Fox Creek to Thomas Knob (and return)

     I invited Becky, whose official trail name is now "Leaves", to join me on a two-night backpacking trip.  The goals were to spend two consecutive nights in the woods and to cover more miles each day than previously accomplished.  Check and check.

     We left the parking area on VA 603 late afternoon on Friday and hiked a short 1.7 miles south on the AT to Old Orchard shelter.  We passed another hiker who informed us that two men were planning on making ribs and two female hikers were also there.  I thought, "Okay, this is the night I learn to share a shelter with strangers."  A few minutes later, two lady thru-hikers came along, sharing the same rib supper info.  These ladies were from Florida and very friendly.

     After a little over a mile, there was what I call a "rockfall": a slide of rocks tumbling down the slope.  These rocks are moss-covered and oh, so beautiful.  Last spring, I heard an under ground stream here.  This spring, the area was peppered with a grove of hosta-looking plants.  Although, I have yet to identify this plant, I'm leaning toward skunk cabbage.

Sly (above) and Leaves (below) at the rockfall.

We arrived at OOS and chatted with the two men already there.  Leaves and I gauged the situation in order to decide whether to join the men in the shelter or pitch a tent.  We decided to sleep in the shelter.  The guys (Joe and Eric) were friendly and chatty.  For me, I know sharing a shelter is inevitable, so I might as well do it.  This shelter sleeps six; the four of us had plenty of room.

Some time after our supper, a total of five thru-hikers arrived.  One ate some of Joe's food and pushed on, trying to reach Marion for re-supply.  His hiking partner also chose to keep hiking.  Another, a man with a dog, decided to tent; and the remaining two joined us in the shelter.

Because Leaves and I usually go to sleep at dark and try to get up at daylight, she was in her bag trying to go to sleep and I was in mine trying to warm up.  The remaining four were cooking supper and talking.  Not too long after, they too climbed into their bags.  A few minutes later, I heard a loud thump.  Eric had hung his pack on a peg above his floor space.  I sat up and asked, "What was that?", expecting Eric's bag to have fallen on him.  He answered, "A mouse just crawled across my chest!"  Ahhh, my first experience with mice in the shelters.  Glad it was him and not me.  Dragonborn, the female thru-hiker, explained that because the mice like to scurry along the walls, she and Baird, her male counterpart, sleep with their heads toward the opening, not the back wall.  Eric, Joe, and I quickly turned around.

Leaves and I were up and on the trail, (with breakfast and chores finished), around 8.  At first, the trail was a little steep and rocky.  Once we reached the summit of Pine Mountain, the terrain was easier to hike.   We stopped at The Scales for a break.

The Scales

     Just as we left this paddock, a cowboy brought hay in for the long-horn cattle.

somewhere between the scales and wise shelter

     We had lunch at Wise Shelter.  Several ponies graced the hikers with their presence.  Those four-legged stinkers were not shy.  They persistently walked right up to people and gear, sniffing out treats.  We met an older, lone, female thru-hiker who impressed us.  Regretfully, neither of us got her trail name.

Wise Shelter

     The next two miles were easily hiked.  Then we had two miles of rocks which slowed my pace.  I was so thankful to be finally finished with those rocks.  My mantra over these two miles was, "Jesus, please give me strength."  Leaves was fascinated with the rocks and repeatedly commented that her husband would love them.  Her positive attitude and love of nature are two of the traits that make her a great hiking partner.

Fat Man's Squeeze

     After the eleventh mile, we reached Thomas Knob shelter.  We passed what seemed like 50 tents belonging to two or three Boy Scout troops.  There were a couple of men at the shelter, but they were only taking a break.  Leaves and I were the first two who intended to stay for the night.  Hikers were coming and going, taking advantage of the water source.  "Plan B", a solo, female thru-hiker, stopped in.  She decided to tent just around the corner.  However, she did eat supper with us and chatted until bedtime.  Joe and Eric showed up  after an hour had passed, much to my surprise.  Thomas Knob shelter has a loft, which Leaves and I claimed.  The guys took the lower level.  Again, Leaves and I were in our bags before the guys.  We heard two other hikers come in.  We listened to the noise of their supper and chatter before they settled in.  

In the Thomas Knob journal someone had noted that there would be trail magic that evening a bit north of this shelter.  A hiker came by to confirm and invite.  Initially he said it was 1/2 mile away.  Even the promise of guacamole and enchiladas didn't lure me to walk another mile round trip.  Four guys packed in food and drink for 80 people!  Now that is dedicated trail angels.  Joe and Eric decided to go for it.  What seemed like 2 hours later, they returned, stating that they changed their minds.  Our impression was that Eric was interested but Joe was not.  The next day we were told that only four hikers took advantage of the trail magic.  How unfortunate.

from a previous day hike

I had been sporadically wondering why no thru-hikers were staying in the shelter.  Was it a mice infestation?  A haunting?  What was wrong with this shelter?  I told Leaves that I had read if you throw a bit of tp in the corner, the mice will chew that instead of your pack in search of food.  So we tried it.  In hind sight, it seems not quite logical since tp is not food.  Regardless, we had no problems with mice.  The shelter turned out to be a great experience.

We awoke to a beautiful morning just before 6:00 and were on the trail by 7:00.  We planned to hike a mile or two north on the Appalachian trail and then take the Pine Mountain trail toward The Scales where it reconnects to the AT.  There are numerous intersecting trail in this area and sometimes the signage is not great.  We actually missed the sign we needed to see which caused us to miss the connection to Pine Mountain Trail.  Once we discovered our mistake, the correction would have us backtrack 1 1/2 miles.  I was not willing to do that over those stinking rocks.  We chose to follow four miles of a horse trail to The Scales instead, reasoning that it would be flat.  This did not save us any time, but we did get to experience a new trail.  Another plus was that it was not crowded.  We saw only one other hiker.

Rocks of Grayson Highlands State Park

Once we discovered our mistake, the correction would have us backtrack 1 1/2 miles.  I was not willing to do that over those stinking rocks.  We chose to follow four miles of a horse trail to The Scales instead, reasoning that it would be flat.  This did not save us any time, but we did get to experience a new trail.  Another plus was that it was not crowded.  We saw only one other hiker.  We stopped again at The Scales for food, garbage toss, and potty.  There are really nice privies there.  The hiker we had seen on the horse trail offered us a ride to our vehicle, but we declined.  We were, after all, training.  It was three more miles to Old Orchard Shelter, then 1.7 miles to the car.  We carried on and eventually arrived.  Our 12 mile hike took a little less than 7 hours.

Someone had carved a cross into the moss.

A heart painted near the blazes that mark the AT

Three week hiatus

     It's been nearly three weeks since I've been hiking.  Boy, do I feel it mentally.  On my last trip, I felt a significant cramping in my left foot.  Once I got home, I was reduced to hobbling about.

     I "picked the brain" of an Athletic Trainer friend, and came to the self-diagnosis that I had aggravated the peroneal tendon.  I limped around for a week or so.  The second week I had only occasional twinges of pain, a reminder that something was not quite right.  Using ice and stretching helped some, but I knew time would be needed also.  Not knowing how much time it would take to heal worried me.  

While I gave my foot one full week to start to heal, I was able to ride my bike the second week.  My foot tolerated this activity well and the exercise kept me in shape.  I am thankful for cross training.

This third week, I am walking normally and have no pain.  Yeah!  I'm ready to hike again.  MM and I have planned, shopped, and packed for a two-night backpacking trip which will allow us to put 25 miles under our boots.

Most of what we plan to hike will be new to MM.  While I've hiked this section before, I've not slept in one of the two shelter we'll utilize.  I am not sure what to expect at the shelters, considering the thru-hikers are starting to come through.  We could have the shelter to ourselves, or we could be sharing space with others.  For me, this will be the first time spending two consecutive nights on the trail and having to use my water filter.

I've packed homemade granola for breakfast; spicy tuna wraps for lunch; and alfredo pasta sides for supper (to which I'll add sun-dried tomato and fresh broccoli.)  For snacks I have: trail mix (chocolate chips, almonds, and dried blueberries), payday candy bars, celery sticks, and nutty butter bars.

Although I do love hiking and backpacking, I miss my family when I am in the woods.  I miss them the most at bedtime, feeling a certain amount of guilt for not being with them.  However, allowing myself time to do what I love and recharging my battery makes me a better wife, mother, and person.  I'll take that.  I think my husband and son will too.

From when my son would still hike with his mama.

Fox Creek to Old Orchard Shelter

The mountains shall bring peace to the people...  Psalm 72:3 KJV


     I started driving with no idea where to go or what to do; I only knew that I needed time to myself to release the stress that had built up over the past few weeks.  Being a parent has its challenges; being the parent of a teenager...well, you get the idea.  Marriage takes work; feeling like the only contributor (even while realizing that feeling is not accurate)...well, you get the idea.

     So, at 12:02 p.m. on a Saturday, I found myself driving with no plans.  Then I thought of Mountain Mama.  I pulled my car off to the side of the road and pressed the call button for MM's number.  Thinking she would probably already be on a trail somewhere, I doubted she would answer.  I was thrilled when she did.

     "Hey, MM, where are you?  Would you like to go backpacking today?" I asked.  She answered that I had caught her at just the right time and she would love to go.

     I relayed my thoughts and we made plans for me to pick her up after I shopped for some trail food.

     Two hours later we were at the selected trail head and ready to soak in the peacefulness.  We hiked the short 1.5 miles (south on the Appalachian Trail) from Fox Creek to Old Orchard Shelter.  The tread contained lots of roots, the terrain was a gentle uphill slope, and the environment was a leafless, hardwood grove, for the most part.  We did hike through some rhododendrons early on.

     While approaching the shelter, we noticed a hiker and then a second.  Initially, I thought we would be sharing our home for the night with a couple of guys.  A few steps closer, and MM thought it was a man and a woman.  I was a little more comfortable with that.  Another few steps closer revealed the truth: two women.  I was very pleased with that. Eventually, I am sure, I will end up in a shelter with people of the male persuasion.  However, as I'm fairly new to backpacking and shelter sleeping, I am thankful to be "easing" into sharing sleeping quarters with strangers.  

     The four of us exchanged trail names (Canvas, Bugs, Sly, and Mountain Mama) and chatted while we casually did chores.  Food bags were hung, wood was gathered, and the fire stoked.  Reportedly, a dozen students from Appalachia College (?) had left the shelter shortly before we arrived.  One of the four fire rings was still smoldering which allowed us to transfer coals and rekindle a camp fire.  

     Although I had intended on pitching my tent, we decided to try sleeping in the shelter.  This would be my second "shelter sleep" and, I confess, I was a bit nervous about mice.  As it turned out, it was a great experience.  No mice harrassed me or my gear, I was pretty comfortable, and had peace.  However, with two snorers present, I did not sleep much.  I normally don't sleep well the first night out, even when my husband and son are with me.

     Canvas and Bugs were the first to awake and pack up.  Not wanting to disturb us, I assume, they hiked off without saying good bye, while MM and I were still in our bags.  A bit later, I heard more evidence of someone being up and around.  When I was finally able to open my eyes, I peered outside to gauge the daylight hoping to estimate the time.  What I saw was tiny snowflakes falling steadily, with a slight accumulation on the picnic table.  (The picture below does not show the degree of rain/snow fall.) I think my jaw hit the floor, because I was surprised by the cooler temperature.  When I found myself thinking, "I've never camped in the snow before." I was a little excited at the level of experience I've accomplished as a hiker. 

     Not wanting to get out of a warm bag, I lingered while mulling over my next few priorities: what clothing to hike in; and whether to stick to our original hiking plan, or hike out and call it a day.  Since MM had already retrieved our food bags, I got up to prepare breakfast.  

     I had packed mittens and a rain jacket, but MM was braving the elements with bare hands.  I suggested she use her extra socks as hand covers, but she opted to tough it out.  We had planned to hike to the summit of Pine mountain and then return to the  trail-head, which would have been an eight and one half mile hike.  Because we didn't know how severe the weather would become, we decided to hike out after breakfast.  

     We cooked, ate, cleaned up, and packed up our gear.  Just as we finished and were about to put on our packs, a north-bound thru-hiker came in to camp.  Although we never got his trail name, he was a very pleasant young (20-something) man.  We discussed the usual: where did you start, where are you headed, will you re-supply in Marion.

     MM and I started back to my vehicle.  We had a quick hike and met three south-bound hikers.

     Overall, I am pleased with this trip for a few reasons.  First, I was able to be in the woods to recover my sanity.  Second, I slept in a shelter and was not afraid.  Third, I survived backpacking in the snow (light as it was.)  And fourth, I realized I have accomplished a degree of flexibility.  Plans sometimes have to change as the input changes.  The weather changed, and we adapted.  I'll take that.