Appalachian Trail SOBO Day 73 – Summer to Winter overnight
7th october 2023
Gravel Springs Hut (1239.7) - Rock Spring Hut (1268.1)
Daily miles: 28.4
Total miles: 1275.5
We all woke up to rain. It rained a lot in the night but it wasn’t too bad now, drizzle and mostly drip from the trees.
We were all up and about by 6am and the strange guy in the shelter said “you’re not really going to hike in the dark and the rain?!” Then he said we must all be in our 20s and said “you don’t do that when you’re in your 40s”. I told him that was incorrect.
He said a bunch of other stupid stuff, which I can’t bring to mind right now, but everything he said made me roll my eyes and I packed up and got out of there as quickly as I could.
I walked out with Lemonhope and we hiked down the trail for about 15 minutes by headlamp. The daylight is coming later and later.
The mornings are so dark
The weather wasn’t too bad in the trees, it was raining a bit but it was more like we were in a cloud rather than actually raining. We had discussed before about walking on the road to the wayside to avoid getting soaked from all the brush. When we got to the road we walked along a small portion and it was awful, windy and rainy - no shelter from the trees - and the visibility was so poor, we decided it would actually be better to walk on the trail because we would be more sheltered and we would be less likely to get run over.
Taking the road was a bad decisions - too exposed!
The rain got worse and I was thankful for my umbrella, my left arm always gets more wet than the right as I clip my umbrella into my right side. The left arm was soggy. I hiked up the switch backs and Lemonhope left me behind because I’m slow on the uphill. It was so dark up near the top I nearly had to get my headlamp out again.
On the other side I started to get really cold. I had my Buff around my head like a balaclava. It was too cold and wet to stop to get any more layers out so I just had to keep moving. There was no chance of dry feet with all the puddles and the brush.
A very wet and windy morning
It got really dark in the trees
Golden
I passed Lemonhope when he was stopped to put a warm layer on. I made it to the wayside and the other 3 were there having walked the road. The said it was super sketchy and they walked with their headlamps on flashing mode so the cars could see them. They were all wet and shivering and drinking coffee. The grill didn’t open until 11am (and it was only 9am) so no hope of a burger. I went in to see if they had any other hot drinks besides coffee and they didn’t so I went without anything hot.
Trying to keep warm
We sat around outside for about an hour. Hung our waterproof coats in the bathroom because it was warm in there; if there hadn’t been so many people going in and out I would have just sat in there. I ate the rest of my Biscoff so I could throw the jar away.
Trying to keep dry
Then it was time to get going again. We hiked on the road for 3 miles. I don’t think this is saving us any distance but it is easier and quicker to walk along the road as you don’t have to concentrate on not tripping. My feet were agony for the first 20 minutes. They were so cold and sore I felt like I was walking in stumps.
Road walking through the Shenandoah
We were rewarded with a couple of nice lookouts and some sunshine to warm us up and dry us out. I was actually pretty dry from using the brolly and rain skirt.
Wahoo, the sun!
We came to a ranger station where we could fill up our bottles, use the loo and pick up a permit because there were none available to fill out when we entered the park. Thankfully we only need one piece of paper for the group so May Queen attached it to her pack.
Pit stop
We then rejoined the trail where everyone else was hiking for the day. So many day hikers. It is a Saturday. We were passing most people and holding our ground as the people coming down had no intention of moving to let us by.
When we got to the top there was a 0.1 blue blaze to get to a lookout so we decided to go up there and there were HUNDREDS of people up there! It was such a circus. So we stayed for about 2 minutes and went back down and got back on the AT where hopefully the day hikers would disappear. They didn’t. There were fewer of them but they were still out there.
Day hiker central
They came here for the views
CHAOS
Blending in with the day hikers
Hiker super highway
I somehow found myself out in front and we had a nice walk in the afternoon. On the way up to another lookout we were passing more day hikers and I was banging my poles on the rocks to signal we were right behind them and they would turn around and look at us and then just keep walking!
I was doing a pretty good job leading, maintaining a good pace, although a lot slower on the uphill parts. They said I was quick although I think they were just humouring the Old Girl.
Views on views
Reds and greens
We went through a variety of layers today. The sun was hot but the wind was cold, and it was gusty. My hat and Buff were on and off throughout the day and my coat went on and off a couple of times.
We came to a picnic area were there were loads of people and a sign saying “enjoy a short walk on the Appalachian trail”. We stopped to use bathrooms and get water. It was 4pm and we still had 9 miles to go.
Enjoying a short hike
It was getting colder and colder and we got our gloves out now. We hiked up to the Skyland resort where we could have stopped for food, but I had a feeling it would be busy with people and if we carried on now we had a chance of getting to the shelter before it got dark, and we all have food. It would have been nice to have eaten something real but I didn’t want to hang about in the cold so we carried on. It got colder again and all I could think about was stopping hiking and getting all my warm clothes on. We prayed there was no one at the shelter.
Climbing up that
Can you see Skyline Drive (the road)
Trees and fields
Loving the colours
Friends in the distance
The last few miles were a struggle for me. My legs were so heavy and I could feel the cold creeping in to my bones. I was also getting really hungry. We stopped to filter water and I carried both bottles full in the anticipation that I would make hot ramen but knowing full well that I wouldn’t be bothered. So I carried all that weight for nothing just to make it a bit harder on my body!
Filtering water
Final push to the shelter
At the shelter there were 3 people already in it but room for us thankfully, so we set up and ate quickly. I had the rest of the turkey, cheese and crisps.
I’m now in my bag, on the edge of being warm enough and with my hips feeling especially sore.
We have walked together a lot today which has been nice, in fact I’ve not listened to anything on my pone which means apart from the 6 miles this morning we’ve been together all day. It been a chaotic but great day. And to think yesterday we were sweating in the heat and humidity and wishing for cooler weather. Now we have it… and I’m not ready for it!!
