Week 3: Reined in by the weather

Blackrock Hut > Cow Camp Gap Shelter

Days 15-21

Week 3 AT miles: 72.2

Total AT miles: 225.6

After bumping up my mileage last week, the weather strongly encouraged me to get plenty of rest in this week in the form of three zero days. I also had to cut my daily mileage back to compensate for much slower travel through the snow. Those “shorter” days, however, required as much effort and as many hours as higher mile days without snow.

Basically, this week was a lot more work than the numbers would seem to indicate!

Day 15: Blackrock Hut > Rockfish Gap

19 AT miles (most on Skyline Drive)

I got an early start to improve my chances of making it to Rockfish Gap before dark, first continuing south on the section of the official AT I’d taken the night before to reach the shelter. Unlike yesterday when my 29-mile route via Skyline Drive shaved off five miles compared to the official route (34 miles), today the mileage for both was about the same. Of course, Skyline Drive was still much faster, since it had less elevation change and no rocks or downed trees to climb over.

I reminded myself of this fact frequently throughout the day. I was exhausted after yesterday’s effort, and though I chose the easier route, it felt far from easy. Even the feint remains of tire tracks I’d been walking in at the end of the day yesterday had now snowed over. Thoughts of my relaxing zero day tomorrow, along with the forecast low of 4 degrees on the ridge tonight, kept me trudging along.

When I finally reached the bridge at Rockfish Gap, walking on solid ground after 2 days/38 miles on snow was something like sea legs. I had to use my trekking poles to maintain my balance because I felt so unsteady on my feet.

Day 16: Zero in Waynesboro

0 AT miles

A much needed break! Taking a full day off at Stanimal’s 328 Hostel in Waynesboro was exactly what I needed. I cooked real food, had a wonderful hot shower, spread out all my gear to dry, and spent lots of time with my feet up. I definitely had some hiker hobble going in the morning, but I was feeling good again by the afternoon.

Adam and Mags of Stanimal’s seem to have a special knack for gathering wonderful people, in addition to being wonderful themselves. As with everywhere I’ve stayed so far, I was the only current AT hiker. The hostel primarily houses longer term boarders during the off season. Each one of them was kind, considerate of other residents, and interesting to talk with — people I would very happily hang out with even if we weren’t thrown together under the same roof!

Day 17: Rockfish Gap > Maupin Field Shelter

20.9 AT miles

Today was a long, exhausting hike that started out deceptively easy. The trail leaving Rockfish Gap was a smooth gradual ascent that had already been well packed out by at least two roundtrip hikers. I cruised up to the ridge, at which point any previous hikers had turned around and I was on my own breaking trail.

Soon after, the trail also became very rocky, forcing me to slow way down as I felt out where the safe foot placements were. I of course wasn’t entirely accurate in my assessments — there were plenty of unexpected slides and stumbles. Fortunately none did any real damage and they mostly served as reminders that an injury would slow me down even more than hiking cautiously.

The woods were as beautiful in the snow as the trail was challenging, so I also had to remind myself often: “Look around or walk, not both at the same time.” Even during the mostly cloudy parts of the day, the rocks, bare trees, and especially the evergreens looked enchanted draped in snow. On the rare occasions the sun broke through, everything would sparkle and I’d feel very lucky to be out there.

Pausing atop the day’s high point to take a photo and check for a cell signal, I received wonderful news. The cat I was more worried about adjusting to my absence had curled up on my mom’s lap for the first time. My other cat is scared of strangers but loves everybody once he gets to know them, so I was less worried about him. But Bell has been more of a one-person cat and had previously only snuggled my sister, whom she seemed to recognize as close enough. Leaving the cats for a whole year of hiking was a major source of stress that just got a lot less major.

Days 18 & 19: More zeros in Waynesboro

0 AT miles (well, zero miles in the right direction)

I’d set an alarm for 6am because I knew I’d want every possible moment of daylight for hiking. With the slow travel on snow-covered rocks, I hadn’t reached Maupin Field Shelter until after 9pm. Considering that my preferred amount of night hiking is none, four hours was a bit much, although the minutes when the near-full moon would break through the clouds and illuminate the snowy forest were magical.

My planned hike for today, a few miles longer with a lot more elevation gain, seemed just at the edge of what I might be able to manage. The forecast for today and tomorrow had been getting worse for the past few days, so I checked it one last time before starting to pack up: minus 20 windchills up on the ridge. Knowing how slowly I’d be moving through the snow, and that I’d left my balaclava and goggles behind when I switched to southbound, hiking onward today was probably a bad idea.

Looking back this seems like an obvious call, but in the moment, I had a surprisingly hard time convincing myself to get off trail. I had only hiked a single day since my last zero! Was I really going to take another two days off already? Was there even anywhere to stay nearby?

On the other hand, did I want to be the cautionary tale of the AT hiker who got frostbite in Virginia?

After about half an hour lying cozy in my quilt debating myself, I eventually came to my senses and decided to take another two days off. It took me another half an hour of looking at the outrageously expensive cabin rentals nearby to notice that I was still only 25 minutes by car from Waynesboro.

Once I realized that I could just go back to Stanimal’s, my spirits improved immensely. I packed up and hiked the couple of miles back to Reids Gap, where I’d seen vehicles crossing the Blue Ridge Parkway the night before. I stood in dense fog and light freezing rain for only 15 minutes before getting a ride from the third vehicle to pass going my direction.

A lovely retired couple who were on their way to celebrate their daughter’s birthday in Maryland, and who help operate their church’s seasonal hiker hostel, gave me a ride all the way to Stanimal’s. They also shared a lot of interesting information about the area, including the fight to stop the Atlantic Coast Pipeline from cutting through their community. My first AT hitch was an all-around great experience.

Returning to Stanimal’s immediately erased any lingering doubts about getting off trail. I was amazed that a place could feel so much like home after only two nights. The several boarders who were there when I arrived welcomed me back and told me how glad they were to see me — even Waynesboro was under a windchill warning and they’d been worried about me up on the trail.

Day 20: Reids Gap > The Priest Shelter

15.5 AT miles (5436 feet up, 4232 feet down*)

Alright, time to try this again! The temperatures were still well below freezing but the winds were forecast to die down this morning. I had also revised my itinerary to realistically account for my rate of travel through the snow.

Seeing the knee- to hip-high drifts created by those frigid winds I hid from in Waynesboro made me very glad to have turned back when I did. At least several people had broken out my initial stretch of trail up Three Ridges sometime between when the snow stopped falling and the wind started blowing. Some parts were perfectly packed for easy walking and others had completely drifted over.

It was easy to tell which trails are popular day hikes, since several stretches were well-traveled and others showed only animal tracks. I was grateful that my final climb of the day, 3000 feet up from the road crossing to the summit of The Priest, had already been hiked that day by at least two other people, both of whom I saw on their way down and got to thank for their footprints.

Even so, the last third of the climb was a slog through deep drifts and I was exhausted by the time I reached the top. The other two had inexplicably turned back just shy of the true summit, so the final push was all mine. I was rewarded for my efforts with a beautiful sunset accompanying me along the summit ridge.

* I’ve been looking at the day’s elevation gain and loss to guesstimate how long I might be hiking and just realized it might also be helpful context for the blog posts.

Day 21: The Priest Shelter > Cow Camp Gap Shelter

16.8 AT miles (3517 feet up, 3907 feet down)

(Warning: Skip the first two paragraphs if you’d rather avoid poop talk.) The new privy at The Priest Shelter is currently under construction, so today was the first time since starting in Harpers Ferry that I had to poop in the woods. The non-backpackers are probably appalled at the thought, while the backpackers are shocked that I’ve been so spoiled as to hike for three weeks without needing to dig a cathole.

Until this morning I’d been able to use shelter privies before heading out for the day, and with the cold weather, they haven’t even been very smelly — spoiled indeed! My main concern was that the ground would be too frozen to dig. I don’t currently have any wag bags with me and was hoping not to have to improvise with a combo of produce bags and ziplock bags. Fortunately there was just a thin frozen crust I could break through easily with my trough, so I only had to pack out TP.

Today was significantly easier in terms of elevation change but equally challenging because only a tiny stretch of trail had been broken out. Or maybe I was just tired from a tough day yesterday. Either way, I slept in until sunrise at The Priest Shelter and ended up reaching Cow Camp Gap Shelter well after dark.

The temperature was already down to 14 as I heated water for my combination nighttime hot water bottle/ morning hydration and would ultimately dip to about 10, my coldest night so far on trail. I was plenty cozy, and this was one of only a few nights when I never had to pop my arms out at some point to cool off. It was also the only night I had to sleep with my neck warmer pulled up over my nose and mouth to keep my face warm.

Unfortunately, despite being warm enough, I didn’t sleep very well because the shelter mice were relentless pests. Most if not all shelters have resident mice, but usually, they explore briefly after I settle in for the night, realize that all the good stuff is tucked away in my bear canister, and then leave me alone the rest of the night, minding their own mousy business. These were the only mice I’ve encountered on the AT who continued to mess with my stuff throughout the night, periodically making enough noise to wake me up again to shoo them away.

In the morning I discovered the mice had been chewing on the friendship bracelet lanyards made by my sister and nieces to accompany me on my hike, even though I’d tucked them under my pack just in case they were enticing. What little brats!