Appalachian Trail SOBO Day 70 – Virginia is for lovers
4th october 2023
Harpers Ferry (1173) - Creek and Tentsite (1193.4)
Daily miles: 20.4
Total miles: 1200.8
It was a better nights sleep as it was marginally cooler and my body was less sore. Pyro left early in the morning to get the bus to DC.
I am ashamed to admit that at first I wasn’t that keen on Pyro joining us – not because he was Pyro, it could have been anyone – but because it was going to change the dynamic and probably, if I am totally honest, it would mean the extra effort of getting to know someone else.
I was totally wrong in my thinking and I am so pleased I got to know Pyro. He is really weird - in the best possible way - and he did nothing but enhance my time on trail. He was only with us for just over 3 weeks but it feels like he was a much bigger part of the experience.
It would have been so nice if he could have continued hiking with us but he has fun stuff planned in New Zealand so he has to go and get ready for that.
There was no rush to get up this morning. I wanted to leave latest 9am as we only had a 20 mile day. Toe cooked up the remaining tater tots from last night and I ate a bunch of them, plus some of the rotisserie chicken, for breakfast. I am carrying so much food. More food than necessary for 2.5 days, but I had 2 packages here so I will be existing purely on snacks for the next 2.5 days, and I probably won’t have to buy any more snacks at the next resupply either.
It is supposed to be warm (high 20s celsius) for the next 3 days, and then it is due to cool off a lot so it will be easier to pack out things like cheese and hummus when it’s not so hot.
The bite is also not so hot, and not so hard, so that’s getting better. The allergy tablets Lemonhope gave me must have helped. I was worried about putting my pack on because the day we came into town it was really pressing on the bite and it was super uncomfortable, but it was ok.
We had made so much mess in the room so I tried to tidy up a bit before leaving and I hiked out at 9am.
Inside the Harpers Ferry Hostel after we tidied up
I walked down the road to join the trail again and I had a slight regret about not leaving a bit earlier to beat the heat! But I can’t complain too much about the heat, last time I was here it was 34°C / 93°F and I was using my umbrella to shade myself from the sun.
The road was closed to traffic crossing the Shenandoah river so that was a pleasant walk and the next 5 miles of trail really were a treat. Nice, flat, well graded trail which was enjoyable to walk on. Shaded enough by the trees to be a little cooler but the trees weren’t so dense they weren’t letting in any sun. There were a few rocks but nothing compared to what we have been through.
Road closed
Hotter than hot
The Shenandoah river
I did feel a bit down this morning.
Saw a few deer and one particular one really wasn’t that bothered by my presence. Crossed the road at Keys Gap. Looking right was a West Virginia sign and looking left was a welcome to Virginia sign. (The official on trail border is another 10 miles down the trail.)
What you can’t see is how hot it is!
Just one question - why didn’t they make the O the heart or make the heart look more like a V?
The trail stayed nice and in the canopy you can see the leaves starting to turn. In some places there are so many leaves on the ground it’s sometimes hard to see the trail and the leaves are a bit skiddy.
Fall is fallin
Someone left a random box of eggs on the trail!
Very strange
I saw lots of people today, this is a very accessible and therefore well used section of trail. I didn’t say any more than Hello and Happy Trails to anyone. I was moving at a nice pace, a comfortable easy pace. I didn’t want to be rushing or pushing it today, I just wanted a nice walk to get my legs back into it and give my feet a chance.
I had drunk all my water and there was the opportunity to go to a hiker cabin but it was 0.2 down a hill and therefore 0.2 back up again. Or I could go to a spring 100 yards off the trail in another 5 miles. I would not die of thirst in 5 miles so I decided to push on to the spring.
The changing of the seasons
I just love the light through the trees
He was a bit shy to start with
But he soon came out of his shell!
Still hot
15 miles into the day was the start of The Rollercoaster, a section of trail which goes up and down and up and down… I was kind of dreading this section because I remember it being awful going NOBO, but one of the reasons it was awful was because it was 100°F and 100% humidity.
This time it was still a little warm but definitely manageable. Plus it was way less steep than I remember it being, it was actually pretty gentle and the climbs and descents were short. Plus I’m not doing the whole thing in one day, just 5 miles of it today.
Half a mile in I found the spring. I was pretty thirsty by the time I got there and I drank a whole litre then instead of carrying a whole bottle of water, with only 4.5 miles to the camp site - where there is water - I just carried about a quarter of a litre of Just In Case Water (which I needn’t have bothered with because that litre was more than enough) it’s probably the first time I’ve got my water carry right!
Another mile and I got to the West Virginia/ Virgina border sign.
Goodbye West Virginia, hello Virginia
Entering the longest state on the AT
Another 2 miles and it was the sketchiest road crossing to date. A 4 lane highway on a corner with a lot of traffic coming at me at great speed. I was able to cross the first 2 lanes only because I ran. There was space in the middle to wait for the other side to clear, and those 2 lanes were easier because you could see further down the road.
On the other side I walked in the shoulder as far as I could to the side and that’s when I came close to disaster because all of a sudden this brown coloured car was inches away from me driving on the shoulder past me and then it swerved back onto the road.
I was very glad to get off that road!
It is the official crossing point but it was so sketchy
Back on the trail and I had a little ascent up to a rocky outcrop where there were about 20 people up there for sunset. I couldn’t be bothered with all the people so I just walked on by.
Lovely prints by a local school
I got to the campsite at 6:15pm. A nice easy walk and still light at then end of the day. Got water from a stream which was flowing nicely (thankfully there are a couple of SOBOs a day ahead of us and they have left comments about the water which has been super useful)
I hadn’t seen any of my friends today. I had a brief thought that they weren’t going to come here and they had decided to ditch me and camp elsewhere. But May Queen showed up about 45 minutes later. Then Lemonhope and Toe arrived about half an hour after that, followed by Cal a bit later.
I ate snacks for dinner. It’s still so mild that I don’t have much of an appetite at the moment.
We all had a big discussion about a potential finish date. It’s hard to please 5 individuals but I think we managed to come up with something we all agree on. If it works out the date will be pleasing to me because my NOBO and SOBO hikes will be exactly the same length. It means we have to average 22.3 a day over the next 45 days. Doable.
It’s warm tonight and I’m topless (no rain fly) I just hope there is no condensation. The others are cowboy camping so they will be wet too if there is. Lemonhope has set up his tent which pleases me as it means I’m not the only Softie here.
Going topless tonight
