Let me explain my food choices and preparation. It's really quite simple. The hardest part is deciding what I want to eat. For this trip, I settled on homemade granola with powdered milk for breakfast; peanut butter and nutella sandwich rounds for lunch; and Knorr pasta sides or mashed potato for supper. I dehydrated some beans and purchased sun-dried tomatoes to add to my supper for extra protein and flavor. My favorite trail mix is salted almonds, dried blueberries, and chocolate chip. I also have crackers, payday candy bars, and protein bars. This is enough for three meals and three snacks each of four days.
The first night on the trail I had to force myself to finish the mashed potato. It was tasty; there was just too much for me. The second night, I shared my rice with a thru-hiker going by the name of Color Bandit. (He carries crayons and signs the registers in different colors.) The third night, I skipped supper altogether. Lesson learned: I can carry less food for suppers.
We had a little difficulty finding a trail head in Pearisburg. Paul dropped us at a parking area which had a trail leading to a cemetery. This trail intersects the AT. I wasn't crazy about the idea of starting a hike without knowing exactly where I was, but Paul ensured that we would be fine, so off we went. A couple of minutes in, we crossed an unmarked path. I made note of it, but continued forward to the cemetery. What a blessing this "mistake" turned out to be.
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| Pearis Cemetery has beautiful stone benches and approximately 200 sites. It is the resting place of a Revolutionary War Captain. |
After spending a few minutes at the cemetery, we walked back to the path we had crossed. Three section hikers were there, so, we asked them which way was south on the AT. They kindly pointed us in the right direction and off we went.
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| Trail head near Lane St, Pearisburg |
After a few minutes, we found Lane Street, which was supposed to be our original starting point. It started to drizzle lightly, but we didn't mind. It was fairly steep terrain to the next road crossing.
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| At VA 634 |
The next two miles were extremely steep, and, with a 40-pound pack, quite difficult. But we made it.
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The next landmark to look for was a spring located about 1/2 a mile up the trail. I like to break my day's hike into mini-sections by looking forward to what streams, roads, views, etc we will be crossing. For me, it makes the day go by faster. It's a head-trick: only .5 miles to the spring, rather than 9 miles to the shelter. It's all the same, at the end of the day.
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Sly filtering water, using a Katadyn pump.
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Leaves and I ate lunch at this spring. Although I didn't feel hungry, once I ate a sandwich, I had to have another. Spiced tuna on a sandwich round never tasted so good. Five or so miles later, we reached our first shelter.
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| Doc's Knob Shelter |
We spent night one at Doc's Knob. A north-bounder, Poppy, was there waiting for an 80 year-old hiker who was assumed to have gotten turned around. Reportedly, Owl watched his feet when he hikes and gets "lost" often. We were told by "Long Braids" that Owl had accidently hiked south for 1.5 miles before he realized his error and ended up hiking back to Woods Hole Hostel, where he spent the night.
"Leaves" found a discarded sleeping bag in a corner of the shelter and hung it up to provide a little privacy. Shelters are notorious for housing mice. Since they like to climb along the walls, we prefer to sleep in the center of the shelter, with our heads facing the opening rather than the back wall. "Leaves" claimed a spot to the left of the center pole, and I to the right. We performed our camp chores (gather and filter water; cook and eat supper; wash dishes, get ready for bed, and hang our bear bag) and I was ready for bed. The hardest part of backpacking, for me, is missing my family. As soon as I reach our night's destination, I really miss home. To counter this, I usually try to sleep. I was in bed by 7:30. Leaves and I were chatting when a thru hiker came in.
His trail name is Chef. His real name is Jeff. He is a carpenter. So, we called him Chef Jeff the Carpenter. He was such a pleasant shelter mate. He was respectful and quiet and we enjoyed his company. Another hiker came in after dark, but I don't remember much about him. A father/young son team also passed through, only stopping for water and the privy.
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| camp site at Dismal Falls |
After reaching Wapiti Shelter by 2:30 p.m., we decided to push on because 1) it was too early to stop and 2) we wanted to hike fewer miles the next day. This terrain was easier than what was coming up.
We set up camp and walked down to the falls. Such a gorgeous spot. We met "Color Bandit" and "Chubby Bunny", who set up their tents in the same spot. Another hiker came in to share the spot. Although I didn't get his name, I did learn that he is from Maine. It was fun to share the woods with these thru-hikers. Chubby Bunny, a young lady from Berlin, taught me a new way to carry my water bladder. I have always placed it in the sleeve inside my bag. She carries hers in one of the outside pockets on either side. This allows for more space inside the bag. I just had to be careful to counter balance the weight by placing roughly equal weight in the opposite pocket. This lead to a new spot for my water filter and cooking system. Yeah! more room inside the main compartment.
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| Jenny Knob Shelter |
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| Signage for Helvys Mill Shelter, 1/4 mile off trail |
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| Jenny Knob Shelter |
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| Privy at Helvys Mill |
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| Helvys Mill Shelter |
We came in to this shelter early afternoon of day four. A couple from Las Vegas were already there, and although it was early in the day, they had decided to stay there for the night because of the sparse water supply for the next ten plus miles.
