whatever the trail gives you.

In our case, the Trail was very giving after we “flipped” early to GA (‘bye cold PA rain!) where Jen’s brother Em provided shuttle service, laundry facilities, and dinner for us on HIS birthday. Many thanks to him and his wonderful family, and fair warning to others offering to host hikers!

Georgia is gorgeous! Check out some more pics along our 110-mile hike from Springer Mountain, AT mile 0.0.

May 13, 2019

The first leg of the route is basically finished and it is time to go to GA. We wanted to make it two or three more days to the PA/NJ border but since it is cold rain (we have not forgotten about hypothermia) and we are close to a car we are OUT.

The trail teaches adaptability.

It’s time to go to Amicalola Falls GA to hike the 850 miles north to Waynesboro VA.

Hike Day 38 will feel GA soil under sole.

Thanks to our new friends Mike and Lindy Sheridan at Common Ground Farm and Retreat in Kempton, PA for making our Mother’s Day stay incredible. Looking forward to returning later this summer to start the final push to Katahdin!