Day 50

Day 50, 6/17/23

VA Route 630 to Stealth Camp site

20.4 miles, mile 698.9

Almost to mile 700! We will hit it early in the morning tomorrow before doing the Virginia Triple Crown going over Dragons Tooth, Mcafee Knob, and the Tinker Cliffs. Today was a good day, we were able to slack pack the first 18 miles, and Dad met us at the road to give us our packs, some yummy snacks, and cooked chicken, peppers, and onions for dinner before we headed the 2.4 miles into camp. We haven’t seen many thru-hikers during the day, but apparently, there is a decent size group ahead of us that we will probably catch within the week. I saw a rat snake today that gave me quite the scare because of how fast it moved on the rock. It was a smaller one, but man was it spooked by us and got out of there quick. We also got to see the oldest tree on the entire trail, the Keffer Oak. It got very hot as the day went on, and the final climb of 1800 feet (total of 4500 for the day) was pretty tough and was in the sun. I’m glad I switched to my UPF 50 sun shirt from REI, even though it will smell more than my wool t-shirt I wanted something with long sleeves and a hood so I can use less sunscreen. It was so amazing having Dad here and having real breakfast and coffee before hiking. I’m very thankful for my parents and can’t wait to see them again!