Casino Stay & Aqua Blaze

A day with my mom. A day on the water. I felt revitalized, spirit lifted. 

Drained

I woke up to the sound of rain and was relieved. It meant that I could go back to sleep. When I reawoke, shadows of rhododendron leaves were silhouetted on my rainfly. The sun was out but now my excuse not to pack up and start hiking was that my rainfly needed to dry. I stalled as long as I could. I was still recovering from Norovirus. That sickness drained me of all my energy. My only motivation to get moving was to get to the designated meeting spot for my Mom to pick me up the following day. As I walked through more hurricane damage, I put in my ear pods and lost myself in an audio book. I camped solo at a little spot on a hill overlooking a meadow. The next morning I only had 4 miles to go to meet my Mom at the road. 

Casino

At Dennis Cove, mile 420.3 on the AT, my mom and her good friend picked Dude and I up. When I got in the car they surprised me with doughnuts! I could gave died and gone to heaven. They whisked us off to a room in the Hard Rock Hotel & Casion in Bristol, VA. After the tranquility of the forest, walking into the casino was jarring. Loud, colorful, bright lights. After the initial shock, it was exhilarating. But having no money to spare, I didn’t bet on anything.

Town Chores

In the hotel room, I showered and put on the clothes my mom brought me. My mom then took me to the grocery store to resupply. She had me get extra food which she could pack into the resupply boxes she sends for Dude. She paid for it all, amazing financial supporter that she is! Mom then took me to laundry mat. I laundered all my hiking clothes. As we waited for the laundry to be done, we unpacked all the food, separating it out and putting it into ziplock bags. Back at the hotel, I washed my pot and spoon in the bathroom sink of my room. All my chores done, I lay in the large fluffy bed watching Sex and the City. During commercial breaks, I saw pictures and videos of Trail Days all over my social media. Trail Days is a festival that takes place every year in Damascus, VA to celebrate all things thru-hiking. All of the friends I made on the Appalachain Trail were there. I tried not to be too upset that I was missing it. Next year, I kept telling myself, I’ll go then. 

Laurel Fork Falls

There was trail magic at Dennis Cove when Dude and I were dropped back off on the AT. Emoji and two thru hikers from last year were giving out food and drinks. I sat and chatted with them, having chips and a Gatorade before starting back out. The trail was blessedly flat, following a meandering stream. We crossed a bridge with a railing on one side and held up with stacks of stones. There were rock walls to walk between, then a descending rocky staircase leading to a waterfall. Laurel Fork Falls was HUGE! I marveled at it for some time before continuing on. 

Surprises

Dude and I walked up and down a ridge then over more bridges until we began climbing a mountain. I was breathing so heavily on the ascent that I was gulping in air through my mouth. I realized that was a big mistake as I felt something hit the back of my throat. I coaked on a gnat! I stood there on the mountain side coughing and hacking it up. On the next switch back a slithery movement on the trail just ahead of my feet caught my attention. Dude had walked right over a snake! It was between Dude and I. Before I registered the thought, I pulled Dude quickly back to me and slowly backed away. Luckily the snake was harmless but it took time for the beating of my heart to return to its proper cadence. 

Boots Off Hostel

As Dude and I walked down the other side of the mountain, I could see a lake in the distance. Boots Off Hostel was at the bottom of the descent. I got a tent site at the hostel and had an evening with trail friends. Mush and her dog Bowe were there, along with father daughter pair, Hunch and Turtle. I sat and ate dinner with them. I took advantage of the outdoor bucket shower before crawling into my tent with Dude. The next morning, at breakfast, I found out that they were Aqua Blazing. I last minute decided to do it too. Aqua Blazing is traveling over water from one section of trail to another rather than walking it. A day on the water sounded like just the thing I needed. I was very appreciative that Boots Off let me sign up to Aqua Blaze the day of the trip, you are supposed to book the day prior. 

Aqua Blazing

Jim, from Boots Off, unfurled a map of Watauga Lake. Mush and I had to stand on opposite sides of the picnic table, holding our dogs back from each other, as we listened to Jim explain the route we would be kayaking. We would Kayak 8-10 miles across Lake Watauga, but get 21 more miles up the AT. He pointed out different landmarks and places we could go on the lake then we loaded up in the van. Mush and Bowe in the back, Hunch and Turtle in the middle, Dude and I on the front bench. We got in our respective kayaks then Jim launched our boats fully into the water. Off we went! 

Swing swing

I sat in the seat of my kayak, paddle in hand, as Dude perched between my legs. We took off across to the other side of the lake then followed that far bank. We went to see the waterfall first, it was a flow of water landing into the larger body of water. The magisty of it was ruined by the amount of debris in the water. Logs, sticks, splintered pieces of wood were all floating in the water, brought up from dredging in the lake after the hurricane. We tried out best to avoid obstacles but occasionally the debris would hit and bounce of our boats as we went. Next came the island with a swing. Mush and I pulled our kayaks up to shore and kept the dogs on separate sides of the beach as we took turns swinging over the water. A large tree branch held a log tied with rope over the surface of the lake. I sat on the log dragging my legs through the water until I was swining high enough for them not to touch. It was pure child like pleasure that I felt sitting on that swing. 

Capsized

As we paddled away from the island and to the bridge, I was following behind Mush and Bowe. One moment they were there, the next they weren’t. Their boat capsized. They flipped, slipping off into Lake Watauga. Mush laughed as she made multiple attempts to get back on board her vessel. I couldn’t hlep but laugh too. I wanted to assit but was left to helplessly watch, not wanting to risk Dude and I ending up with the same fate. Mush, after trying to tow the boat back to shore with Bowe on top of it, eventually was able to climb back on board without having to beach it. They caught back up to Dude and I at the bridge. 

Riding the storm out

We just enjoyed a beautiful sunny day on the water. It was a nice change of pace from our everyday backpacking. We made it to the gazebo, the designated pull out point without further incident. I dried off the best I could then walked across the road to Butler Trading Post. Clouds began to gather and darken outside. We got food, enjoying a late lunch, early dinner as we waited for Jim to come pick us up. He drove us up the road and back to the AT. As we pulled into the parking lot a thunderstorm crashed down on us. Driving rain hit the van, we heard thunder and saw lightning. We stayed huddled in the safety of the van until the storm ran its course. It didn’t last long. 

Burned 

We got out of the van, said goodbye to Jim and then walked through pastures. We saw cows, including an adorable calf. After a ways walking through fields we entered the woods again. We olnow had less than 3 miles to walk before setting up camp by Double Springs Shelter. Changing clothes in my tent, I saw that my legs, usually covered in long pants on trail, were burnt. The entire tops of my legs, thighs to toes were bright pink and radiating heat. They couldn’t handle being exposed to the sun all day. I had put sunscreen on at the island with the swing but it had been too late…The sunburn on my legs has now faded, it’s the smile on my face that lake day which is branded into my memory. 

Daily Log of Location & Miles

43 – 05/17/2025

Mountaineer Falls Campsite – Canute Place ⛺️

Mile 404.2 – 416.1 

11.9 miles 

44 – 05/18/25 

Canute Place – Dennis Cove, USFS-50

Mom picked up, stayed at hotel 🏨

Mile 416.1 – 420.3 

4.2 miles 

45 – 05/19/25 

Dennis Cove, USFS -50 – Boots Off Hostel ⛺️

Mile 420.3 – 428.8 

8.6 miles 

46 – 05/20/25

Boots Off Hostel – Double Springs Shelter ⛺️

Mile 428.8 – 452.5 

Aqua Blazed 20.7 miles + walked 3 miles = 23.7 miles