- 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 Bland tomorrow, we will resupply out of a small hiker grocery near the next county road. We’ll be buying only 1.5 days of food, so the time and shuttle costs associated with Bland don’t make sense to us. After that, we’ll do the same thing at Trent’s Grocery, another small country store geared toward hikers, located 35 miles south of Pearisburg. We’ll then stay in Pearisburg, which has multiple hostel and food options.
The upshot of our new plan is that we will be doing eight days out at once (since Marion) while carrying relatively little food. We’ll be grungy, but we should save a lot of hassle and back pain.
Speaking of back pain, we chose our accommodations in Pearisburg (Angel’s Rest Hiker Hostel) because it has a relationship with a local chiropractor. For under $50, I’d love to talk to one about which bad postural habits and pack adjustments might be straining my lower back. I’d also love to get advice about stretches and shoe inserts. My back is hikeable and has no sharp pains, but an ounce of prevention and all that.
That isn’t to make light of it: Self-care is seriously important out here. The AT is an endurance event; the better you anticipate and attend to your body’s needs, the better your chances of success.
Fortunately, the body didn’t have much to complain about today. We waited out the rain, which broke around 8 a.m.–our morning trails were gentle, softened by rain on dirt and duff. We hung our rain coats and pack covers at lunch, taken early beside a large creek and a parking lot for sake of water. Although we did need to carry a full load of water throughout the afternoon, we had little food on our backs. Our pack weight was probably sub-25 pounds each, making possible a brisk 3-ish miles per hour pace through the “green tunnel.”
We were so protected throughout the day by lowland plants that neither of us wore sunscreen or got burned, even after seven-ish hours hiking.
Some days the miles go by quickly, and today was one of those days. I do not regret it because it means I was living it.
With the last rain until next weekend behind us and two grocery-deli spots ahead, Rachel and I feel as if the wind is at our backs. Being eight days gross is more than a fair price for the week we’re about to have.
