Appalachian Trail SOBO Day 90 – Just a beautiful day
24th October 2023
Chestnut Knob Shelter (1628.6) - Settlers Museum VA 615 (1655.4)
Daily miles: 26.8
Total miles: 1657.1
It was an interesting night. Rabbit Foot slept with his open food bag next to his head and I could hear the mouse scurrying around in it. He also wakes up multiple times to eat throughout the night, so I could hear him unwrapping things and in the silence of the shelter I could hear him chewing and swallowing. Toe has a hole in her air mat so she is having to blow that up multiple times a night.
Eventually I put my ear plugs in and slept pretty well after that. It was so nice and warm I was too hot in my sleeping bag.
The sunrise was really nice on the top of the hill and as it doesn’t come up until 7:15am it’s not hard to get up in time to see it.
Sunrise
Chestnut Knob
The shelter I slept in last night
I went to use the privy which was a 3 sided one and I was really constipated so that was a problem. I was in there ages and nothing worked itself out.
3 sided privy
We discussed going a bit further than the planned 22 miles so we had less to do to town tomorrow and I saw there was the Settlers Museum, which I remembered from last time, and the comments said people had camped in the school building so I suggested we go there.
Inside the shelter
We left the shelter at 7:45am and I walked with Toe for a while. The trail was so nice, we had great views and it was pretty warm and all downhill to the next water, which was absolutely freezing! I collected a bit of water, I had drunk a whole bottle already this morning in a bid to combat my dehydration. Climbed up again and it got really warm, like someone was blowing warm air. The change was crazy. Down again to the cold and to a river crossing which thankfully was rock hoppable because the bridge was washed away. I had drunk abother bottle and filled it up again. It was 11am and I’d already drunk more than I normally do in a day. The down side to this of course was that I was constantly peeing.
Morning views
Sunshine
Hiking with Toe
Empty water cache. Who picks up the bottles?
Rhododendron forest
It was freezing down here next to the water
Those colours though
Found some water under the leaves
So yellow
Wow
I was going uphill again and Cal caught up to me just after I stopped to pee for the 10th time. And we hiked together until about 12:15pm where we found a pavilion and stopped for lunch. I was pretty hungry today and I’d eaten both my super size Twix and Milky Way already.
Water is getting harder to find
Noodles and Pringles, lunch of champions
Lunch under a pavilion
I made noodles for lunch and I was looking at Far Out and there is a restaurant marked but it’s closed on a Tuesday, then I remembered that I had Mexican food there last time and there is a Mexican restaurant attached to the gas station so we made plans to go there. I was hiking again by 1:15pm
The trail was really nice and it went through pastures which were really hot as it was clear day and the sun was pretty intense. There were a few styles to go over and after one I nearly walked into a big orange spider. I was trying to get a photo of it and Toe caught up to me.
Hot in the open fields
Danger spider
We continued to walk through open fields and boardwalk and then I caught back up to Toe who had been stopped because there were some cows in the trail. I herded them off and we were back on our way. There were a few ups and downs and Toe and Jet were off ahead and I was making my way slowing up the climbs. I had gone about 6 miles when I heard people behind me. Safety Inspector was coming up fast and said they had gotten a soda at the pavilion from the hostel down the road!
Views of fields
Cows in the trail
Him and his 6ft long legs zoom by then Sidequest and Howard come up behind me running to catch up with him. It’s too hot for me to go that fast! (Who am I kidding, I couldn’t go that fast if it was cold.)
I catch up to them as they as stopped at the top of the climb and then May Queen and Lemonhope appeared. We all walk together with about 4.8 miles left to get to the the Mexican. We chat about all sorts of things and I’m keeping up even with Safety in the lead.
We made it 3 quarters of the way!
When we get to the downhill Safety starts to pick up the pace and we all start running to keep up which was sketchy as I was pretty sure I would fall over. I had already taken a fall earlier in the day!
May Queen
Hiker train through the grass
Praying mantis?
Fields
The official AT
Anyway, we ran a part of the the trail and it was quite fun, then we realised there was still a way to go so everyone slowed down and we all caught up to each other again by the road and walked the road together. We got there at 5:45pm which was quick as I was anticipating being there around 6:30! Toe and Jet were already there and eating chips and salsa. We weren’t allowed our packs inside but the lady in the gas station next door said we could store our packs in there which was really nice, there was a door inside between the restaurant and the gas station.
When Toe said there was 9 of us (Rabbit Foot didn’t stop) he said they don’t normally serve big groups - even though they were completely empty at the time - but he made an exception. Weird business decision to not serve big groups but there you go.
I chose chicken fajitas again because Mexican menus are so overwhelming. I went to use the loo and still nothing. Just a tiny pellet the size of a mouse poo.
Chicken Fajitas
We left the restaurant at 7pm and walked to the next gas station just down the road where the others brought beers, and then we hiker trained the next 2.9 miles with me in the lead. I think I did a pretty decent job of pacing and we got there in about an hour or so. We did have to stop half way in because it was so hot and we had all layered up before leaving.
El Burrito Loco and a gas station. Winning combo.
Choosing their beers
Night hiking
We got to the school house and moved all the tables to the side. There are 7 of us in here tonight. Some of us went to find the bathrooms where there was water. I attempted the toilet. Still nothing. But I needed to go. It’s been right there since this morning. It just won’t come out. Hopefully those Mexican beans will work overnight.
I walked back with Howard and May Queen. Howard had a confession – 2 days ago when we became the SOBO super bubble, and our two groups merged, Howard was not keen on this happening because it would change the dynamic, and being an introvert amongst a bunch of extroverts was his idea of hell. But he confessed that thought we were actually alright.
There is a lot of chatter about introverts and extraverts in our groups conversations. I think we have a good mix of both, but I’m never sure where I sit on that scale, I think I am somewhere in the middle.
When we got back to the school house people were shouting about ticks. Toe had one crawling on her and Safety had the tiniest one I’ve ever seen burrowed into his leg. I don’t know how he even saw it.
I had one crawling on me. My instinct was to flick it off but May Queen swooped in and picked it off and burnt it with her lighter. We all checked everywhere for ticks and now lying in my sleeping bag I feel like they are crawling all over me. They are so horrible.
It’s been such a good day today. A good mix of alone and group hiking. Real food. Good company. Beautiful scenery and great trail. And cows. And now we are sleeping inside.
A night in an old school house
The ticks weren’t a great end to the day but there we are.
