We spent a couple of hours there building cairns and playing in the water.
Monday, July 8, 2013
July 1 - Cove Mountain Shelter to Bryant Ridge Shelter (mile 748.5 to 755.5)
Swimming Hole Day! We
played in a swimming hole. I saw a snake on the other side of the creek, sunning
itself. Will threw rocks at it and we are 99% sure he severed it in half.
Heeheehee!
We spent a couple of hours there building cairns and playing in the water.
We hiked 7miles to a big, beautiful 20-person shelter with a nice privy,
except for the palm-sized spider inside. Will was our hero and killed it. The
shelter had two posts that had eyelets in them that were the perfect space apart
to hang my hammock, so I lounged for a bit.
We spent a couple of hours there building cairns and playing in the water.
June 30 - Wilson Creek Shelter to Cove Mountain Shelter (mile 734.7 to 748.5)
We stopped at Bobblets Gap Shelter where there was a very nice privy. It had a clear roof so there was light inside and you didn't have to wear a headlamp. It was clean, not having a bunch of spiders in it. If the nice privy is the highlight of our day, you can see that this part of the trail isn't so exciting. Not so good for Rachel.
Rachel and I almost walked past Cove Mountain Shelter, so we thought Will, who was hiking ahead of us a bit, may have missed it, too. I yelled for him, but heard no answer. So I blew my whistle. Will, who was actually in the shelter, scolded me and reminded me that the whistle is for emergencies. We said, 'It WAS an emergency. We didn't want to have to hike any further to find you!'
While making supper, Rachel spilled her noodles on the floor. Now she experienced first hand the sad feelings I had when I spilled my Mac and cheese a while back. Haha!
June 29- Daleville, VA to Wilson Creek Shelter (mile 723.5 to 734.7)
We didn't leave for the trail very early.
After Penny dropped us off at the trail to drive home, we decided to go to
Wendy's for lunch before heading out. When food is an option, it is the ONLY
option!
We hiked 11 miles on Rachel's first day, a great deal for her first day
with a full 37 pound pack! At one point we had to cross a fence using a stile. We have seen a few different kinds.
That night it rained and the water was blowing in on us,
even though we were sleeping at the back of the shelter. We hung our tarps up
across the open front to try to keep the rain out.
June 28 Daleville, VA - zero day
We bought new (smaller) back packs and did laundry.
Rachel, a friend from church, is doing her senior project for Greenwood High School on the topic of the Appalachian Trail. She is going to spend a week hiking with us. She has never hiked or camped before. It should be quite the adventure!
Rachel and her mom Penny arrived today and we went to 'The Home Place' for dinner. They serve food family style, I haven't gone to a restaurant that does this before. It's like they don't want to make any money, they just kept giving us more and more food because they knew we were hikers. Rachel ate two bowls of mashed potatoes herself and she hadn't even hiked yet! We convinced Rachel to send home her heavier sleeping bag and use a blanket from her car instead.
Rachel, a friend from church, is doing her senior project for Greenwood High School on the topic of the Appalachian Trail. She is going to spend a week hiking with us. She has never hiked or camped before. It should be quite the adventure!
Rachel and her mom Penny arrived today and we went to 'The Home Place' for dinner. They serve food family style, I haven't gone to a restaurant that does this before. It's like they don't want to make any money, they just kept giving us more and more food because they knew we were hikers. Rachel ate two bowls of mashed potatoes herself and she hadn't even hiked yet! We convinced Rachel to send home her heavier sleeping bag and use a blanket from her car instead.
June 27- Johns Spring Shelter to Daleville, VA (mile 704.7 to 723.5)
Today we made it to McAfee
Knob, which is the most photographed spot on the AT.
A trail Angel gave us sodas and pointed out where we would be hiking the rest of the day from the knob. We hiked Tinker Cliffs, which were literally parts of the trail on the edge of a cliff. Will kept walking on the very edge, jumping gaps from rock to rock. I pretended to be his mother and said, 'Don't fall! Stop doing that, you're going to fall!'
We wanted to make it in to town in time for BBQ, but we were very tired. Luckily, the restaurant was open until 9:30! Since we were hikers, we got free banana pudding. Yumm!
A trail Angel gave us sodas and pointed out where we would be hiking the rest of the day from the knob. We hiked Tinker Cliffs, which were literally parts of the trail on the edge of a cliff. Will kept walking on the very edge, jumping gaps from rock to rock. I pretended to be his mother and said, 'Don't fall! Stop doing that, you're going to fall!'
We wanted to make it in to town in time for BBQ, but we were very tired. Luckily, the restaurant was open until 9:30! Since we were hikers, we got free banana pudding. Yumm!
June 26- Pickle Branch Shelter to Johns Spring Shelter (mile 691.1 to 704.7)
We stayed at the shelter late because we we talking with our friends. Hiked to Dragons Tooth. Climbing up up was easy, but the thought of climbing back down terrified me! Will
climbed all the way to the top! I didn't want him to go up there, but I knew he
would anyway.
Will is more daring than I am!
We climbed down the Dragons Back luckily before it started raining. And by that, I mean poured. We learned a lesson about sticking with your hiking partner because our friends Salamander and Poptart got separated and kept chasing after each other in the rain.
Later this day we almost got attacked by a cow. It was like he was a thug, standing on the trail with his cronies behind him, saying, 'Do you wanna go past me! Huh? Do ya? Wanna fight, bro? Do ya?' He kept stomping his foot. His buddies got tired and walked away and he realized he had no back-up, so he let us go by, with a look that said, 'Just this once.'
June 25- Laurel Creek Shelter to Pickle Branch Shelter (mile 668.5 to 691.1)
Today was a 23 mile hike. We saw the Keiffer Oak Tree, which is one of the largest oak trees on the Appalachian trail. It is 18 feet in circumference! It was HUGE!
Today is the fifth anniversary of Will and Sofia's first date. We got a cell phone signal, so we took a break and he got to call his girly friend!
We hiked along bits of an exposed ridge line and crossed big rock slabs. I tripped and fell, but I caught myself in a squishy spot. The worst of my injuries were some tiny splinters that I discovered a few days later and had Will dig out! Our water filter kept getting clogged and it held us up for a bit. We still had 10 miles to go at 4pm and had a brutal hike left. There was a bench along the trail that tempted us, but we worried that if we sat down we might not get back up. We did end up stopping at the Audie Murphy monument. He was the most decorated soldier in WW2.
It seems like they overlooked the maintenance of the overlook.
We got to do our first night hike, not arriving at the shelter until after 9pm. We hiked a mile and a half in the dark. That might not seem like a lot, but that is 45 minutes of hiking in the pitch black! Our hike was rewarded by seeing our friends Poptart and Salamander at the shelter. Salamander just wanted to chitchat, but we wanted to sleep!
Today is the fifth anniversary of Will and Sofia's first date. We got a cell phone signal, so we took a break and he got to call his girly friend!
We hiked along bits of an exposed ridge line and crossed big rock slabs. I tripped and fell, but I caught myself in a squishy spot. The worst of my injuries were some tiny splinters that I discovered a few days later and had Will dig out! Our water filter kept getting clogged and it held us up for a bit. We still had 10 miles to go at 4pm and had a brutal hike left. There was a bench along the trail that tempted us, but we worried that if we sat down we might not get back up. We did end up stopping at the Audie Murphy monument. He was the most decorated soldier in WW2.
It seems like they overlooked the maintenance of the overlook.
We got to do our first night hike, not arriving at the shelter until after 9pm. We hiked a mile and a half in the dark. That might not seem like a lot, but that is 45 minutes of hiking in the pitch black! Our hike was rewarded by seeing our friends Poptart and Salamander at the shelter. Salamander just wanted to chitchat, but we wanted to sleep!
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