Last Days – Days 136 thru 138

Last Days but not The End

We have been off the trail for just under a week now. Re-entry is hard. Today I am home alone, Meriwether went back to school. Being home alone is harder than being home with others.

I plan at least one or perhaps a few more posts. Final thoughts, what I would do different, re-entry, some stats from our trip, etc.

We have already starting talking about our next trip. It will likely be shorter. I am hopeful it will be just as epic.

My advice to you, do NOT wait. Whatever your dream, set a date, start making plans, and go.

Day 136 – Pearisburg / Angel’s Rest Hiker’s Haven to Bailey Gap Shelter

49.9 more miles. Should we do it in 2 or 3 days. Water is pretty scarce right now. If we use water as our guide we will take 3 days. One long day sandwiched between 2 pretty short days. We have stayed at both campsites and they are pretty nice. The decision will be made on the fly tomorrow.

The 1.4 mile road walk, in the dark, kinda slowed us down today. The climb up to Bailey Gap is pretty steep, but it doesn’t last that long, less than a mile. Most of the day was walking the ridge North of Rice Field.

I’ve probably mentioned that we have hiked these miles many times. Today we reminisced about previous backpacking trips, the late night visit in Wills Field, filtering water while sitting on two big rocks next to a now dry creek, eating breakfast one cold morning on some logs that have become overgrown.

There was no view from Rice Field this morning, the view from Wills Field was nice but obscured by the morning clouds that had just started to dissipate. The sun filtering through the leaves was wonderful as was the temperature. Tomorrow and the next day are supposed to be hot.

We saw our first SoBo flip flopper down South today. Green Bean started in Harper’s Ferry in May, summited Katahdin two weeks after us, and has 600 and some odd miles to get to Springer. We enjoyed meeting him. He said there might be 3 more a day or two behind him.

Today felt like a regular weekend backpacking trip. We didn’t move too fast or slow. Meriwether took a bunch of photos. I just enjoyed the woods, trying to drink my deepest, as Poet would say.

Right now I’m feeling a bit sad that this trip is almost over. Don’t get me wrong, I am looking forward to putting on dry clothes in the morning, eating real food that’s not brown, sleeping on a bed with clean sheets.

Even the heat of the sun won’t dry them.

I’m also looking forward to our next adventure. A week ago I was feeling like an imposter, like I am the least experienced person out here. Today I feel like I know what I am doing and I am confident in my skills. I still have a lot to learn and will take advantage of weekends and our next big adventure to learn those things.

Today I am so thankful for blue skies, 70 degrees, and low humidity.

Day 137 – Bailey Gap Shelter to Niday Shelter

I did not sleep well last night. Only one of the three sides I use worked, the slope of the ground made the other sides painful. There weren’t a lot of options for setting up the tent.

We were both sluggish on the trail this morning. There was nothing difficult about it, but we barely got our 10 by 10.

Before it got light, in the Mountain Lake Wilderness area, we heard a bunch of dogs barking. Some big ones on the top of the hill, some smaller ones down below. The smaller ones sounded like they were moving up towards the bigger ones, and us.

When they got close enough to see their eyes, I figured they were foxes. They were not really frightened by us, when I yelled “go away” they just looked right at me and kept moving in our direction. Meriwether said “blow your whistle.” That did the trick.

We took breaks at all the shelters today. Water break at War Spur, dinner for lunch and some coffee at Laurel Creek, break for the day at Niday.

One of hundreds of ancient burial structures located on the ridge near Sarvers Hollow Shelter.

We only saw some trail workers today, no regular hikers at all. Green Bean told us that there were 3 flip floppers a couple days behind him. We were hoping to see them today, maybe tomorrow. We think the workers were hanging bear warning signs. Food storage boxes would be more efficient.

We have just over 22 miles left in this adventure. We will surely get them done tomorrow. When we set out, I thought starting and finishing near home at McAfee Knob would be pretty cool. Right now I feel it’s a bit anticlimactic. Katahdin was something special, we lingered there for over an hour.

We do have a celebratory hike up McAfee Knob this weekend. We will be among friends and family. We will likely linger for more than an hour.

Right now I’m not feeling much of anything other than tired. I wonder if I will cry tomorrow or this weekend. Deep down I am sad this adventure is coming to an end. Parts of it seem like a dream already.

I am thankful for the clean socks and underwear in my pack. I will be putting them on in the morning. They will be wet with sweat 15 minutes later, but that 15 minutes will be bliss.

Day 138 – Niday Shelter to Rt 311 / Home

What a difference a day makes. This morning I put on a wet shirt and pants that were a bit smelly. This evening I am in my bed, my super comfortable bed, in a perfectly air conditioned home, with clean sheets.

The hike today was interesting. We saw another bear, hadn’t seen one in a few days. There were a number of people on Dragons Tooth, surprising for a Tuesday.

We got off trail after Dragon’s Tooth for some cold drinks and snacks. There we met Bill Dawson, local ridge runner, and a hiker. Bill was going to take the hiker back to the trail then return and take us to the trail. When Bill got back, he mentioned that the hiker was SB. We had not met him, but have friends in common.

Meriwether, Bill, and Pot Luck.

As Bill was pulling out, Billy, who we met in Maine, came walking up. He is absolutely flying. I was so surprised he remembered our names, “Pot Luck, Meriwether! Where’s Worthless?”. It was so cool to see some acquaintances so close to home.

Ken, our good friend and house sitter, met us about a mile from our finish point. He came with fruit, drinks, and chocolate. We feasted when we got to the car. We feasted again a couple hours later on baked spaghetti, salad, good bread, more fruit and chocolate. It has only been 4 hours, but I have gained 5 pounds since getting home.

There is too much stuff here. After my shower I went straight to my backpack for one simple shirt decision. I love my alpaca hoodie, so on it went. I would have spent hours trying to pick something from my dresser or closet.

Being home feels odd. Too much space, too much stuff. Our place has sold, so we have a couple months to purge. I am looking forward to it.

I feel kind of in shock. What do I do tomorrow? Can I sleep in? Not asking for permission, but will I be able to sleep past 4? Should I go for a walk or run? How many days can I put off dealing with the mail?

I am so glad to be finished. I wish we had another week or two or more. As we entered the 100 mile wilderness Poet said

“Drink your deepest now,

for the richest stuff settles

In the final swig“

Meriwether and I drank pretty deep on this adventure. We are not ready for that final swig.

This is where we started. This is where we finished. The journey, however, is never done.