It was a very cold morning as I stepped out from our warm automobile into the crisp, cool air at Elk Garden. It was much, much colder than yesterday when I was here with Sue and Jim. There were some hikers getting ready over by the kiosk.
"Look at that guy," one of them said pointing at me, "he's in shorts."
"No wonder," another one said looking at our license plate, "he's from Maine."
The first hiker came over to me and asked, "Where you headed?"
"Damascus."
"Today??"
"Yes."
"We're headed to Damascus, but not today," he said.
"Hey, this guy is going to Damascus TODAY," he added yelling to his friend.
"He doesn't look too worried," his friend replied.
I wasn't worried, but now they were starting to get me to doubt my own abilities. Should I be worried? The way I look at it, I'm attempting a 31 mile ultramarathon on Saturday so I better be able to handle a 24 mile hike today.
There wasn't much to see the first couple miles, but then I came out into the open below Whitetop Mountain, Virginia's second highest mountain. Like Mount Rogers, the trail bypasses the summit to catch the better views a little further down the mountain.
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I dropped back into the woods for a few minutes ...
... before coming out near Buzzard Rock.
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Buzzard Rock offers an awesome 360 degree view.
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Looking up to Whitetop
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After enjoying the view and eating an apple, I got back on the trail.
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Lots of small white flowers
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I still had 20+ miles to go, but at least I had a long downhill stretch ahead of me.
I met a man and woman coming up.
"You are definitely going the right way on this mountain," the woman said partly out of breath.
"Are you thru hikers?" I asked.
"Yes, we are Blue Meanie and Hiker Chick."
"Blue Meanie??" I asked.
"Yes," the man said, "from Yellow Submarine."
"You're giving away your age," said Hiker Chick.
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More white flowers
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|
It would be a long day, but at least I had Lynn's help. She met me a few miles in so I wouldn't have to carry my pack for the first few miles. |
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Through a stile . . .
. . . and down some log steps.
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| I thought this bridge was interesting. Rather than going straight across, it drops down, perhaps to make it easier for thru hikers to get water.
|
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Walking through some rhododendrons.
One of these days I'll be able to type 'rhododendrons' without having to look up the spelling first.
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Lost Mountain Shelter
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At the shelter, I met a thru hiker named Tim from Ohio.
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The Appalachian Trail briefly joins the Virginia Creeper trail. Both trails go over this long bridge.
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With the exception of two cement pillars, all the supports were wood trusses.
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A spot to rest on the other end.
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The Virginia Creeper trail is shared by hikers, runners, bicyclists, and equestrians.
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Being on this wide trail heading to Damascus reminded me of the conversion of the Apostle Paul who was stopped by Christ on the road to Damascus in the New Testament.
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Another spot to rest.
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I was getting a little too comfortable on this wide gravel path. I knew the A.T. and Virginia Creeper Trail would be splitting. Fortunately, I didn't miss the turn.
The two trails parallel each other very closely the rest of the way to Damascus.
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| He got tagged with the trail name 'Noah' on his second day on the trail. He is section hiking for 40 days and 40 nights. I sure hope it hasn't rained all that time. |
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I met another thru hiker who was named 'Grambo' by her grandkids.
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Don't let Grambo's size fool you.Carrying that big pack as far as she has, Grambo could probably take on Rambo. |
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| Although the rhododendrons aren't blooming yet in the mountains, I finally found one early bloomer. |
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9.5 miles to go
Well that 3.5 miles went fast.
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There were lots of these red flowers.
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Crossing Straight Branch
Straight Branch follows Route 58. Lynn and I drove up and down that road.
There is nothing straight about the road or the river.
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The screen attached to this bog bridging made great traction.
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I stopped to get a picture of this view and . . .
. . . met a thru hiker named Life Traveler.
He took his camera out to take a picture as well. I noticed that we had the exact same model. We talked about his adventure so far. We both agree that one of the best things about the trail is the people that you meet. I mentioned to him some of the thru hikers I had seen today. He knew them all. He says he knows about 30 hikers ahead of him and 30 behind him. He describes it as a moving community.
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Coming down a long staircase near Damascus.
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I met Lynn and Madison coming from Damascus.
Once again the AT follows the Virginia Creeper Trail.
We walked into the east end of town.
We saw the ice cream shop Maddie noticed.
It was closed so we'll stop in another day.
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A great spot for hikers to resupply.
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A great spot for hikers to refuel.
This was as good a spot as any to stop. It had been a long day and a sandwich sounded yummy. Just 3.5 miles of Virginia left. I've almost completed the AT's longest state.
