[Mile 769-864] Hike North, Don’t Die

6/21 – Day 52
19.2 miles from Black Rock Overlook to Glasgow

 

It was the longest day of the year, the summer solstice, better known as Hike Naked Day on trail. We obviously wanted to participate, but since we still have some shreds of decency remaining we decided that simply taking off our shirts was festive enough. Most people had a similar idea. We caught up with a number of hikers wearing only their underwear and passed one southerbounder in a scant loin cloth just barely large enough to cover up his family jewels. We were warned the previous day of a boy scout troop camping at one of the shelters; the scout leaders certainly had their work cut out for them today.

 

The day began with an uphill over the remainder of Apple Orchard Mountain, which opened up to a 360 degree view of the surrounding mountains slightly obscured by trees. Just after beginning our descent, we climbed down a steep, rocky ledge and followed the trail through a narrow squeeze between two large boulders. Directly overhead was another large boulder suspended by the rocks on either side. It appeared to be wedged precariously and might fall onto the trail at any moment. It was appropriately named The Guillotine in our guidebook.

 

 

The downclimb continued for several miles before we reached Highcock Knob. Yes, I see there is some low-hanging fruit since we coincidentally summitted Highcock Knob on Hike Naked Day, but this blog is rated PG. We took lunch on the knob, then continued on with our day without a single crude joke.

 

 

We traversed a rather scenic section of trail that looked out west to the James River Face Wilderness. Pine trees were scattered along the side of Gunter Ridge and the air had notes of warm evergreen. The trail sloped down towards the James River and the remainder of the day’s hike brought us directly to the waterfront, then across the pedestrian bridge near Glasgow, VA. The bridge was built in memory of William T. Foot, who gave much of his life to the betterment of the AT. The ATC missed an outstanding pun opportunity for naming the James River Foot Bridge, which really should be the William T. Foot Bridge.

 

 

We read that Glasgow had a hiker shelter we could stay at for free, as well as a pizza place. We hitched a ride from a guy who was gathering rocks from the trail to build a wall at his house. We threw our packs in his trunk, careful not to disturb his rocks, and rode into town. I ate 3/4 of a large pizza at a place called Scotto’s. Both Spout and Happer ate so much they felt naseaus. Afterwards, we hung out at the shelter right in the middle of town that provided bunks, a tenting area, power outlets, and a hot shower all free of charge. Happer, Bedhead, Big Spoon, Kirby, and Monty were camping there and we made a huge fire with s’mores. Somehow, the topic of pooping your pants on trail came up and we were amazed that nearly every hiker had their own unique story to share with the complete strangers.

 

 

6/22 – Day 53
20 miles from Glasgow to Brown Mountain Creek

 

A typical, slow morning had us in the backseat of mother and daughter’s SUV heading towards trail by 10:00am. To our dismay, the trail was steeply graded up Bluff Mountain under an already blistering sun. Nearly five miles of relentless climbing followed. The showers and three gallons of Gatorade we drank the evening prior were instantly negated. Considering the conditions, I belive Bluff Mountain is one of the most difficult mountains we’ve faced on trail yet.

 

 

There were several stunning overlooks of the James River as we neared the peak. At the top there was a memorial to Ottie Cline Powell, a four year old boy whose body was found at the summit in 1891 after getting lost collecting firewood. It is a harrowing story that makes me appreciate how far search & rescue developments have come in recent years. We climbed down the mountain and took lunch at the Punchbowl Shelter, supposedly one of the most haunted on trail, as you might hear little Ottie calling for his mother late into the night.

 

We found Dipper and Habib eating at the shelter. Habib has been one of our regular “town friends”, since we tend to only see him in town when we take a zero, when he catches up to us and then zeroes the day we leave. For being so positive and friendly, he still did not have a trail name he liked, so Spout started calling him Smiles.

 

We left the shelter together and continued down the rest of the mountain. The heat dissipated as the trail neared the Lynchburg Reservoir, which reminded me closely of the Allgheny Reservoir back home in Pennsylvania.

 

 

We needed to pick up a few packages sent to Buena Vista, VA and juggled with the idea of trying to push there tonight. An unexpected challenge of the trail is deciding where to ship packages. When Spout ordered her shoes online over a week prior, the latest delivery date listed was 6/22. Since arriving to town days before a package would be a disaster for pacing, we were forced to guess a random location far up the trail. In this case, heading into Buena Vista was otherwise unnecessary because we resupplied while in Glasgow, but there was nothing we could do about that now.

 

 

We decided to stop short of town at the Brown Mountain Creek shelter since it was nearly 8:00pm and it was starting to rain. Nobody wants to pick up a smelly, wet hiker hitchhiking in the dark, no matter how cute she may be. We took shelter from the storm and chatted with Habib, Monty, Happer, and Dylan before calling it an early night. We made the right decision, as a thunderstorm slammed us overnight.

 

6/23 – Day 54
22.4 miles from Brown Mountain Creek to Priest Shelter

 

We had a tall order planned to make it in and out of town and then hike another twenty miles. Starting around 7:30am, we went two miles to the road to find Habib attempting to hitch unsuccessfully. Previously, he had told us how difficult it was to get a ride being Bangladeshi and dealing with prejudices. Spout stuck out her thumb and the very next car pulled over, setting a new record. Habib and I were awestruck as we piled into the lady’s spotless SUV.

 

In her trunk, she had a caged squirrel that she was attempting to rehabilitate after it was hit by a car. During the ride, she admitted to us that she occasionally picks up hikers, but only if they are women. It is hard to blame her; nobody wants to feel unsafe when they are doing a service to others. Spout and I later discussed the intersting social dynamic involved in hitchhiking. We’ve taken note of the split-second decision triggering when a speeding driver slams to a halt and even learned a couple of tricks to improve our chances of scoring a ride. Rule #1: drivers pick up faces not asses, make sure to give a nice smile. Apparently, being a solo female helps. A lot.

 

 

We got dropped off at the Buena Vista post office where Spout and I picked up some new gear. She got her second pair of Altra Superior 5’s (after over 800 miles on her first pair) and we both picked up new KingCamp blankets- cheap, synthetic quilts for us to use in the summer months. Afterwards, we got breakfast at Hardee’s with Habib and Dipper before hitching back to the trail by 11:00am.

 

From the road, we climbed up Cole Mountain which was surprisingly accessible despite the severe elevation gain. For three uphill miles, we navigated a peaceful pine forest along the well-maintained trail, void of any major rocks or roots. The weather was much cooler than usual and a grey fog was beginning to settle in. The summit boasted an epic bald with beautiful, rolling fields and green mountains in the distance.

 

 

We took few breaks then hustled along the hills that formed the crest of the ridge for the next dozen miles or so. There is little that can energize us like town food for breakfast. Despite the late start, we cruised through the mileage, passing another great overlook on Spy Rock after about eighteen total miles of hiking. I’ve noticed that during uphill sections over the last week, I sometimes feel naseaus when pushing myself ahead. It seems to be exasperated by high heat, especially towards the end of long days. In any case, we battled through the last few hills and reached the Priest Shelter in one piece.

 

 

The Priest Shelter has become a shrine of sorts for thru-hikers looking to confess to the heinous acts they’ve commited on the trail. We spent the evening reading the hilarious, and often times disgusting, stories in the shelter logbook of ashamed hikers admitting to doing things like not burying their poop, never hanging bear bags, cutting off sections of trail, and much, much worse. One hiker told an animated tale of the time he dug a cathole in his tent vestibule during a storm just to avoid getting wet. Another asked for forgiveness for stepping on a snail. At last, we confessed to hiking sins of our own, hoping to be forgiven for all the crazy shenanigans that go on out here.

 

 

6/24 – Day 55
15.5 miles from Priest Shelter to Devil’s Backbone Basecamp

 

Good morning. Let’s begin with four miles descending over 2000′ feet to the Tye River. It’s sure to knock those tired knees into gear. After that, let’s try another 2000′ of ascent over the course of a brutal six mile stretch atop sharp boulders to the crest of Three Ridges. Spout is the only person I know who could possibly feign a smile after such a climb. It was tough, but nothing we couldn’t handle.

 

 

Without being too redundant, the consecutive climbs over Apple Orchard Mountain, Bluff Mountain, Cole Mountain (Priest Wilderness), and Three Ledges, over the course of four days formed what is arguably the most strenuous section of trail we have faced in the first 850 miles. But it’s okay, Virginia is flat after all.

 

 

We reached the summit of Three Ridges around 1:30pm and relished in the unrivaled feeling of accomplishment that one achieves after climbing a mountain in the same time it used to take me to get out of bed each morning. Afterwards, we took a short lunch with Happer, whom we had been leap-frogging with, then pushed ahead to Reed’s Gap where we planned to head to Devil’s Backbone Basecamp for dinner, beer, and free camping. We got an easy hitch at the road and spent the evening drinking frosty milk on the expansive campus built on the brewery’s property then pitched our tent in “Tent City” of the brewery’s campground area.

 

 

6/25 – Day 56
19.1 miles from Devil’s Backbone Bascamp to Stanimal’s 328 Hostel

 

Not the least bit hungover, we packed up around 8:00am and ate some poptarts for breakfast while hitching back to the trail. We got to ride in a bright red, off-roading Jeep with the doors removed. Our goal today was to make it to Waynesboro, VA, the southern entrance of Shenandoah National Park and one of the last major towns we would pass in the state.

 

We began hiking and passed a dozen or more day hikers in the first few hours. That means it must be a Saturday. Days of the week are trivial out here otherwise, unless it means the Chick-fil-a in town won’t be open.

 

 

The trail was kind today and the only climb was a series of gentle hills to Humpback Mountain. Included were a number of decent overlooks to the westward mountains and one of the Wintergreen Resort that sat nestled in the distant hills. We hustled as quickly as we could to take advantage of the easier terrain and make it to Waybesboro as soon as possible. We typically try to avoid paying for a hostel after a long day of hiking because it leaves little time to relax and take advantage of the amenities, but we were attempting to push through town and the Shenandoahs by the weekend of July 4th, and it had been far too long since we had done laundry. My shorts smelled like a rotting corpse. It was so bad that their foul stench would occasionally waft up to me while hiking and cover up the natural scent of the woods.

 

 

We made excellent time before lunch, covering ten of the miles by 12:30pm. After continuing on, the trail was not particularly scenic but we did come across some old ruins and the Lowe cemetery. It was a good reminder of the centuries of history that these mountains witnessed.

 

 

We pushed through to Rockfish Gap by 4:30pm, quite pleased with the time it took us to hike nineteen miles. There was a popcorn stand by the road and we bought a bag of delicious kettle corn while we waited for yet another hitch. Once in town, we checked into the hostel, then got dinner at the Tailgate Grill with Happer and Habib, then got ice cream at Kline’s Dairy Mart.

 

What have I been eating?

 

My diet on trail has been evolving since we first started hiking. I’ve continued to cold-soak my dinners and have not second guessed it, despite receiving so much jest from other hikers who carry stoves. I think they’re just jealous.

 

I’ve held off on writing in depth about the food I’ve been eating mostly because it changes so frequently once I get sick of certain foods. I won’t even touch Knorr sides anymore, which I would have considered my favorite dinner throughout most of May. In any case, I figured documenting a few of my resupplies would be interesting so I could see how my tastes change and others could see what fine dining on the trail is like.

 

The AT has ample resupply options, so it would technically be possible to hike with only 2-3 days of food for most stretches. Given the choice between carrying 2 days of food from a Dollar General resupply or carrying 4 days of food from an Ingles resupply, I will choose the latter every single time. Sometimes, we have been forced to resupply at gas stations and are at the mercy of the poor selection of honey buns and dehydrated mashed potatoes offered. A good grocery store like a Kroger or Food City is totally priceless. Lately, we’ve been averaging about 3-5 days of food after a resupply. Our meal planning looks something like this:

 

Breakfast
Snacks
Lunch
More snacks
Dinner

 

I buy a meal for each category and then an accompanying snack. My reasoning is that if you eat some bland food, the taste left in your mouth can be depressing, so I eat something I actually like when I’m done. The real list is actually more like:

 

Breakfast
Breakfast snack
Snack
Snack snack
Lunch
Lunch snack
More snacks
More snacks snack
Dinner
Dinner snack

 

This is my 4 day resupply from an Ingles in Marion, VA, which I would consider one of the better ones I’ve had on trail.

 

 

Dinners: Subway sandwich, Readywise dehydrated lasagna, teriyaki Knorr rice + chicken packet + olive oil, ramen noodles + 4 mayo packets + buffalo chicken packet

 

Lunches: Buffalo Chicken + tortillas, peanut butter packets + tortillas, Complete Cookies

 

Breakfasts: 2 oatmeal packets, Pop Tart, Breakfast Kind bar

 

Variety of snacks: Luna Bars, Clif Nut Butter bars, PB&J oat bars, Sour Patch Kids, Airhead Xtreme, Gatorade Zero packets

 

This is another 4.5 day resupply from a Kroger in Daleville, VA.

 

 

Dinners: Totelini, spanish rice, couscous (the meal so good they named it twice)

 

Lunches: Salmon packets + tortillas, peanut butter packets + tortillas, Peanut Butter Complete Cookies, Kroger turkey sub

 

Breakfasts: S’mores Pop Tarts, Coconut Belvita, Kind Almond Butter Clusters

 

Variety of snacks: Luna Bars, Clif Nut Butter bars, Nature’s Bakery fig bars, Kind bars, dark chocolate covered almonds, Peanut butter M&M’s, Sour Patch Kids, Liquid IV

 

Finally, this is a soft, 3 day resupply from a Walmart in Waynesboro, VA. In this case, I had intentionally planned for less food since there are multiple waysides throughout the next stretch that include restaurants and resupply options.

 

 

Dinners: couscous, ramen + mayo packets

 

Lunches: Complete Cookies, salmon packet + tortillas + hot sauce, Italian sub, avocado

 

Breakfasts: Bobo’s oat bars, Nature’s Bakery fig bars, plain oatmeal packets + peanut butter

 

Variety of snacks: Kind bars, almond M&Ms, honey roasted almonds, Airhead Xtremes, Swedish Fish

 

It’s worth mentioning that I always have some of food leftover after a stretch. This is likely the result of a deep-rooted, primal instinct to avoid starvation but perhaps also because I want nothing to do with the deformed coconut Luna Bar crushed at the bottom of my food bag that I’m too stubborn to throw away or leave in a hiker box.

 

My average daily calorie intake is between 3,000 – 3,500, depending on the day. This is much, much lower than my daily expenditure. The average thru-hiker burns between 5,000 – 6,000 calories per day. To compensate, we have been relying heavily on binge eating in town. My thought is that if we are able to eat a 3,000 calorie meal once every four days, that tacks on an extra 750 calories per day averaged out. I’ve lost about seven pounds since starting, which is less than many of the other guys I’ve met on the trail. Spout has lost about nine pounds!

 

I’ve also been eating way too much candy, and it’s not just to uphold my trail name. For some reason, my body has been craving sugar like I haven’t experienced before. I’ve never really had a sweet tooth and used to entirely avoid things like pop and candy at home. On the trail, I’ve been eating as much as a full bag of Sour Patch Kids per day, which is easily over 100g of sugar. One reason is that it is easy to eat candy even after eating a full meal of “healthier” food. It allows me to max out my calories and tastes infinitely better than the tuna tortilla I ate beforehand. I’m genuinely unsure if it would be better to stop eating as many sugary calories or if it doesn’t matter since every gram of energy I consume is turned into sweat.

 

As mentioned, I’ve been relying more and more on town food to compensate for my gaping nutrient deficiencies. While I used to crave pizza when I got to town, I now look for a place to get a decent salad. Vegetables I used to hate, like tomatoes, cucumbers, and asparagus, now taste fresh and delicious. I day dream about fruit like strawberries and watermelon. Of course, I still stuff myself with an ungodly amount of burgers and french fries, but I’m learning to distinguish the difference between what my body really needs and what my dumb hiker brain wants.

 

I’m hoping to continue to hone my resupply strategy to find that balance of food I can stomach and food that is healthy. Perhaps in a couple of months I will make another update to see how my tastes have changed.

 

What’s Next?

 

Shenandoah National Park is the second and final national park we hike through on the AT. It is known for being flat, scenic, and having plenty of restaurants. All of those sound amazing to me.

 

Stay Dirty,

Candyman & Spout