Humble Beginnings in Northern Virginia: AT Flip Flop Days 0-4

Day 0: Getting to Trail

Everyone has told me to be safe on trail, but the drive to get to trail felt more dangerous than any hiking I’ve done. I began the drive to pick up my Dad hitting rain almost right away, and it poured most of the way to Charlotte. We had to wait out a thunderstorm for almost two hours, him on the plane and me in the car, before I could pick him up. As we headed north, the rain continued to beat down. I spent most of the drive barely able to see with the windshield wipers on their highest setting. What was on paper an 8 hour drive turned out to be closer to 12.

It wasn’t all bad though. As we got closer to Front Royal, I suggested we get off the interstate and take the backroads. Dad, known in the family as “backroads Dad,” was all for it. The backroads took us by Luray Caverns, so we got out and hiked underground, where the rain mostly couldn’t get to us. The backroads were a great choice, as we got to see more of the beautiful Shenandoah Valley before getting to our hotel. We turned in after dinner and a large margarita.

Day 1

At long last, the day came to set out on the trail! Dad dropped me off at the dirt road crossing for VA602, the first road north of Shenandoah National Park. A NOBO (north bound) thru hiker zoomed past before I even shouldered my pack. The first 1.5 miles were familiar, since I had hiked them in 2022.

I met my dad around 6 miles into the day and we had lunch at the luxurious Jim and Molly Denton Shelter. The weather was overcast and humid, due to the rain the day before, but quite pleasantly cool. We finished out the hike just shy of 10 miles at a trailhead under I-66. Slack packing (hiking without a full pack) and staying at a hotel meant I didn’t feel like I was thru hiking yet.

We had a good dinner in Front Royal. We also stopped at a meadery, where they gave us the thru hiker discount.

Day 2

This was the final day slack packing with Dad. He dropped me off where we finished the day before, and again a thru hiker zoomed past me before I could shoulder my pack. The trail that morning was really pretty, and the climb out of the gap was gradual. I met Dad around half way again and we climbed down to Whiskey Hollow Shelter for lunch and water.

The afternoon hike was interesting, since the trail went through an area overgrown with shrubs. It reminded us of a section of the Buckeye Trail we did a few years earlier. The trail eventually opened up into a nice meadow, and we were able to take a side trail to a nice overlook.

I felt more tired at the end of the day than on day 1, but we made up for it by having a really nice prime rib dinner. We also stopped at Walmart so that I could pick up a few things to round out my first resupply. 

Day 3

Dad dropped me off for the last time at US-50 where we had finished the day before. It sucked to say goodbye, but now that I was on my own and had my full pack, the thru hike was starting to feel real. The forest continued in the same overgrown scrublands that we ended on yesterday. About an hour into the hike, I was startled to see a copperhead only a few feet to my left. I despise snakes, and I am not ashamed to admit I screamed a little when I saw it so close to me. I had never encountered a venomous snake in the wild before, and I practically ran the next mile or two until the forest opened up. By that time, I had reached the southern end of the Virginia rollercoaster.

The rollercoaster is a 13.5 mile series of steep hills with over 3,500 feet of gain and loss. Having basically just started my hike, this was a challenging section for me. The steep ascents and descents, as well as the addition of rock fields, slowed me down considerably. Nevertheless, I got to the shelter I was aiming for 10.5 miles into the day around 4:00. But nobody was there. There was however a sign for a hostel just 3 miles further, so I pushed ahead.

I arrived at Bears Den Hostel absolutely exhausted and fortunately got the last bunk for the night. It felt a little silly staying inside, since I had slack packed the two days before and had not even slept outside yet. But I’m glad I stayed. I got to meet several section hikers that I would see over the next few days and got some words of encouragement from the thru hikers and hostel caretakers.

Day 4

After a pleasant morning chatting with the other hikers at the hostel over coffee and pancakes, I hit the trail to finish out the rollercoaster. The hiking was tough again and the higher temps did not make the day any easier. I hiked much more slowly than the days before and could tell I had overdone it pushing for the hostel yesterday. I took an early lunch when I stopped to get water 4 miles into the day.

Taking the longer break and eating made a big difference. I crossed the northern boundary of the rollercoaster in the early afternoon and let out a sigh of relief. I continued on a ridge until I got to the side trail for the Blackburn Trail Center. It was a steep trail down, but well worth it. The caretaker there gave me some trail magic in the form of a cookie and a soda. I had a great time sitting with section hikers Trouble and Deliberate and chatting for a while, but I had to press on to the shelter.

The last few miles to the shelter felt… strange. The forest continued to be littered with dead trees, and there were several deer staring at me as I walked. I could hear an owl hooting somewhere and I thought I could hear people talking ahead of me, but I never caught up to anyone, and I don’t think it was coming from the shelter. I’m not one for the paranormal, but that section felt spooky.

Anyway, I was happy to make it to the shelter area and see some other hikers I had met at the hostel. I ate dinner, chatted with section hikers Frog and Toad, and then set up my hammock for the first time and slept great.

Lack-of-Shower Thoughts

It was a little disappointing to see the forest filled with more dead and down trees than alive ones for much of this stretch. It’s clear that something has devastated this area in recent years. The decaying forest around me trying to grow back made me reflect on death and the ugliness and difficulty of rebuilding after destruction and devastation. My mental health has been really strong lately, and I was not expecting to confront topics like this, especially right at the beginning of a grand adventure. This didn’t get me down though; I just thought it was interesting.