Appalachian Trail - Day 044 - Pearisburg to Dismal Branch

Day: 044

Date: Wednesday, 07 June 2023

Start:  Pearisburg (AT Mile 636.1)

Finish:  Dismal Branch (AT Mile 657.5)

Daily Kilometres:  34.5 (Ascent 4642', Descent 4259')

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

Total Kilometres:  1107.0

Weather:  Mild and mostly overcast with some smoke haze and a brief afternoon shower.

Accommodation:  Tent

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Breakfast platter, milkshakes.

  Lunch:  Ham & cheese roll/Turkey & cheese roll.

  Dinner:  Noodles with chicken

Aches:  Dave - a few niggles; Julie - nothing to report.

Highlight:  None really.

Lowlight:  None really.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

Overall, a fairly unremarkable get-it-done day.

We left our motel about 6:15am and walked to the nearby Dairy Queen where we bought a hot breakfast before road-walking the mile to the Appalachian Trail where we continued our journey northwards.

After passing some industrial areas and crossing the New River, the trail climbed up a series of hills to a long ridge which we followed for about 10 miles through the Peters Mountain Wilderness before descending to where we are now camped in a very small tentsite amidst a rhododendron grove.

Mostly, we were in the woods with the trail often bordered by waist-high undergrowth.  Occasionally there were more grassy areas where we got a few views, but the haze was heavy and, as the afternoon progressed, we could smell the smoke from the Canadian wildfires.

The green of the forest and undergrowth was peppered with the bold colours of many different kinds of wildflowers and that was the main interest of the day.  Sadly, we did not see any of the yellow orchids we had heard could be found on this section.

We finished hiking at the acceptable hour of 6:30pm satisfied with our day and happy to be in the tent by 8:00pm.

Appalachian Trail - Day 043 - Pearisburg Day Off

Day: 043

Date: Tuesday, 06 June 2023

Start:  Pearisburg (AT Mile 636.1)

Finish:  Pearisburg (AT Mile 636.1)

Daily Kilometres:  0

Total Kilometres:  1072.5

Weather:  Cool in the morning, then mild with hazy sunshine.

Accommodation:  Motel

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Cooked breakfast/Omelette burger & hash browns.

  Lunch:  Turkey salad roll/Salad

  Dinner:  Nachos/Peach pie & rice pudding.

Aches:  None to speak of.

Highlight:  None really.

Lowlight:  Multiple emails and phone calls trying to track down Dave's new boots that should have been delivered to the post office here.  With luck, they will now be delivered to our next resupply town.  The current boots should make it that far.

Pictures: Click here (courtesy of Julie)

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

Not much to report for today.

A mediocre breakfast at a nearby fast food joint was followed by a walk to a local hostel to collect one of Dave's misdirected parcels and a supermarket visit.

Julie was hoping to go for a scenic walk in the afternoon but the only options seemed to be south along the Appalachian Trail, from whence we came, or north along the Trail where we will be hiking tomorrow.  So even Julie has had a relaxing day, while Dave did some admin and watched TV.

Later we returned to the Mexican restaurant across the road for dinner and had an early night.

Appalachian Trail - Day 042 - Sugar Run Mt to Pearisburg

Day: 042

Date: Monday, 05 June 2023

Start:  Sugar Run Mt (AT Mile 623.0)

Finish:  Pearisburg (AT Mile 636.1)

Daily Kilometres:  22.7 (Ascent 1615', Descent 3501')

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

Total Kilometres:  1072.5

Weather:  Foggy and cool early with some drizzle; warm and sunny in the afternoon.

Accommodation:  Motel

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Pop tarts 

  Lunch:  Cheeseburger & fries

  Dinner:  Super burrito/Chimichangas, peach pie & rice pudding 

Aches:  Dave - a few niggles; Julie - nothing to report 

Highlight:  The last hour of today's hiking, in bright sunshine, took us through groves of colourful wildflowers and along some high rocky ledges overlooking the valley far below and the town of Pearisburg from which rose the sound of church bells melodically pealing. Magic!

Lowlight:  We hoped to have some of the renowned views from Sugar Run Mt where we camped last night when we got up this morning but there was thick fog and nothing to see.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

We woke at 5:30am to thick fog and a heavy dew which had everything feeling damp and the tent fly sopping wet.  Also, no views from our mountain top.

We set off an hour later on a foggy dreary morning through very wet vegetation for the 14 mile hike to Pearisburg where we had a motel room booked.  The trail wasn't too bad, though rocky and slippery in places, and we made reasonable time.  We skipped some potential side-trips to view points because of the continuing fog, but still got the benefit of some brilliant wildflower blooms, primarily mountain laurel and rhododendron in many shades of pink and scarlet.  They were glistening in the dew which just magnified their brilliance.

Otherwise, Dave, who was feeling the effects of lack of sleep and just wanting to get it done today, plodded along willing the hours to go by.

Things improved as we neared Pearisburg with the sun emerging and some fantastic views (see above).

After a long and sometimes slippery descent we reached a road crossing where we left the AT and followed the road a mile down into the town and our motel, arriving around 1:30pm.  Amazingly, the first person we saw was our friend Tassie who had checked in the same morning, having arrived a few hours before us.

After checking in, it was showers and then laundry, which was done free of charge by the motel owner, Linda, while we ate lunch purchased at the take-away next door.  You can't beat that, and the motel has very cheap "hiker rates".

On the downside, two of the three packages Dave had ordered have not arrived at the local post office, though one has now been located elsewhere (it's a long story).  The joys of travelling.

Julie walked the 1.5 miles to the Walmart to find they had run out of our usual freeze-dried meals, so we are going to have to experiment with some different "just add hot water" foods on the next leg.

Later, we had a nice dinner at the Mexican restaurant across the road and got to bed at a reasonable hour looking forward to a day off tomorrow.

Appalachian Trail - Day 041 - AT Mile 399.0 to Sugar Run Mt

Day: 041

Date: Sunday, 04 June 2023

Start:  AT Mile 599.0

Finish:  Sugar Run Mt (AT Mile 623.0)

Daily Kilometres:  41.9 (Ascent 4623', Descent 3632')

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

Total Kilometres:  1049.8

Weather:  Mostly mild and overcast. Humid in the afternoon with a late thunderstorm and some rain.

Accommodation:  Tent

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Pop tarts 

  Lunch:  Cheeseburger & fries, ice-cream 

  Dinner:  Rehydrated meals 

Aches:  Dave - a few niggles; Julie - nothing to report.

Highlight:  Following the fast-flowing and picturesque Dismal Creek upstream through sun-dappled glades in the early afternoon.

Lowlight:  Julie would like it noted that being the faster hiker of our duo is not all beer and skittles just because she gets a rest every 20 minutes while she waits for Dave (who doesn't get to rest).  Because we are earlier risers than most hikers and because Julie is in front, she gets to clear all (well, most) cobwebs from the trail.  Today, when we saw no hikers all morning, that was a lot of cobwebs.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

We were hiking soon after 6:30am on a mild and overcast morning.  We had decided to detour half a mile off the trail at a road crossing in 11 miles to a grocery/deli for lunch, so were keen to get there in good time.  The trail continued to follow the ridge for most of the morning and the hiking was relatively easy.  We made good time, though the final mile or two down to the road was quite slippery in a few places.

We reached the road and quickly covered the distance to Trent's Grocery where the friendly proprietor produced our burgers and fries in quick time.  A third of the very small grocery was devoted to guns and fishing and while we ate there was a steady stream of customers buying beer for their Sunday afternoon's entertainment, one young guy wearing a pistol tucked into his belt.

The lunch was good and we returned to the trail with Julie leaving a little earlier so she could do a side-trip to Dismal Falls.  After she rejoined the trail we followed Dismal Creek upstream (see above) mostly through rhododendron glades on a path that was often very muddy for stretches.

After leaving the creek there was a very tough climb up onto the ridge that led to Sugar Run Mt (4040').  As we reached the ridgetop, the thunderstorms we could hear around us produced steady rain for about an hour.  It stopped shortly before we reached the tentsite we were aiming for but, when we got there, it was already occupied by a couple of tents.  Shortly before, we had seen a couple of good sites and so were kicking ourselves for not taking one.

We continued hiking for longer than we would like and eventually found a spot, shrouded in fog, atop Sugar Run Mt near a number of broadcast towers around 7:30pm.  It has been a long day, but we now only have 14 miles to our next resupply town, Pearisburg, and a day off.

Appalachian Trail - Day 040 - Davis Farm Tk Jct to AT Mile 599.0

Day: 040

Date: Saturday, 03 June 2023

Start:  Davis Farm Tk Jct (AT Mile 577.0)

Finish:  AT Mile 599.0

Daily Kilometres:  36.0 (Ascent 4262', Descent 5118')

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

Total Kilometres:  1007.9

Weather:  Warm and sunny with a late thunderstorm and an hour's rain.

Accommodation:  Tent

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Pop tarts 

  Lunch:  Mexicali subs

  Dinner:  Rehydrated meals

Aches:  Dave - tired and a few niggles; Julie - nothing to report 

Highlight:  Last night, as Dave was writing the blog, Julie, who was checking the navigation app for today's hike, announced that there was a diner on the trail where we could get burgers, ice-cream and drinks tomorrow then, 10 seconds later, she said, but it's closed on weekends.  Bummer!  Better not to have known it was there in the first place!  Anyway, as we hiked along on another very warm morning, sweating profusely on the hills, it was hard not to think about the diner and those cold drinks.  As we approached the location of the diner after 15 miles of hiking we saw an old notice posted on a tree, giving a phone number, and saying that Chuck & Donna liked to help thru-hikers and to text them if we needed anything and if they were available they would help.  Dave sent a text saying we wanted to make a quick trip into the small town of Bland, three miles away, to buy some take-out food and drinks.  Within a few minutes Chuck had responded that he was on his way, and the result was that we ended up with two foot-long subs for lunch along with some lovely cold drinks (which we ate and drank in front of a group of other thru-hikers who turned up while Dave was in town with Chuck getting the food while Julie minded the packs).

Lowlight:  It was again very warm and humid today and Dave is finding the warmer hiking conditions tough.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

We were hiking by 6:30am on a mild morning as the sun rose ahead of us filtered through the trees.  The trail was easier underfoot than yesterday afternoon and descending, which made hiking pleasant.  Julie startled a skunk, which fled from the trail without giving her a "burst".

We leapfrogged a few times with three generations of a family on the last day of their annual week-long hike and chatted to them at various times, and saw quite a lot of others thru-hikers during the day, some clearly slackpacking.

Water availability was to be an issue for much of the day since the trail predominantly followed ridgelines, so we planned accordingly, taking breaks where we could get water to avoid carrying much if possible.

Sadly, because the diner we reached around 1:45pm was closed (see above) getting water there was not an option and there was no other water before we were to camp at day's end unless we detoured off the trail and descended a long way.  To solve the problem, Dave bought 3 litres of water while getting the lunch in town, and we carried that for the afternoon to our campsite.  We didn't like carrying that extra weight, especially up the long climb after lunch, but it saved time and effort later on.

After climbing onto a ridge again after lunch, the trail was again quite good and the heat was lessened by a thunderstorm and some steady rain.  It had stopped by 5:30pm and we were able to find a really nice campsite atop a knoll at 6:30pm.

For most of the day we were passing through woodlands with lots of wildflowers, many past their best now, and filtered views to the valleys below and mountains beyond.  Overall, apart from the warm conditions we had a good day.

Appalachian Trail - Day 039 - Tilson Gap to Davis Farm Tk Jct

Day: 039

Date: Friday, 02 June 2023

Start:  Tilson Gap (AT Mile 555.1)

Finish:  Davis Farm Tk Jct (AT Mile 577.0)

Daily Kilometres:  36.5 (Ascent 5636' Descent 4741')

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

Total Kilometres:  971.9

Weather:  Warm and sunny.

Accommodation:  Tent

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Pop tarts

  Lunch:  Trail mix

  Dinner:  Rehydrated meals

Aches:  Dave - very tired and a few niggles; Julie - nothing to report.

Highlight:  Sharing a picnic table and conversation with a couple of young thru-hikers outside Chestnut Knob Shelter for lunch overlooking, far below, Burke's Garden valley.

Lowlight:  The last six miles of the day, when we were already hot and tired, exhaustingly followed the spine of a long rocky ridge that was very difficult going. Short ups and downs, and rocks at every angle meant every step had to be precisely placed.  Very tiring and slow.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

We were hiking by 6:30am and finished our descent into a lovely valley through meadows as the sun rose.  It was a joy to be walking in such a place.  After crossing a minor road we climbed through more meadows and eventually back into the woods.

We crossed another road after three miles and saw there was a large picnic shelter, that even had power points, so we stopped there for an early breakfast and charged our phones while we ate.

From there it was back into the woods and a huge and sweaty climb over a ridge before descending to a river on the other side.  Unfortunately, a bridge had been washed out so we had to ford the river.  Dave took a chance that his Goretex boots were high enough to keep his feet dry, and judged correctly.  Julie took her shoes off and waded across through the cold water.

Then it was an even bigger and sweatier climb up to the summit of Chestnut Ridge, which was largely treeless and gave fantastic views.  We stopped for a pleasant late lunch at a shelter atop the ridge (see above) at 4,400'.

We saw a lot of thru-hikers today and were a bit disappointed to see that so many of them were slackpacking, that is, making use of shuttles to avoid carrying their full packs, most of them much younger than us.

We descended from the shelter and loaded up with water at a spring for the last six miles to a target campsite which had no water.  The extra weight made those last six miles particularly tough (see above).  With about a mile to go we crossed a road where there was a large encampment of hikers and others already in party mode.  Julie was offered a joint and a beer on arrival.  She declined, but did get some candy and Gatorade.

After another mile we reached out tent site and gratefully set up camp after a long day.

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.