Today was a huge day for us; mileage and milestone wise. We woke up and were out by 8:30a. We stopped by the shelter – apparently it’s become a morning routine.
Just a few miles into the day we started what’s known as “The Rollercoaster”, an approximately sixteen mile stretch of twelve or so smaller climbs averaging 400-500 feet of elevation gain per climb. In total, we had 5,000 feet of elevation gain for the day. That’s a lot more than we normally have. It was another hot and muggy day. There’s no surprise. But by now we are really gross. The stink coming from out clothes (which haven’t been washed in probably a week) is horrendous. I can’t wait for town. Ah, to be clean again.
Right before we hit the rollercoaster we came across trail magic. The people hosting were Count and Lavender. They hiked the trail in 2015. I asked what lesson the trail taught them. They answered, “To slow down and not to worry about planning so much.” I loved it. I’m learning things all work out okay. I’ll still plan, but won’t freak out so much if those plans go sideways. We stayed for a long time talking about our experiences on the trail and interesting hitches. We could have stayed all day, but the rollercoaster loomed over us.
As we approached, we made jokes about having to be so tall to be able to hike. Sure enough, someone wrote that joke on the sign. The AT doesn’t disappoint. Partway through the rollercoaster we hit the 1,000 mile mark. There were a lot of emotions happening when we hit it. A lot of photos, calls home, high fives, and more. We are nearly halfway… nearly, and it feels amazing.
Shortly passed the 1,000 mile mark we hit the Virginia/West Virginia border. We’ve been in Virginia for 500 or so miles. Most of us are ready to get out. There’s a thing called the “Virginia Blues”. Apparently people get bummed out. I think it has more to do with being between a quarter and halfway finished. Sort of the no man’s land of progress. You are working towards Katahdin, but it doesn’t feel like you are any closer. I look at mile marks, not states. I think because of that I haven’t been bummed out.
In the afternoon we stopped at a shelter. This one was an old house that the local trail club has converted to a store and place to stay for thru-hikers. Warthog grabbed a pint of gelato and we ate it at the overlook. It was the perfect break for the day.
Then back to the rollercoaster. We battled that thing for the majority of the day, using podcasts to take our minds off of the challenge. We finally finished at 9p, just as we lost the last bit of light. Afterwards, we broke out the headlamps and finished the next five or so miles to the next shelter. Every now and then we would catch a glimpse of deer eyes sitting still, staring at us.
Again, the shelter we were heading to was another house bought by the trail club to serve hikers. They had a bunkhouse with four bunks and tenting pads around. They also have a solar shower. We didn’t get in until 11:30p. Crazy late. A woman was sleeping in the bunkhouse, but the other three spots were open. Each were a double, so it worked out perfect for the five of us. There was no one else there.
We tried to quietly make dinner. So this is fun… I may have eaten a mosquito eater during dinner. I went to put a spoonful of food in my mouth and the thing flew into it. I bit down real quick hoping not to get the bug, but I don’t think I made it in time. A leg was sticking out of my mouth. I swallowed (after I pulled out the leg of course) and hoped there was no mosquito eater protein in that mouthful.
After dinner we all took turns showering which was a bit chilly. They are solar showers and the water wasn’t too hot. But it was warm enough. I was glad to wash off the old sweat. Chafe had really started to set in. The salt in the sweat is abrasive. It was 1a when we all climbed into the bunkhouse. We tried to be quiet, but I know we woke the poor girl up. We would have camped so we didn’t disturb her, but it was calling for rain and we wanted to keep our stuff as dry as possible. Sure enough, the rain came. I was thankful to be inside, with four walls and a roof. It had been a long day – a day filled with accomplishments. Despite my tired limbs, I felt fantastic.
-ansel