Day 96. 16.4 miles
Harper’s Ferry/SOBO mile 1172.8 to Tentsite near northern terminus of the “Roller Coaster” in VA/SOBO mile 1189.2
Hot day today with temps in the upper 80s by mid-afternoon. Decided to do only 16.4 miles instead of 20 (my other option to the next camping area) so I wouldn’t have to hike long into the hottest hours. Also, my pack is heavy with resupply, and I carried all my water today since all sources along the trail are dry. Thankfully there is a spring still seeping water not far from my tent site tonight.
The trail was lovely today. There are rocks here and there, but they are the proper and sane type and amount.
Also, I am now in Virginia! I think the trail went back and forth across the WV line a few times today, but most folks count the trail past Harper’s Ferry as Virginia.
Still feeling very tired. I don’t know if this is the new normal for the rest of the trail or not.
My camping spot is near the northern end of the “Roller Coaster,” a 14-mile stretch of trail that has a bunch of steep and continuous ascents/descents. I am one mile into it. Tomorrow I will do the other 13 miles and then hopefully hike another five or six to a tenting area. I would like to get in 18-20 total tomorrow, but we’ll see how I feel in the afternoon. It will be a bit cooler with more wind tomorrow, that will help.
Day 97
21.7 miles with 4500-5000 feet of elevation gain.
Tentsite near northern terminus of the “Roller Coaster” in VA/SOBO mile 1189.2 to Whiskey Hollow Shelter/SOBO mile 1210.9
Roller coaster today! That’s a section in northern VA that goes steeply up and down for about 13 miles. The entire AT goes up and down all the time, but in this section the ups and downs are immediate with very few breaks in-between.
Thankfully, all the water sources throughout this section were flowing, so dehydration wasn’t an issue.
I took my time and enjoyed it. The trail is good, sane, normal trail now. Rocks sometimes, but normal rocks. Mostly dirt. Love it.
Continued another nine miles afterward up through the beautiful Sky Meadows State Park and enjoyed the beautiful wildflowers in the meadows near 2000 feet. Gorgeous.
Next came a camping area in a meadow, but since I don’t like camping in meadows (wet tent in the morning with dew), I pushed on to the next legal sleeping area, Whiskey Hollow Shelter. My third time in a shelter, and I am pretty sure it will be all mine tonight.
Day 98. 14.9 miles
Whiskey Hollow Shelter/SOBO mile 1210.9 to Mountain Home B&B and Cabbin/SOBO mile 1225.8
I will not quit. Something has to change, though. The trail is much easier footing-wise, and the trees are lovely. I will soon enter Shenandoah NP, an area I have looked forward to experiencing. Yet both my feet hurt – the left one in particular- and I cannot shake my worn out and run down feeling. I logically see the beauty of the trail, but the beauty is not reaching my heart. The double zero in Harper’s Ferry didn’t seem to help.
Some days I feel strong and wonderful and great out here. Others I feel like it is all I can do to keep putting one foot in front of the other. On those latter days, I get sick of being sweaty and grimy and smelly 24/7, I get tired of having to worry about water sources, and I start longing for the end of the trail.
I have not slept through the night in quite some time, and though CBD does help with pain management, it no longer knocks me out like it used to, even with the increase in dosage.
I saw Rabid Walnut, a SOBO I first met in NH during my northbound leg. He is doing at least 20 miles a day, he has not had a zero since NH, and he looks like he can take on the world. I am happy for him. It is hard not to compare myself with others, though. It is difficult for me not to think I should also easily be doing 20s with no pain and no zeros and a happy attitude.
Got to Mountain Home B&B and everything got a lot better. First, the place is gorgeous. It’s a B&B and a hostel, the rooms are beautiful and the owners, Scott and Lisa, are the kindest people on the planet. Met two Flipfloppers, Reason and Rainwater, who are taking their time on the trail – usually no more than 12 miles a day – and really enjoying their hike. They both glow with happiness even though both hike with various physical challenges. Met two section hikers, Rabbit and Pinecone, and enjoyed talking with them too.
Ordered delivery from an Italian place and consumed a huge portion of spinach, ziti with chicken, Caesar salad, two Sprites, and crème brûlée. Immediately felt less depleted.
Then, from 8pm to 5am, I slept. A real, deep, uninterrupted sleep except for a brief foray to the bathroom at 3am. Went back to sleep at 5:15 and woke up at 6.
What. A. Difference.
The next morning, Day 99, I felt like a different person. Wow.
Went up for breakfast, saw it was pouring rain, checked the forecast and saw it was going to pour all morning, then decided to take a zero here. Yeah, I know, another zero! But I need another day of this.
Had a wonderful morning talking with everyone. I feel so much better.
Went into town and bought supportive insoles for my shoes. I have never hiked with insoles before. I am hoping they help with my foot pain.
Bought and ate a ton more food.
Spoke more with Scott, Lisa, Rabbit, and Pinecone. Said goodbye to Reason and Rainwater, who are continuing onward in the rain. I should see them again at some point as I head south.
Feel like I am starting to get my mojo back.
Also – found out that Shadow, Neon, and Mosey – three Harper’s Ferry flipfloppers that I met and saw for about a week in NH – are just ten days ahead of me now heading south. They tend to hike lower miles than I do each day, so I hope I catch up with them at some point before Springer. It would be wonderful to see them again! [When they flipped, they went to Harper’s Ferry where they started, and when I flipped, I went to Pawling where I started, so that is why they are now ahead of me…they had already hiked between Harper’s Ferry and Pawling when I met them in NH.]
This thruhike makes me feel like a different person from day to day. Some days I love the trail, other days I feel like I am just trying to survive it. It is all about listening to the body and doing whatever you need to do to make things easier for yourself both physically and mentally. No matter what, you are going to suffer. Thruhiking the Appalachian Trail is an endurance test and I have to continually adjust and pivot. Time spent talking with other hikers, spending time in town eating a ton, and getting real and restorative sleep are crucial to success. At least for me.
Tomorrow I should be in a better mental and physical state to begin the Shenandoah NP section.
PS – I post on a delayed schedule. Today – in real time, Sept 24 – I found out that Neon, Mosey, and another flipflopper I met on my northbound leg named Notta – were hit by a drunk truck driver while taking a shuttle back to a hostel in the Triple Crown area of Virginia. Neon suffered a fractured sternum and so is now off trail. The other two got away with bruises and are continuing hiking south tomorrow. The shuttle van was totaled. So glad things weren’t worse.
