Day 67: Dragon’s Tooth and the Burrito Afterwards

This Section of Virginia

When I woke up at the usual 6:06, I actually got up and started the day instead of trying to sleep in. It’s mentally defeating when I still have more miles to hike after noon than what I’ve hiked since then. It also sucks when I still have ten or more miles to do at that point. This whole trail makes you focus on the mental. 

I left camp by 7:00 and hiked 1.5 miles down to the road. I rock hopped over Craig Creek and started the first climb of the day. Recently, this section follows along mountain ridges that stretch from the northeast to the southwest direction. The trail doesn’t move to the north, it goes to the east. Which means hiking up one ridge, follow that ridge for a little bit, go down that ridge, and then hike up the next ridge. The past few days involves hiking up two of them and then hiking down both of those. Only to start again the next day. It is mentally taxing – not to even touch on the physical. It’s a guaranteed 4,000 feet up and 4,000 feet down.

The climb up the first was actually pretty. It was its own small ridgeline that connected to the main ridgeline. It was a brutal climb though. At least it wasn’t rocky. I stopped at the top and snacked. How could I pass it up? There was a bench there. The hike down was easy, but my stomach growled. I was stupidly hungry. By that hike down, I ate all the day’s designated snacks. It wasn’t even 11:00.

Limetime

At the bottom, near another road, I stopped to eat lunch. I was ravenous. Others showed up and we ate lunch together. As we were eating, a car pulled up and a man named Jason got out and started talking with us. He provides drinks and wifi at a picnic table that was nearby. He neighbor provides the trashcan – which I had already dumped my trash in. We talked about Trail Days and Jason said he was offering shuttles to Damascus. I got his number, but will probably use it as a last resort. He almost acted like I didn’t exist. Instead, he talked directly to the male hiker next to me. It felt weird. You hear the phrase ‘what would you do for a Klondike bar?’ In this case, it’s ‘what would you do to get to Trail Days?’ I guess I’ll find out.

700 Miles and Dragon’s Tooth

I then started the second climb of the day. I stopped to fill up with water for this next dry section (I was carrying roughly two liters). The first half of the climb wasn’t bad at all. I was just powering through. The second part of that climbed sucked. The moment I hit the ridgeline, I was questioning what the hell I was doing. It was up and down, but with rocks everywhere. In some places, it was akin to bouldering. I was hungry again and was going through water too quickly. I was hating everything. Even the 700 mile marker didn’t put a dent in the mood I was in.

The only thing that got my hopes up was when I heard voices. A lot of them. I hiked up one last mound and saw people and trail signs. I was finally at Dragon’s Tooth. Before heading to the actual rocky outcrop, I stopped by some hikers and asked if they had any spare water. They did and gave me half a liter. I thanked them profusely before chugging most of it down. It was a hotter day than anticipated. 

I then hiked the short trail to Dragon’s Tooth. It was such a cool area. I totally would have camped there if I could. I climbed up the tooth and felt, for the first time on trail, a twinge of vertigo. I video chatted each member of my immediate family and showed them the view. I ended the call. The longer I was up there, the worst my vertigo got. I climbed down and headed back to my abandoned pack. 

The Rocks Downhill

M stomach growled some more, so I pulled out some cheddar crackers. I was ready to get going though. Little did I know how challenging the next mile downhill would be. It was more bouldering and climbing down rocks, but they were rocks that have been worn smooth due to frequent touch. My Chacos, my poor, poor Chacos, couldn’t handle to steep slope of the worn rock. I had to get on my ass and slide down for most of that section. My poles were useless. This would have been fun at the beginning of the day. I was not amused since I was so close to the end.

The rocky slab called a trail.

Four Pines Hostel

I had to put on some music just to distract myself. This time it was my Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron soundtrack. The arch of my right foot was killing me and I only wished I could be at the bottom of the mountain. I did get there eventually. I then had to do a 0.4 mile road walk to the Four Pines Hostel. Once at the hostel, my mind was filled with all the gas station food I would get since they provide a free shuttle to the place. Upon arrival, I was greeted by a small dog and the numerous sounds of chickens grazing. It was a farm. I loved the look. I followed signs to the hostel and someone said that they would give me the speal after I finished eating. Food? I was directed inside and after putting down my pack, I was shown the food table. It was burrito night. I almost dramatically burst into tears. I was so happy. I grabbed two tortillas and loaded them up. And when I say loaded, you better believe it.

I sat down at a table and realized that Ranger was there. We chatted as I absolutely stuffed my mouth with food. A large portion of the filling fell out and I used my figures to shove it into my mouth. Don’t worry – I washed my hands. I ate so quickly, I didn’t even get to take a picture. Another hiker, named Lady Madonna, had grabbed a second plate of banana pudding and ended up giving me the rest since I didn’t have any. She said it was meant to be shared. I washed my hands and mouth to remove the burrito filling covered everywhere, before grabbing the plate of banana pudding to see if there was more. There wasn’t, so I put some fruit salad next to what pudding I had before the hostel owner scrapped the banana pudding bowl and dumped it on my plate. She left me with, “You can afford to eat that. I can’t.” I went outside, back to the table, grinning. It was so good. Southern banana pudding cannot compare.

As I ate, a rooster was just going to town on the hens. When he wasn’t getting laid, he just stood there, watching the hens. The hens were busy eating. It was a form of entertainment at least. I put my plate away, claimed a bunk, and then took a shower. The amount of dirt that came off was concerning. Ah…not really. I knew I was gross. I was tasting salt for a while. After the shower, I plopped down on a couch when Nature Boy yelled out, “Shuttle to the store leaves in five minutes.” I jumped on because I wanted more snacks for tomorrow. The ride was quick and I got a few candy bars. I also couldn’t resist the temptation of ice cream despite just eating. Back at the shuttle, I ate my ice cream. We were quickly back at the hostel and I did the usual nighttime routine before going to bed.