Miles 665.8 to 681.8 (16 miles) Total ascent 4439’; descent 5043’ I don’t particularly feel like writing this evening, after our rockiest, longest, sorest day in recent memory, but too many things demand to be written about. First, the whippoorwill shouting its name so loudly I can scarcely think. I am not sure I have […]
Month: May 2021
Miles 657.9-665.8 (7.9 mi.) Total ascent 2520’; descent 951’ The airborne insects of western Virginia are back like it’s their first day on the job. A small bee decided my knee needed some more pain. Gnats and black flies buzzed about whenever the wind was still enough. We checked for ticks as we went and […]
Miles 645.6-657.9 Total ascent 2451’; descent 3383′ We got soaked today. It wasn’t a hard rain, but it was a durable one, the sort no gear short of a plastic bag can stand up to. Almost no outdoor apparel or fabric gear is truly waterproof. If it were, it would get wet inside with sweat, […]
Miles 636.1-645.6 (9.5 mi.) Total ascent 3251’; descent 1883’ It would be difficult if not outright impossible to construct an entirely off-road hiking trail from Georgia to Maine. But something I didn’t expect, and imagine many following my experience would not, is the amount of road travel involved. Usually, the trail crosses the road in […]
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5/15: Zero in Pearisburg, Virginia
Mile 636.1 I wish I could say we did something today other than sit around and eat pizza, but we did not. We decided around 9 a.m. to stay another night at Angel’s Rest Hiker Hostel, largely to cope with our Covid-19 vaccine side effects. We packed up our things, panting like the old geezers […]
Miles 633.7-636.1 (2.4 mi.) Total ascent: 118′; descent 1801′ Covid-19 is, for us, over. Rachel and I received our second vaccine dose at the Pearisburg Walmart today. So far, we feel no side effects. Since we began planning our hike, the pandemic has hung over our heads. We worried until the second needle was out […]
Miles 618.8-633.7 (14.9 mi.) Total ascent 3468′; descent 2671′ Rachel and I exercised herculean self-restraint in staying where I sit, just north of the Pearis Ledges. We arrived at the site around 3:30, with more than enough hours of daylight to make it the remaining 3.3 miles to Pearisburg, in the valley below the Pearis […]
Miles 604.7-618.8 (14.1 mi.) Total ascent: 2877’; descent: 2303’ Pay attention to the forecast in the mountains, and you’ll notice it’s not so reliable. Even supposedly current conditions online do not always match one’s on-ground experience. This was one such morning. Our warmest temperatures were in the morning, though we never got a sliver of […]
Miles 588.8-604.7 (15.9 mi.) Total ascent 3940’; descent 4675’ Today, I write to ignore my toy: a small chimney I built in the dry streambed where we’re camping tonight. It burns wood so quickly and hotly as to be dangerous the use, even on rocky ground. The rocks here are reddish-brown with iron, and surrounded […]
Miles 579.1-588.8 (9.7 mi.) Total ascent 2490’; descent 2726’ We did a short day quickly, mostly by accident, today. We’d planned to go 12 miles, but took a plum site with valley views rather than one under power lines we believe to be ahead. Enabling our change of plans was another: instead of going into […]