Completing 2000+ Miles on the Calendar Year Triple Crown

This morning I woke up a little after 6am. I was so dang comfortable I could have stayed all day. It’s always a tempting thought. But I got packed up and ready to roll. Then stripped and remade the bed before heading downstairs for breakfast. The whole house smelled delicious, like cinnamon and butter.

Some of the breakfast from Wood’s Hole.

Neville had made a huge spread of amazing food. I had some of the best eggs of my entire life, buttery hash browns, pineapple, homemade cinnamon bread, and a cookie! Everything was unbelievable. The bread reminded me of being a little kid. It was homemade bread with butter, topped with crunchy cinnamon sugar. I gorged myself and was beyond content. If you’re hiking the AT you absolutely have to stay at Wood’s Hole! It feels like home there and is a wonderful place to experience. Neville’s dinner and breakfast were two of the best meals I’ve ever had.

Eating breakfast at the one and only Woods Hole.

After we ate we finished packing up and then headed out to meet Iceman. He drove back this morning to save us the .5 mile walk back to the trail! What a guy. Last night it rained all night, and this morning the temperature dropped quickly. By the time we left the hostel it was snowing! And was ridiculously cold. I bundled up in rain gear and we set out to start the day.

The climb up from the road was nice and easy. I didn’t warm up too much which was great. Then the hills were limited and were just rolling here and there for the next 11 miles. When we got up to a bit of a high point though the snow was really coming down! It was a little windy so it was moving in sideways. I had service up there so I used the opportunity to post my blog and videos for the day before. On this exposed ridge line it was bitter cold. I didn’t have my gloves out either, which was definitely an oversight.

A light dusting of snow on the trail.

The trail leveled out alot from there and we dropped a bit more into tree line. There it was a bit less cold and windy. The snow didn’t keep up for long either and eventually it was clear. Overall it was a nice day, just quite cold. We passed by a really nice shelter and then continued along. Making our way down toward the highway, which was only 11-12 miles ahead from where we started.

Over the course of the morning I finally finished another audio book. I tried finishing it back when we were in the Smokies. But toward the middle it got a little slow, so I just couldn’t bear it with all of the climbing. If I’m going to listen to a book while I’m doing alot of elevation gain, then it has to keep me very interested. The book was fantastic though! Born to Run is a great read, and the story is very intriguing. It’s just a bit long and gets a little technical here and here. But once I started listening to it again yesterday I got pulled back in. Now this morning I finished it off, and the ending was really great. It’s a fascinating write up about the history of running, ultras, and the running people in the copper canyon in Mexico.

We ran into another hiker just before hitting the road. It was Martha Stewart who we met the other day at Weary Feet. He had gotten back on trail ahead of us the other day and it was cool to see him again. Then we continued on down toward the road.

When we arrived Iceman was there waiting for us. And he was parked next to and talking to Ricochet! His family lives in the area so Punisher actually sent a pair of shoes to his house. So Ricochet came out to see us again and drop off the shoes. It’s so cool to get to see him twice in one year. That’s a real treat when you’re hiking. Sometimes you meet someone and never see them again. Or maybe see them again years later, as is the case for us. But it feels like just yesterday that we saw him at Boots Off Hostel. It was definitely nice to talk some more and hang out.

Ricochet brought us some resupply goodies too! He had a bunch of stuff that he was going to use for the calendar year triple crown. But he’s going to be off trail for a while letting his injured foot heal. So he gave us some things that might expire before then. And he’s still not totally sure what he’s going to do for the year after the injury does heal. Sadly because of timing, the window is too tight to take off a couple months and get back on the CYTC. But there are a whole lot of other trails and things to do too.

It was freezing out as we all stood in the parking lot and chatted. I was so glad that we got to see Ricochet one last time. And maybe we’ll see him out west later in the year! That would be amazing. After a while we headed out and Iceman drove us into Pearisburg. I didn’t need any food, but needed some random stuff. I got more KT tape just in case, tooth paste, and wipes. Just odds and ends like that. We also went to the Mexican place in town for a quick lunch. I can’t resist stuffing my face every chance I get. Though I was really hoping to go to the Chinese buffet! I’ve been talking about it for hundreds of miles. But it’s closed on Mondays. That was a hard hit! The Mexican food was great though and came out really fast.

Grabbing lunch at the Mexican restaurant in Pearisburg.

After that Iceman drove us back to the trailhead. Earlier in the day I wasn’t really feeling motivated to hike far. Maybe because it was cold, or because we woke up in town. Going into Pearisburg for food certainly didn’t help either. I was just in the mood to hang out and lounge all day. Which is pretty normal! But we pushed on and I hoped as the day progressed I’d get a bit more in the zone.

By the time that we got to the next road crossing 4 miles ahead I was feeling good. The climb up had been cruisy so far. And Iceman was waiting for us at the next road with soda and chocolate milk! I packed the Mountain Dew out to enjoy it later. That just seemed like it would make me happy in a few hours. Originally we hadn’t necessary thought we were going 30 miles for the day. By now though we knew that it was early enough to push out some more miles. It was only around 2:30pm and we had 15 more miles to go.

I crushed this burrito real quick.

I wound up leaving most of my food in Iceman’s truck. I only needed enough for the rest of the day, tonight, and breakfast tomorrow. He’s going to meet us at the next road crossing, which we’ll hit first thing tomorrow morning. That was amazing and meant I could keep about 5-7 pounds of food off my back for the day. Iceman is planning on hanging around for a few more days. Which is absolutely amazing, and I’m beyond grateful for his support. The days feel like they fly by when you know there is something waiting to you up ahead. Even something as simple as a soda can make such a big difference in a long day. His lunches have been a huge boost for me mentally and physically. I know I can use the calories! And I always feel so much more energized after a big meal. It’s so nice to just be able to take a break and chat with him too.

An Appalachian trail map in the Mexican restaurant.

After we left the road we had a bit of a climb up and out of there. But it was pleased by the grade. It was comfortable hiking and didn’t get me breathing hard or anything. On our way up Fresh Ground called and we caught up with him. Then we passed by Martha Stewart again. Sadly I think that’s the last time that our paths will cross on this hike. We just continued up to the top of the climb after that. It leveled out alot and was nice and easy.

Once the snow stopped it turned into a pretty nice day! It was just really cold.

At the top though it was so cold! The sun has barely come out today because of the clouds. We’ve enjoyed brief moments of it, but nothing too consistent. Up top the trail leveled out for the next 10+ miles. There were just some shorter rolling hills to go up and over. I started another audio book too which I was excited about. This one had me very interested and helped to pass the time for the rest of the day. It’s called Living with a SEAL by Jesse Itzler. He’s a super interesting guy with a really unique background. Now he’s into ultra running and stuff like that. But the book is about his time living with David Goggins, the endurance athlete and former navy seal. It’s a fun and entertaining book if you’re into those sort of things.

I wound up almost finishing the whole book over the rest of the day. It’s a slightly shorter read, but very good. The day passed as we continued along the ridge. Every now and then we had a shorter climb to do. When we weren’t climbing I was really cold! Then toward the end of the day we had one more small climb, maybe 500 feet or so. And after that the trail just dropped us down toward the next shelter.

We got bundled up around this time. I knew if we weren’t climbing I’d be freezing. So I put my Sambob alpha layers on and my wind gear. Then I was as comfortable as could be! As we descended I drank the Mountain Dew that I had packed out. And we only had another few miles to reach the shelter.

The trail sign indicating the shelter down below, where we would be spending the night.

When we got to the Pine Swamp Branch Shelter I was surprised to see a bunch of hikers. There were two guys set up inside and one guy tenting. One was doing a section hike and the other two are thru hiking. We got set up inside on the top bunks. Which are pretty crammed, but not too bad. I’d rather climb up top than set up my tent for the night. It just makes it much easier to get packed up and out in the morning.

I had a delicious Bowl&Kettle meal for dinner, my last one! Then didn’t stretching on the picnic table before I headed inside. There really isn’t enough space on those top bunks to do any stretching. Before heading to bed I got a bunch of writing and video work done. Then called it a night!

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