Appalachian Trail - Day 038 - Mount Rogers National Recreation Area HQ to Tilson Gap

Day: 038

Date: Thursday, 01 June 2023

Start:  Mount Rogers National Recreation Area HQ (AT Mile 534.3) but staying in Marion

Finish:  Tilson Gap (AT Mile 555.1)

Daily Kilometres:  33.0

GPX Track:  Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos

Total Kilometres:  935.4

Weather:  Warm and sunny 

Accommodation:  Tent 

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  McDonald's big breakfast 

  Lunch:  Chimichanga/Burrito, ice-creams

  Dinner:  Rehydrated meals 

Aches:  Dave - chronic left ankle injury giving him some grief after he rolled it a couple of times in the first few miles; Julie - nothing to report.

Highlight:  The Appalachian Trail lived up to its nickname of "The Cafe Trail" today when we were able to stop in at a Mexican restaurant for lunch and get an ice-cream afterwards at the adjoining service station as the trail crossed a freeway exit.  Decadence!

Lowlight:  None really.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

Our wait for the bus back to the trail from the bus stop outside Walmart this morning was enlivened by the arrival of multiple police cars responding, we were told by our driver, to reports that a man was wandering through store carrying a machete.  Apparently he was apprehended without difficulty.

The bus driver was a bit of a character and was telling everyone who would listen how Julie had caught the bus yesterday out to a nearby recreation area, on her day off from hiking the AT, to go for a run and not only that, but she didn't wait for the bus to take her back to town, but ran back instead!  The legend of Julie grows and won't be helped by her participation again in the annual June push-up challenge to raise money for mental health.  Every time she takes her pack off now, she's doing some push-ups!

Anyway, fuelled by a big Macca's breakfast and after our on-time bus trip back to the trail, we were hiking by 8:45am on a beautiful sunny morning.  The only downsides were the five days of food in our packs, and the rocky uneven trail.  But the forest was the usual multiple shades of bright green, the wildflowers abundant and the birds were singing.

After the first few hours of difficult trail, we began a long and easier descent to the freeway exit at Atkins, passing on the way an historic wooden schoolhouse with the original desks still in place.

At Atkins, we took advantage of the Mexican restaurant for a late lunch and had an ice-cream before crossing under the freeway and beginning a slow and sweaty climb back into the mountains, the first part of which was across some lovely meadows. It's very noticeable how much warmer it is out of the forest and in the sun.

We were planning to camp around 6:15pm, but there were already a few hikers in residence at the only campsites and we prefer to camp on our own.  We carried on hiking, but it was another hour before we found another tent site, so a late finish, but a spectacular site overlooking a valley with mountains all around.