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One last thing

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    • One last thing

      Heading out very early tomorrow for my section hike. I decided I needed one last piece of gear - a tick remover (I am going to VA in July). Couldn't find one in any store and it was too late to mail order. Then I thought to go to the one store I should have tried first. The one place you can find almost anything you need. The Farmer's Co-op Grain Elevator. There were three people working behind the counter. I asked if they had one, asking as if I expected the answer to be "no" or "a tick WHAT?". But sure enough, all three people said, "Sure, we got em". God Bless the Farmers! See you next week.

    • odd man out wrote:

      Rasty wrote:

      Have a great trip


      Thanks - It's my first hike of any length in quite some time so I'm a bit worried about how my body will hold up. No way to know except to try.

      one day at a time.it takes me a few days for me to adjust my mind from "getting there " to "being there". once this shift occurs, i'm paying more attention to my body and adjust my pace as needed.
      its all good

    • Well after 4 days, 45 miles, 7700' elevation gain and 8300' elevation loss, my knee got a bit gimpy so I stayed overnight at Four Pines Hostel and then took a zero. Did a little yellow and aqua blazing (kayak on the James River) with Hiker Mom and Byron (Mr Hiker Mom?). Then did McAfee Knob as a day hike. Fell once, cut my elbow, saw two bears, had a great time, met some nice people.

    • odd man out wrote:

      Well after 4 days, 45 miles, 7700' elevation gain and 8300' elevation loss, my knee got a bit gimpy so I stayed overnight at Four Pines Hostel and then took a zero. Did a little yellow and aqua blazing (kayak on the James River) with Hiker Mom and Byron (Mr Hiker Mom?). Then did McAfee Knob as a day hike. Fell once, cut my elbow, saw two bears, had a great time, met some nice people.

      Nothing like a successful story. Happy for you (except the knee part) sounds like a lot of fun and a good time.
      Changes Daily→ ♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫ ♪♫♪♫♪♫ ← Don't blame me. It's That Lonesome Guitar.

    • odd man out wrote:

      Well after 4 days, 45 miles, 7700' elevation gain and 8300' elevation loss, my knee got a bit gimpy so I stayed overnight at Four Pines Hostel and then took a zero. Did a little yellow and aqua blazing (kayak on the James River) with Hiker Mom and Byron (Mr Hiker Mom?). Then did McAfee Knob as a day hike. Fell once, cut my elbow, saw two bears, had a great time, met some nice people.


      That is a nice area, spent many hours small mouth fishing on the James when I lived in Roanoke, wish I'd been into hiking then.
      I may grow old but I'll never grow up.

    • I see (from your gallery) you were impressed by the same wooden bench up by the Audie Murphy monument. I wish there were more such benches on the AT... but I suppose they might end up abused like everything else. This section was near the end of my last LASH on the AT. It had been a six-week hike and I was approaching burnout.

      I'd spent the night before tenting in a small meadow... had tried to make Pickle Branch Shelter but darkness overtook me. Turned out it was another 1/4 mile from the side trail to the shelter.

    • rafe wrote:

      I see (from your gallery) you were impressed by the same wooden bench up by the Audie Murphy monument. I wish there were more such benches on the AT... but I suppose they might end up abused like everything else. This section was near the end of my last LASH on the AT. It had been a six-week hike and I was approaching burnout.

      I'd spent the night before tenting in a small meadow... had tried to make Pickle Branch Shelter but darkness overtook me. Turned out it was another 1/4 mile from the side trail to the shelter.


      I had spent the previous night on the top of Sinking Creek Mtn on a little spot in the rocks just barely big enough for a tent. It was great. Could see the sun set on one side of the tent and rise on the other. That night limped into Trout Creek, barely able to walk, so I camped there. Couldn't stay up on Brush Mtn as there was no water. The next morning the knee was better so I figured I would start early and hike slow (with lots of rest breaks) over Cove Mtn to the next road where there was a hostel and mini-mart (I knew I could call HM from there) rather than try to hitch out from trout creek (met a guy who had tried to get a hitch on VA621 for a day with no luck - he was hiking Springer to HF with no money, only getting mail drops from friends, so he had no choice but to get to the post office.)