The recent post on fake outlets in AT shelters got me looking back at an old hike that was completed before the dawn of the AT Cafe. It was a pretty interesting hike so I figured I'd post a retro report.

The Plan

Smoking Sox will fly from Boston to Dulles. I'll pick him up there, drive to the road crossing just below Dragon's Tooth, grab a shuttle to Pearisburg, then hike back to my vehicle. If all goes well, we'll drive to Pearisburg and get another shuttle down to VA Route 606 and hike back to Pearisburg. Not the most efficient plan, but it provided an easy bail-out option after the first 66 miles.

Day 1: Saturday March 9th, 2013

We followed the established recipe for our Virginia section hikes. I drove the two hours from home to Dulles International airport, picked up Sox, and then headed south on I-81 towards Roanoke. We grabbed lunch at a Bojangles within sight of the Route 220 AT crossing then took the short trip to VA Route 624 just below Dragon's Tooth. Our shuttler Don Raines picked us up just a few minutes after our arrival and took us south to Pearisburg. I asked about parking for the 2nd part of our section and he suggested we stop at the Rendezvous Motel to ask permission. There was no one in the office when we arrived but a call to the contact number yielded a human that explained that we could leave a vehicle there for a donation. I thanked the person and explained that we would be back next week and would stop at the office to take care of the fee.

The first part of the hike was a bridge crossing on the New River and some brief PUDS as we overlooked the Celanese manufacturing plant to the south. Just before departing the road, two local good ol' boys in a ratty pickup truck slowed down and yelled "Get a job, you bums!" I won't get into specifics, but I'm guessing that Sox and my combined salaries were probably a few times higher than their combined net worth. We just smiled, waved, and doubled our pace to get into the woods. One of the biggest downsides to early March hikes is blowdowns. In the first 1.5 miles of the hike, I had already scratched up all four extremities on thorns and bark trying to get over or around fresh blowdowns.

Next up was the ascent of Peters Mountain. Shuttler Don had described it as a 'real huffer' and he was correct. There was a covered spring near the summit that provided an opportunity to tank up before the Rice Field shelter and avoid the 0.3 mile downhill trek to its water source. Smart move, but adding four quarts to our full packs made it that much more difficult to hike the remaining 2.6 miles. At least most of it was on top of the ridgecrest. The shelter was set back into the woods from the open ridgecrest and required a climb over a stile. Another notable design feature was the open air privy. There was a privacy panel on the shelter side but no other modesty features.

Approaching the shelter side trail on top of the ridgecrest.


Sox waiting for me at the Rice Field Shelter


Tortoise on a stile


A throne fit for hiker trash royalty


The only notable events after our arrival were quickly dropping temperatures and increasing winds. We had considered hiking another 1.2 miles to a camping spot but welcomed the protection of the shelter. In the bag by 20:00.

Day 2: Sunday Marth 10th

Today was the first day of Daylight Savings Time but jumping ahead by one hour is moot when you're focused on daylight hours vs. actual time. Going to bed at 20:00 helped as well. Tonight's goal was the Bailey Gap shelter - a healthy 16.4 miles up the trail. It was 37 degrees in the shelter but the windchill was going to be brutal. Sox made a privy trip before departure and suffered mightily on the exposed throne. Glad I took care of business last night.

One humorous thing I encountered today was within the Peters Mountain Wilderness Area. There were metal signs every 0.1 miles to remind hikers that they were in a wilderness area. Kind of like a radio station interrupting continuous music by announcing that they don't play commercials that would interrupt the music. We stopped at the Pine Swamp Branch shelter for lunch. For some reason, my tuna fish pouch with added mayo packs had my stomach on heave alert. I vowed to remove tuna fish pouches from my hiking lunch options. With miles to go, I pressed on.

We had considered a stop at the Captain's Place along Stony Creek. There is a cable and pulley chair to take hikers across the creek to a soda-stocked fridge on his back porch. As much as I wanted a Coke to settle my stomach, I never saw the cable or chair. It's just as well - the fridge could have been empty at this early point in the hiking season. I stopped at a new high water bridge over the creek just before VA 635 to filter a quart for the last climb of the day. A local 18-year old kid saw me and crossed the bridge to tell me his (brief) life story and how hikers usually give him money for food and lodging. He also offered to escort me up to the shelter. After asking for a cigarette, I disappointed him by stating that neither Sox or I smoked. That was all the kid needed to hear and cancelled his offer to hike up the hill with me. 1.3 miles later, I arrived at the shelter to find Sox fully settled in. There was plenty of daylight remaining for fetching and filtering water, cooking dinner, and relaxing before bedtime. We were back on track and enjoyed a much warmer night.

Typical trail conditions for the first part of the hike.


Bailey Gap Shelter

Day 3 - Monday March 11th

A good night's sleep and a long day ahead had me up, fed and packed by 07:20. There was just enough daylight that I didn't need my headlamp to head out into a three-mile section reported to be a precursor to the dreaded Rocks of PA. It was a rocky section, but not like the sharp, tilted rocks found in the Keystone State. Someone actually made the effort to issue a dispersion order that apparently had gone unheeded.



It was a cool morning so the best course of action was to keep hiking. We stopped at the Salt Sulphur Turnpike and briefly considered a detour to the Mountain Lake Resort where Dirty Dancing was filmed. Another brief stop at Wind Rock for photos and it was onto the Laurel Creek shelter.



As is my custom, I found a B&B located 0.5 miles from the trail at the VA 42 road crossing. Three good days of hiking deserve a bit of civilization. Sox had finally found his hiking legs and I set him free after our lunch stop at the War Spur shelter. That left me solo hiking for the remaining 8.7 miles. On a normal day of hiking, I would have been happy to stop at the Laurel Creek shelter. But a shower and warm bed can make up for a few extra miles. Or would it? The sky darkened and left me with the distinct possibility of arriving at the B&B wet and cold.



The last mile before VA 42 was through pastures where I exchanged snow for cow poop. I could see a vehicle parked at the trail crossing and was hoping that it was the B&B owners waiting to spare me the 0.5 mile roadwalk. Nope... it was empty.



I got over my disappointment when the B&B came into view. and things only got better from there. Owners Carol and Ron Baker thru-hiked the AT in 1999. They had fallen in love with this section of Virginia and sought out a property where they could establish a retirement business near the trail. Carol met me on the porch, had me strip off my hiking gear and place it into a laundry hamper (Don't worry Tortoise, I've seen lots of hikers in their underwear!), and sent me up to my room for a hot shower. The next surprise was an offer to drive us into Blacksburg for an Italian dinner at Sal's. They did confirm that the offer was for transportation only, not to pay for dinner. If I recall correctly, we offered to pay for their dinner. In true hiker trash fashion, Sox and I were dressed in our rain pants and cleanest dirty shirts. I kept the wait staff on alert as I downed glasses of water an a few Cokes with my salad and bleu cheese ribeye. The Bakers are great people!

It poured overnight but I didn't hear a drop on the metal roof. Over 40 miles in 2.5 days. As usual, my feet were taking a beating and I had blisters and some abrasions that needed care in the morning before hitting the trail. Sox wasn't complaining too much about the indoor accommodations so it was a good choice even with the road walk.

The Huffman House B&B

Day 4: Tuesday March 12th

There's something to be said for brushing your teeth in front of a sink and dressing blisters on a clean foot. Add in an outstanding hot breakfast and it was looking to be a golden day! Ron drove us back to the trailhead at 08:30 so we could start just another 15-mile day. First on the agenda was the ascent of Sinking Creek Mountain. I thought that the combination of sleep, hydration and calories would put me in good shape for the climb. Nope. I was struggling. And it was cool enough that I had to put on my rain jacket once I reached the ridgecrest. Six miles into the hike was a 1.3 mile section of slanted rock faces that had brought up concern as I was creating the section summary spreadsheet. Several hiker journals had referenced the slippery surfaces, especially in wet conditions. And damned if it didn't rain last night. It didn't take long until my concerns were proven to be valid - my feet started to slip and one of my hiking poles snapped in two as I tried to stop my fall. Dammit! I yelled out to no one in particular "This is pretty damn close to zero on the ol' Fun-O-Meter!"

One of the highlights of this section was the Keffer Oak. It's been said that 17 people are required to circle the trunk while holding hands.


Another highlight was crossing the Eastern Continental Divide.


Sox was waiting patiently at the Niday shelter and listened empathetically to my tales of woe regarding the slip and pole break. He suggested that we walk together for the next mile before the final ascent of the day. Nice guy. We stopped at the valley floor to filter water from Craig Creek as the upcoming ridgeline and camping spot was dry. i sent Sox on his merry way since time was not a concern for this last 1500' ascent. Rarely do I extoll the virtues of a 1500' climb. But this one was almost pleasant. At one point, the mossy hillside above the trail was covered with pine needles and made for a very comfortable spot for a pack-off break while soaking in the afternoon sun. And to put a cherry on top, there was a bench (with backrest) waiting for me at the top of the climb.



We found plenty of flat earth near the Audie Murphy Memorial side trail for our tents and casually went through our camp shores in the waning sunlight. My hiker hunger was in full effect and I gobbled down my dinner before heading to the warmth of my tent and sleeping bag. The temperatures dropped quickly after sunset - it was going to be a good night to be inside the tent.

Audie Murphy Monument

Day 5 - Wednesday March 13th

Today is the endpoint for the first part of this section hike. We just had to hike 11.7 miles back my car then make arrangements to pick up the hike further south. My alarm went off at 06:30 and I optimistically started getting dressed and packed. Upon emerging from my tent, I came face to face with an unexpected foe - it was freakin' cold! I took a leak in the darkness and yelled out to Tim that I was postponing my departure until the sun was up. The thermometer on my pack showed 22 degrees.

I had the good sense to store my pack and morning water bottle in the relative warmth of my tent vestibule overnight. Still, my Camelback hose / bite valve were frozen solid. And in the five minutes it took to get my stove set up, a layer of ice formed on the top of the water. Sox's bottle was even more frozen and he had to boil what he could to thaw the remaining volume. It took an hour of hiking, biting and sucking until my Camelback was back in order. Strangely, the ice water was enjoyable.

The weather continued to be the highlight of the day. Late morning brought filtered sunshine and comfortable hiking temperatures. And then a snow squall put us directly in its path.





The squall hit us just as we came up the back side of Dragon's Tooth. We literally crouched behind some boulters to shield ourselves from the wind and stinging snow. A minute later, the squall had passed and we had a change to look around Dragon's Tooth.



The last 2.5 miles were pretty comical. Here we are, shivering and descending with rain jackets and rain pants. The first two hikers we encountered had been on top of the Dragon's Tooth formation when the squall hit. They were laughing and enjoying the conditions. Further down the trail, we ran into some Spring Breakers dressed in shorts and short-sleeve shirts. Sox and I both put it in high gear once we descended the slippery rocks and metal rungs. My vehicle came into sight as we approached VA Route 624 and little time was wasted in storing our packs and putting on warmer clothing before taking a pause to make some important decisions.

Sox had a chill that he couldn't shake and was actually the first to suggest a motel for the night. Based on our progress, we had completed 66.5 miles over 4.5 days and still had 2.5 days to knock out the last 24.8 miles. We could afford to take the rest of the day off to warm up. I called shuttler Don and arranged for him to meet us in Pearisburg at 11:00 tomorrow for a shuttle south to the Route 606 road crossing. Sox reserved us a room in the Blacksburg Day's Inn and we hit a 5 Guys for a late lunch. Off the trail, I would cringe at the fat content of a typical burger and fry meal. Today, I licked the grease off my fingers and considered ordering fries to go.

Hot showers, elevated heat levels and a Family Guy marathon rounded out the rest of the day. My feet were a mess but I didn't see anything that would prevent me from slogging through the remaining 25 miles. Off to bed...

Day 6 - Thursday March 14th

Daylight filtering through the drapes told me it was time to get up. The good news is that we had plenty of time to reload our packs, grab breakfast, and drive down to Pearisburg. One big advantage of the two-phase hike is that we had dry clothing and extra food for the last section waiting in my vehicle. I even had the forethought to bring along a pair of boots that were 1/2 size larger. Still, it was a bit of a challenge to get my swollen right foot into the larger boot.

Breakfast was at Panera Bread - more food than a person should eat in one sitting. Did I mention that my hiker hunger was present? We passed a bank thermometer that showed the late morning temperature to be 25 F. Sox would still be shivering if he had slept outside last night. We pulled up to the Rendezvous Motel and got quite a surprise - it was burned to the ground. Apparently, it caught on fire about 12 hours after I had stopped in to ask about parking last Saturday. I took the yellow police tape around the remains of the office as a sign that a donation was no longer required and parked at the far end of the property. Don was right on time and deposited us at the VA Route 606 trailhead 45 minutes later.





With half a day to hike 7.5 miles, there was no rush. The cold morning temps yielded to the sun and it was quite comfortable in the afternoon. After two miles, we took the 0.3 mile side trail to Dismal Falls. Not so dismal, eh?


At the start of this trip report, I mentioned that the downside to an early March hike is blowdowns. But the advantage is lots of firewood for the pit. We collected more than we could burn and enjoyed a beautiful day at the Wapiti shelter. I won't mention the double-homicide that took place in the area many years ago.

Day 7: Friday March 15th

A high ridge to the east blocked the morning sun until close to 08:00. and with only 6.3 miles on today's agenda, there was no reason to rush. Just the way I like it. Today's hike marked a switch between Sox and I related to our overall hiking health. I was feeling great while Tim was counting down the remaining miles to get the hike over and done. He left 15 minutes before me but I caught him on the first climb. He passed me while I took a break along the ridgecrest but I quickly resumed my hike and left him sitting at a viewpoint. All I wanted to do was get to our destination and take off my boots.



A tired Sox resting up.


Speaking of our destination... Both shuttler Don and Carol Baker had strongly recommended a stay at Woods Hole Hostel. I had read stories in the AT Journals magazine as well as mentions in hiker journals. It sounded like a must-visit stop and worked out well with the time we had left in this section. I took the turn from the AT down Sugar Run Road. Neville Harris, granddaughter of original owners Roy and Tillie Woods, met me on the porch and confirmed that she could provide beds for both Sox and I. The bunkhouse wasn't yet open for the season as it was filled with tables, chairs and bales of hay.



To give a reference on how much Sox was suffering, I had time to settle in and unpack, get changed, and sit on the porch swing for a bit before Sox arrived.


After showers, Neville put us to work wrapping smoked pepperoni that would be used to feed thru-hikers later in the season. Then we pitched in to help prepare dinner. Before the meal was served, Neville put out a sales pitch for her massage therapy services. Why not? A 30-minute massage of both legs improved my gait from a distinct limp to a respectable shuffle. Dinner was delicious and included grace with each person offering up something they were thankful for. Just a bit more formal that chowing down on a freeze-dried pouch of slop.


A picture is worth a thousand words. This is Sox holding a baby goat while Neville and her husband Michael finished their evening chores. I think he would rather have been in bed.


It was indeed an experience that I'm glad to have seen firsthand. I hope the 2013 crop of thru-hikers enjoyed that perfectly-preserved pepperoni on their pizzas.

Day 8: Saturday March 16th

I woke up to the sound of rain on the tin roof. Darn it! We were in a bit of a time crunch for the day and a muddy descent into Pearisburg wasn't going to help. Fortunately, it was a small cell and soon passed our location. The logistics for today had a lot of moving pieces. Working backwards... Sox's flight out of Dulles was at 21:00. That meant I needed to drop him off by 19:00. 4.5 hours from Pearisburg to Dulles meant we needed to be at the remnants of the Rendezvous Motel no later than 14:30. Starting the hike at 07:00 gave us 7.5 hours to hike the 10.9 miles. Doable. But any time we could gain would leave time for showers, dinner and traffic. I ran our plan by Neville last night and she gave us a couple of options to literally buy time:

• For a few bucks, she could run us 0.5 miles back to the AT.
  
• For a few dollars more, she could run all of our non-essential gear down to Pearisburg and place it in the trunk of my vehicle.
  

All in, my bill for lodging, sodas, dinner, massage, trailhead shuttle and gear drop-off was $100. I paid $110 and thanked Neville for her hospitality. She dropped us off at the AT before 07:30 and we cruised up the trail. The initial 500' ascent was child's play with strong legs and empty packs. The first stop for some breakfast snacks was at mile 2.2 in the Doc's Knob shelter.


Next up were 2.8 miles on a well-maintained woods road. Heck...I could have carried my full pack weight on terrain like this! At 7.4 miles, we arrived at Angels Rest - the spot where Angels take a break during their ascent to heaven.


The impressive views were worth a brief delay. We could see the entire ridge that we had hiked last Saturday and Sunday, as well as my grabber orange Mustang next to the remains of the Rendezvous Motel. Only three miles to go.





My toes were thanking me on the steep, muddy descent for switching to the larger boots. And my back was pretty complimentary of my decision to empty the weight from my pack. With 50 yards to go, Neville pulled in with our gear and was amazed that we had arrived so quickly. Impeccable timing! I changed into civilian clothes while Tim stuffed his pack into a large suitcase for the flight home. We had plenty of time for the drive back up I-81 and even figured out how to take a truck stop shower. The funny part is that the truck stop was at Exit 150 - the same exit as Bojangles on our drive down and the AT crossing of Route 220. We found a BBQ joint just past the AT crossing and decided that Exit 150 on I-81 is our official pre and post hike food spot for all remaining VA section hikes.

I dropped off Sox with time to spare and made it back to Central PA by 21:00. 91.3 miles in a Saturday - Saturday hike.

Seven nights. Three of them indoors. I'll readily admit that I'm no Matt_C when it comes to toughing out extended periods of challenging weather. But I'd rather cheese my way along the AT than sit at home on the couch.

I liked this section enough that I brought my wife to the Huffman House B&B for our 25th Anniversary. We visited the Keffer Oak, Wind Rock, and did stop for a picture at the Mountain Lake Resort. "I...had...the time of my life. And I owe it all to you." Then came the big surprise. We drove up to Woods Hole for a couple's massage. I told my wife we were just driving up to a pretty overlook and she was totally freaked out when I pulled into the driveway. Must have been the banjo music...

We had one dinner at Sal's in Blacksburg - while Tech football was playing in the nearby stadium. We could feel the energy. Sadly, the Huffman House B&B is closed. Carol had some health issues when we were there and I can only imagine that the work of running a B&B became too much. Still glad I got to meet the Bakers and return without having to strip on the porch.