Sounds of the Desert

 

For you visual folks (you know who you are), my pictures are at this link: http://travel.webshots.com/album/561105427KNqUjY?vhost=travel

Not being able to continue southbound is probably the worst part of this trip; knowing I may never even get to complete the journey. The AT has a definite pull. I first started feeling it last year. Came out of nowhere, really. Then this year, a good friend got to actually hike it northbound. I was his support and lived vicariously through him. I still hate him for it.

So, with one week of vacation left for the year, I decided I'd take away my own little slice of AT. I dug and scrounged for a hiking partner, but alas, nobody was available. I would be going solo. But, are you ever really solo on the AT?

I had a busy weekend up on Kelley's Island with my Yahoo Group the weekend before I left. We were hiking around the island and doing general site-seeing and tasting the local wine and brew. I had to rush to get home on Sunday afternoon so I could continue south to Damascus, VA where the Fridge would be picking me up and shuttling me to my drop off point north of Damascus. Once back in Columbus, I was non-stop trying to pull everything together. I hit the road and was taking my key to my apartment to a friend of mine when I realized, about 20 minutes from home, that I didn't have any duct tape or my headlamp. I confirmed my headlamp was nowhere to be found and I knew exactly where I had left it, in my other tent that I used over the weekend. Figures. I dropped off my key and headed back home to pick up my last forgotten items.

On the road again, it was about 18:30 by now. I made a quick phone call to a B&B in Damascus to find that everyone had their "No Vacancy" signs up. I really didn't want to wake up any thru-hikers that might be staying at The Place (a hostel in a church), so I opted to find a hotel room about 30'ish miles north west of Damascus.

Day 1
The next morning, I woke up at O'darkthirty and hit the road to meet the Fridge at Dave's Place, another Hostel in town. Let me first say, don't follow Mapquest directions from Westerville, OH to Damascus, VA. They take you around in an unnecessary circle just north of Damascus. What the Hell?  My meeting time was 07:00 and Fridge was already there waiting for me. It was a pleasure to meet Fridge and he gave me some outstanding information about the area. He also informed me of the water situation, which is a growing concern. Thanks again for helping me out, Fridge!

At the trailhead of the AT at Fox Creek, we parted ways and I hit the trail around 07:45. I was at 3,480'.  I noticed there were some people camped back in the trees right there at the trail head. I wondered if I'd meet them again at some point. I started heading up the mountain and made a note that the Old Orchard Shelter was only about 2 miles up trail and decided to stop there to eat breakfast. It was a pretty area with the shelter looking out over a pretty meadow that would otherwise be engulfed in forest. After eating, signing the shelter register and using the privy, I hit the trail again. Well, what I thought was the trail. Apparently, the trail didn't got straight past the shelter. This must have been the trail to the dry spring. I must have walked that about 4 times before I figured out where the trail actually went. It was a bit frustrating being that I was only on trail for an hour before that happened. Nobody double blazed to let me know that the trail actually turned right before the shelter.....

So, back on trail, I continued heading south and up. My next stop would be Pine Mountain, 4,960' (elevation gain of 1,480'). I climbed it like it was nothing. I reached the top of the bald and the views were outstanding. I had an entire mountain to myself. From here, I placed a quick phone call to my sister to let her know I was on trail, I might have cell reception from high points, but to not guarantee anything. Right.

I took in the view from on top for a few more minutes and decided to head on. I started down the mountain with Stone Mountain being my next destination. On the way, and not far from the top of Pine, I met a 76 year old man and his dog. I stopped and talked to him for a while. His name was Tom, and he was from Brown County, IN. He grew up near the Deam Wilderness and roamed that land before there was a lake there. He said he's been coming to the Mt Roger's area for years around this time and roams around here now for a couple of weeks every year. I hope to be as fit and active as he is at 76 years old. He looked great! As we were going opposite directions, we parted ways and I continued onto Stone Mountain.

I hit the Scales area (a horse coral) about an hour or so later and started heading up Stone Mountain (4,820'). Here, I threw down my pack and found a nice shade tree to sit under. It was also here that I started seeing evidence of wild ponies that frequent this area. At first I thought it was regular horses, but this area is for foot travel only. I looked at the mountains around me and realized how colorful everything was. Flaming reds, yellows, oranges, greens; the fall colors were really peaking. The skies were blue and the sun was warm.

About a half hour later, I decided to get up and moving, lest I wouldn't move at all for the rest of the day. My destination was Wise Shelter, 8 miles from my starting point. I started crossing boundary lines and near my second last boundary, I noticed a very fresh pile of manure. I looked around, but didn't see anything. I continued on to Wise Shelter, laid down my mat in the shelter and took a little nap before eating lunch. I got to the shelter at around 1'ish. Way early. I couldn't believe it. This is such a big change for me from around a year ago, or even this summer. I think I got my mojo back.

I ate lunch and around 16:00 - 16:30, 2 guys and a girl showed up. I believe they were in their mid-20's and I sat and talked to them for a while. They were extremely friendly. Ross, Graham, and Caroline are from South Carolina and were on a short backpacking trip to celebrate their being finished with their exams for physical therapy school. They also rubbed in the fact that they saw a heard of feral ponies walking the trail right in front of them where I saw the fresh manure. Dammit. They were also the group that was camped at the Fox Creek trailhead (so I apologized if I woke them up in the morning....).

About a half hour later, a couple of guys from Lancaster, Ohio showed up. Livestrong had thru-hiked the AT in '05 and it was his first time back on the AT since then. He was still in thru-hiker mode pushing 15-18 mile days. His friend was not a thru-hiker. Poor guy.

The SC crew decided to head back to a campsite before the Grayson Highlands boundary and camp near a stream. They invited me and then the other two guys to join them for the night if we felt like it. I decided to eat dinner at the shelter and head to their campsite (4,300'). Classic words from Caroline's mouth when I asked if the offer was still good to camp with them; "Sure! We're not weird or anything..." About a half hour later, the other two joined as well. We set up camp, gathered wood and enjoyed the fire and company of the night. Everyone was so incredibly nice. They shared their booze with me.

We finally hit the sack around 23:00. I'd decided to take my time in getting up the next morning as I had only planned on staying at Thomas Knob Shelter.

Day 2
"The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry". But totally in a good way. I woke up a bit earlier then anticipated. The Lancaster boys were already gone and the SC crew were just getting up and around. I ate breakfast with them and they said I could hike with them for the day and camp again with them for the night if I wanted. They had something near Deep Gap picked out and the extra 2 miles that day taking off 2 miles from my next day's hike sounded very appealing.

So, we hit the trail at around 09:30'ish and headed up to Massie Gap (4,800'). We wondered around this area which was where the AT Spur Trail (a blue blazed trail) was. It lead up to Massie Gap and then onto the State Campgrounds. Lots of rocks to crawl around on here. And lots and lots of views. This is where we started to really experience the Grayson Highlands.

The area was almost mystical to me. I've never been in a place such as this. The balds and rocks of the high points, the forests of the valleys. Everything was incredible. There are so many shrub like plants that I want to identify. Everything was so colorful in its fall form. We were walking along the AT and Graham saw a white dot off in the distance in one of the valleys. We sat and watched it for a while and then it moved. Indeed, it was my first wild pony sighting. It had a foal with it that was a chestnut color. The white pony wasn't all white, it had a sorrel head. Very unique. Little by little, as we looked and watched a couple more moved around and we were able to watch them graze as well. Mind you, the were a good quarter of a mile away. We moved on and started heading up toward Wilburn Ridge where the Rhododendron Trail and the Wilburn Trail cross the AT. We took a good long break up there and took in the 360* views. Absolutely breath-taking.

After about an hour, we were starting to get hungry and decided to press on to Thomas Knobb Shelter and eat lunch there before heading on toward Deep Gap. We had to go up a big pile o' rocks and we hit the highest point I'd reach on the trail (I think) at 5,526' (just 200' less then the highest point in VA, Mt Rogers).  We got to Thomas Knobb and it was apparent that there might be some weather moving in. Thankfully, it just clouded up and didn't do much else. As I was sitting at the picnic table tending to my feet and the SC crew were behind the shelter taking in the views, my friend Tom and his puppy from the day before showed up.   He had taken the Pine Trail the other direction and was camping at some campsites just beyond the shelter. It was nice to see him again and he provided some valuable information to the SC crew for the rest of their hike.

Then we were off. We hit our campsite at around 16:30'ish (only a 7 mile day, but what a great area to take out time). We found the water source about a quarter of a mile from where we camped and filled up as much as possible so we didn't have to keep going down to the source. It was a walk, that's for certain. That night, we talked and shared Jim and enjoyed a small fire. It was warmer tonight, probably because of the cloud cover. I decided to hit the sack earlier tonight because I had a 10 mile hike up the second highest peak in VA to make in the morning and knowing I was unable to reach my sister today, I wanted to reach the top early in hopes of finding a signal.

That night we got a little rain. The area needed more, but it will see more in a couple of days.

Day 3
I was up at 06:30 this morning. I ate, went down for more water and packed my gear up. By the time I was getting around to packing, the others were getting up as well. I gave them my e-mail address, we said our goodbyes and we parted ways. It was a nice to be able to share the trail with them.

I hit the trail at 08:00. I reached the area known as Elk Garden (a big grassy bald/pasture with views of Whitetop Mountain) at around 09:30 and decided to give the cell phone another shot. No go. So, I started up Whitetop. It was a good 700' climb to my highest point of 5,200'ish feet. There was a campsite there and some bricks for chairs. I stood up on the bricks and was able to get a cell signal. Just as I told my sister that I wouldn't get signal again until I reached Damascus on Friday, my phone cut out on me. I didn't know if she had heard me, so this prompted me to make a decision. I'd be hiking 15 miles out the next day. It was actually okay as I really wanted to push myself and see what I was capable of.

The rest of the day was mostly downhill from Whitetop Mountain. It hurt..... just a little.   The highest point to the lowest was 2,040 down in about 4.5 miles. Talk about a quad burner, but my destination was Lost Mountain Shelter for the night. One section coming off that mountain, my footing gave on some small loose rock and my right quad caught me. I pulled something and it hurt for the rest of my hike like you would not believe. I took a break at the first road crossing coming down from the mountain which was supposed to be my lunch. I felt okay at the time and opted for a Snickers bar.

After a bit, I started walking again. I had to go through another pasture, this time there were cows. They watched me pass by like it was just another day. Lazy and laying in the shade, not a care in the world. Well, except for when they get good and fat and have to go to slaughter. ANYWAY......

Mind you, I'm still heading down. This down thing sucks. I'd rather climb, thank you. I finally reached my first US 58 crossing (there are 3 of them) and the lowest point for the day. What's this? Running water? You have got to be kidding me!! I haven't seen running water in steam form since day one. So, I cameled up here and headed up the remaining 200' to Lost Mountain Shelter. I reached the shelter, early again, at around 14:00'ish. I decided I was going to pitch my tent behind the shelter in the pine stand. Since I only ate a Snickers bar at the one road crossing, I was of course bonking in a bad way. Once I pitched my tent, I laid down and took a nap. I got up at around 16:30 and ate a big dinner tonight, by adding Ramen to my Lipton sides meal with pouched chicken. It really hit the spot and I really needed that protein for my muscles. I hung my food, took some Aleve and drank a good bit of water. I was crashed by 20:00. I slept through the night with nothing but the occasional gust of wind that woke me up.

Day 4
I was up at 6:00. It was still pitch black and I had to go to the privy. Getting there wasn't an issue. Getting back however..... I thought I was on the trail leading from the privy to the shelter. Turns out I somehow lost that trail. As I was walking, I hit another trail and couldn't figure out which way was back to the shelter. I thought, "if worse comes to worse, I'll site down on the trail and wait for it to get light". Well, I walked just a little ways and saw a white blaze. How the hell did I get back on the AT??? I turned around and followed the trail back the other direction and found the sign pointing to the shelter. So, I found my way back with no problem, just a little confused as to how it happened in the first place. Today I packed up as much as I could before going to get water. I wanted to have a little light before I headed down into the Rhodo thicket where the pipe was.

I grabbed my water bottle and sat at the pipe for about 10 minutes, waiting for it to fill up. The water was just a trickle, but much needed for today's hike. There is a stream along the way, but it would be difficult to get down to.

I was on the trail early again, at about 08:00. I didn't think there would be any views today, just forest, as I was back in the low country. I started walking down first thing. I was going pretty fast as I knew I had to get as much mileage in as possible before I really got tired. 15 miles is the biggest day I've ever hiked. I think I may have been going to fast, however, as I took a step down and my left ankle gave out on me (my right ankle had been giving me all the problems this summer, but held out for this hike). Thankfully, I didn't try to correct it and just kind of fell in that direction. I somehow landed on my right knee, but was able to pop right back up. My left ankle didn't hurt at all and everything was still in tact. Hike on. A little more cautiously this time.

I had my hardest climb this day. I had to climb Straight Mountain, and when they say Straight, they mean Straight up and Straight down. Well, that's how it felt, anyway. It was only a 900' climb, but it seemed much worse. This was actually switch backed. I was nearly to the top when it started raining. I threw my poncho on, and as I was standing there sucking on water, I felt something watching me. I turned around and there was a doe standing not 10' away from me. We stood and watched each other. I slowly took my camera out and took a couple really crappy pictures of her. Oh well.... I turned around and left her to her business.

At the top of Straight Mountain, I came across the sign that said "Damascus - 6 miles". 9 miles down, 6 to go, and it was only 11:30. Hey, not bad time at all. Well, little did I know that last 6 miles would be my toughest.... I continued on down Straight mountain (did I mention it was nearly straight down?) and once at the bottom, I started seeing the stream the Creeper Trail follows. Unfortunately, there isn't an easy was to get water here. But, I did find a really sweet campsite within earshot of the stream (there may have even been a trail down to the stream, but I didn't investigate). I was only about 5 miles from Damascus and really wanted to keep pressing on. I had slowed way down and it was becoming evident that I wouldn't make it into town until mid-afternoon.

I had to stop before I even made it to my second US 58 crossing to eat lunch. I was starting to bonk again. Unfortunately, there were no really good places to stop, so I sat down in the middle of the trail. I ate my left over chicken from the night before and had another Snickers bar and chugged more water. After tending to the feet once again, I got up and started moving. Only a half mile later I hit my road crossing and more water. I filled up here to push on for my last 4.5 miles.

Here I was taken by surprise by one last push up. I was already tired, but push on I did. I was ecstatic when I saw the sign that said "Damascus ~ 3 miles". 3 miles to a shower. 3 miles to real food. 3 miles to a bed. That last 3 miles took forever. I walked into Damascus like other SOBO's did. I was stared at by every passing vehicle. It was a little weird. But fun. I walked over to Mt Roger's Outfitters and arranged to stay at their hostel for the night. I showered, and promptly walked over to Sicily's pizza for.... wait for it..... Pizza.   And Mountain Dew. I craved Mountain Dew like crazy. I still am. It's all very strange.

Day 5
That night at the hostel, I slept worse than I had the entire week before (I slept really, really well in the entire week up until my night in the hostel). I woke up with puffy eyes and general nastiness. It kind of sucked. I was wishing I were still out in the woods.

I decided, even though my right heel was all tore up, to try and head up to Grayson Highlands again and spend some time walking around. Unfortunately, the area was completely socked in and raining and it showed no signs of letting up. So, I walked around for about an hour and a half and headed back to Damascus for lunch. After lunch, and as I was heading home, I saw a SOBO walking into town. Dammit! He was only a day behind me. He was wearing a Mountain Hardware kilt like I had bought for Green Hornet's thru-hike. He was the only thru-hiker I saw on the trail and I seriously gave some thought to stopping and talking to him. But, I figured he probably just put in a 15 mile day as well and was ready for a shower and food. It was with a heavy heart that I headed back to Ohio. I always did hate going home.

My time on the trail never seems to be long enough. Anytime a trip ends, it's always bitter-sweet. But, I know where to go back to. This area would be amazing in the winter time. Anyone up for a winter trip to Grayson Highlands?

Things I learned:
Always double check your gear before hitting the road.
Ductape, it can save your life. Or at least a heel.
Cows like to watch hikers stroll past.... a lot.
When you want to see ponies, they stay away. Way far away.
I can do 15 miles in a day, but when I have 3 miles to go before the end of the day, I can be found kissing signs.