Testing My Limits

Day 57: Long Neck Lair Alpaca Farm and Hostel to Bear Garden Hostel (12.7 miles, marker 558.5)

Today was one of those simple walk in the woods kinda days. The woods were peaceful and beautiful as usual. The big moment of the day emotionally was passing the ¼ way marker.

Expecting rain overnight and all day tomorrow, I decide to grab a cheap hostel bed just short of my original plan so I can at least start of dry. Upon arrival at the Bear Garden Hostel, I’m informed that two of the other guests are partaking that day in what they call the Marathon Cake Walk. This is a 26.4 mile slackpack hike with homemade chocolate cake at the end. The owner drives you 26.4 miles up the trail and you hike southbound back to the hostel with just what you need for the day, and then the next day he drives you back to the same spot to continue your journey north. I have not slackpacked yet, but I have run a marathon, and this seems like a great way to both make up some miles I lost while at Beltane and to test my limits. Sign me up.

Day 58: Bear Garden Hostel to Laurel Road VA-615 (26.4 miles, marker 584.9)

I’ll sum up today with three words: interesting, exhilarating, and terrifying. For my slackpack, I used my own backpack since it’s only two pounds and I know it’s comfortable. Add food for the day, water, my poop kit and my raincoat, and I’m up to about 10 pounds. It rained mostly all morning and the terrain, while rocky, was not exceedingly difficult as far as incline and decline goes. I cruised along at about 3 mikes an hour, and had a fun time passing by lots of people I had met briefly while hiking before my break, since I was now headed in the opposite direction. While it rained on and off all morning, it didn’t really begin to rain in earnest until I began my assent to the Ridgeline. As I climbed, the rain and wind really began to kick up and I immediately got soaked through. The weather was relatively warm and since I was ascending it felt absolutely fine. I was glad for my hat, as it completely blocked the rain and wind if I just tilted my head slightly into the wind. As I crested the top of the incline and came to the stone shelter that was once a fire tower, the sun broke through the clouds briefly and gave me a slightly misty view of the valley below.

While having my lunch at the shelter, I looked over the weather patterns coming up with a couple of the other hikers who were spending the night. It looked like there were a few waves of storms coming through, the next big one coming in about an hour, and then a much larger one carrying tornado warnings in about 3 hours. Figuring that was the amount of time I had left to hike, I quickly finished up lunch and headed out. My shirt had dried and I donned my raincoat for the descent, as the temperature had turned colder and it had begun to rain again. After walking through, what seemed to be a stream bed for about half a mile, the trail opened up onto a long open expands at the top of the mountain which went on for at least a mile. The rain began to fall harder and I could hear thunder and lightning in the distance. Slowly the sounds of thunder and lightning began to get closer together as I traversed the open Ridgeline. I had been speaking to Sabrina earlier so my phone was still on, and it suddenly starts chiming an emergency alert. I check it and find there are tornado warnings in the area. I could soon see the edge of the woods in the distance, as the thunder and lightning were about 5 seconds apart.

I hauled ass into the woods just as the hail began. It got so dark I was thinking I might need my headlamp, as I jogged down the mountain, occasionally passing people heading up… even crazier than I. Eventually, as I descended, the rain subsided and I was able to complete my hike for the day, with the added bonus of discovering a hidden fairy forest.

I got back to the hostel about 10.5 hours after I left, and was greeted by the highly anticipated homemade chocolate cake.

Day 59: Laurel Road VA-615 to Campsite before VA608 (19.9 miles, marker 604.8)

Awakening before anyone else in the hostel, I quietly got dressed and did my yoga, preparing my body for another big day. This is the real test. Can I hike 20 miles on the day after the cake walk. The woods today are another standard walk in the woods, with mostly rolling ascents and descents. The hike went very well, and by the end of the day I was tired but feeling pretty good. I found a beautiful site to camp next to a stream bed and sleep game quickly.

Day 60: Campsite before VA608 to Woods Hole Hostel (20.7 miles, marker 625.5)

Another 20 mile day, and very glad to be sleeping in a bed tonight. This was highlighted by a couple of gorgeous views at the very end and a brief visit to the Wapati Shelter, a shelter that was witness to a double murder back in the 1980s. I pulled into Woods Hole hostel too late to partake in their community dinner, which was unfortunate because their food is known for being very good. but I got to have the breakfast the next morning. Iwas happy to simply have a mattress to sleep on and to receive my resupply package with all the tasty treats Angela included for me.