Black Rock Hut > Gap Cow Shelter
Days 15-21
Week 3 miles: 72.2
Total mileage: 225.6
After increasing my mileage last week, the weather has strongly encouraged me to get plenty of rest this week in the form of three zero days. I also had to cut back on my daily mileage to compensate for slower travel through the snow. However, those “shorter” days require as much effort and as many hours as the days with more miles of snow.
Basically, this week was a lot more work than the numbers indicate!
Day 15: Blackrock Hut > Rockfish Gap
19 miles (mostly on Skyline Drive)
I started early to improve my chances of reaching Rockfish Gap before dark, first continuing south on the official AT section I had taken the night before to reach the refuge. Unlike yesterday when my 29-mile route via Skyline Drive cut 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, as it had less elevation change and no rocks or fallen trees to climb.
I reminded myself of this fact repeatedly throughout the day. I was exhausted after yesterday's effort, and even though I had chosen the easier route, it seemed far from easy. Even the remains of the tire tracks I was walking through at the end of yesterday have now been snowed in. Thoughts of a comfortable zero day tomorrow, combined with a forecast of a low of 4 degrees on the hills tonight, have kept me going.
When I finally reached the bridge at Rockfish Gap, walking on solid ground after 2 days/38 miles on snow felt like sea legs. I had to use my trekking poles to keep my balance because my feet felt unstable.
Snowy Skyline Drive (not a black and white photo – just dark ones)
Day 16: Zero in Waynesboro
0 miles
A much needed break! Spending a full day at Stanimal's 328 Hostel in Waynesboro was exactly what I needed. I cooked real food, had a nice hot bath, hung out all my gear to dry, and spent a lot of time with my feet up. Sure, I was hiking in the morning, but I was feeling good again by the afternoon.
Adam and the Mags of Stanimal's seem to have a special talent for bringing together cool people, in addition to being cool. As with every place I've stayed so far, I was the only current hiker on the AT. The hostel primarily houses long-term guests during the low season. Every single one of them was kind, considerate of the other residents, and interesting to talk to – people I would be very happy to hang out with even if we weren't together under the same roof!
Day 17: Rockfish Gap > Maupin Field Shelter
20.9 miles
Today was a long and exhausting journey that started out deceptively easy. The trail leaving Rockfish Gap was a slow, smooth climb that was well packed by at least two hikers back and forth. I set off for the ridge, whereupon any of the previous hikers turned around and I was on my own way.
Soon after, the trail also became quite rocky, forcing me to slow down when I felt where the safe foot placements were. Of course I wasn't entirely accurate in my assessments, and there were a lot of unexpected slips and missteps. Fortunately, none of them caused any real damage, and they were mostly a reminder that an injury would slow me down more than walking carefully.
The forest was beautiful in the snow while the path was difficult, so I also had to remind myself a lot: “Look around or walk, not both at the same time.” Even during the mostly cloudy parts of the day, the bare rocks and trees, especially the evergreens, looked magical covered in snow. On the rare occasions the sun shines, everything sparkles and I feel so lucky to be there.
When I stopped above the highest point of the day to take a photo and check for cell signal, I received great news. The cat I was most concerned about adjusting to my absence was curled up on my mother's lap for the first time. My other cat is afraid of strangers but loves everyone once he gets to know them, so I was less worried about him. But Bill was more of a cat than a person, and had only ever held my sister, whom she seemed to know close enough. Leaving the cats for a full year of hiking was a major source of stress that has become much less serious.
View from the highest point of the day
Days 18 and 19: More Zeros in Waynesboro
0 miles (well, zero miles in the right direction)
I set my alarm for 6 a.m. because I knew I wanted every possible moment of daylight to hike. Traveling slowly over snow-covered rocks, I did not reach the Maupin field shelter until after 9 p.m. Considering that my favorite amount of night hiking is nothing, four hours was a bit long, although the minutes when the semi-full moon broke through the clouds and illuminated the snowy forest were magical.
My planned hike today, which was a few miles longer and with a significant elevation gain, seemed on the verge of what I might be able to manage. The forecast for today and tomorrow has been getting worse over the past few days, so I checked it one last time before I started packing: less than 20 wind gusts in the ridge. Knowing how slowly I moved through the snow, and that I had left my glasses and mask behind when I moved south, hiking forward today was probably a bad idea.
Looking back, this seems like an obvious decision, but in the moment, I had great difficulty convincing myself to get off track. I've only done one day's walking since the last zero! Was I going to have two more days off already? Was there any place to stay nearby?
On the other hand, did I want to be the cautionary tale for the frostbitten AT hiker in Virginia?
After about half an hour of lying in my duvet debating with myself, I finally came to my senses and decided to take another two days off. It took another half hour of looking at expensive cabin rentals nearby to notice that I was still only a 25-minute drive from Waynesboro.
Once I realized I could return to Stanimal, my morale improved dramatically. I packed up and walked a few miles back to Reeds Gap, where I had seen vehicles crossing the Blue Ridge Parkway the night before. I stood in heavy fog and light freezing rain for only 15 minutes before taking the third car to pass in my direction.
A lovely retired couple who were on their way to celebrate their daughter's birthday in Maryland, and help run their church's seasonal hiking lodge, dropped me off at Stanimal. They also shared a lot of interesting information about the area, including the fight to stop the Atlantic Coast Pipeline from penetrating their community. My first AT hitch was a great experience all round.
Returning to Stanimal immediately erased any lingering doubts about going off course. I was amazed that the place could feel like home after just two nights. Several residents who were there greeted me when I arrived and told me how happy they were to see me – even Waynesboro was under a wind chill advisory and they were worried about me on the road.
Snowy in
Day 20: Red Gap > Druid Shelter
15.5 miles (5,436 feet up, 4,232 feet down*)
Well, it's time to try it again! Temperatures were still well below freezing but the winds were expected to calm down this morning. I also reviewed my itinerary to realistically calculate my rate of travel through the snow.
Seeing the knee-to-hip drifts created by that cold wind I hid from in Waynesboro made me so glad I came back when I did. At least several people broke the initial portion of my route over the Three Ridges sometime between the time the snow stopped falling and the winds started blowing. Some parts were perfectly packed for easy walking while other parts were completely washed away.
It was easy to see which trails were popular day hikes, as many stretches were well-traveled while others showed only animal tracks. I was grateful that my final climb of the day, the 3,000 feet of trail crossing to Priest Peak, had already been climbed that day by at least two other people, whom I had seen on the way down and arrived at Shukra for their footprints.
However, the last third of the climb was uphill through deep drifts and I was exhausted by the time I reached the top. The other two inexplicably came back just shy of the real summit, so the final push was all mine. I was rewarded for my efforts with a beautiful sunset that accompanied me along the top of the ridge.
Sunset from Priest's Peak
*I've been looking at elevation gain and loss per day to guess how long I might be hiking and just realized it might also be useful context for blog posts.
Day 21: Priest Shelter > Cow Shelter in Gap
16.8 miles (3,517 feet up, 3,907 feet down)
(Warning: Skip the first two paragraphs if you'd rather avoid talking about poop.) The new toilet at The Priest Shelter is currently under construction, so today was the first time since I started in Harpers Ferry that I've had to poop in the woods. Non-backpackers would probably be horrified by this idea, while backpackers would be shocked that I was so spoiled that I hiked for three weeks without having to dig a hole.
Even this morning, I was able to use the shelter toilets before heading out for the day, and with the cold weather, they didn't smell too bad – really rotten! My main concern was that the ground would be too frozen to dig. I currently don't have any gift bags and was hoping I wouldn't have to improvise with a combination of produce bags and ziplock bags. Fortunately, there was only a thin frozen crust that I could easily break through with my sink, so I only had to top up the TP.
Today was much easier in terms of elevation change but just as challenging because only a small portion of the trail was breached. Or maybe you're tired from a tough day yesterday. Either way, I slept until sunrise at The Priest Shelter and ended up arriving at Cow Camp Gap Shelter after dark.
The temp had already dropped to 14 when I heated water for my overnight hot water bottle/morning hydration and would eventually drop to around 10, my coldest night yet. I felt very comfortable, and this was one of the few nights where I never had to stretch my arms out at some point to calm down. It was also the only night I had to sleep with my neck warmer raised over my nose and mouth to keep my face warm.
Unfortunately, even though I was warm enough, I didn't sleep well because shelter mice were relentless pests. Most, if not all, shelters have resident mice, but they usually explore me briefly after I've settled in for the night, realize all the goodies are hidden in my bear canister, and then leave me alone for the rest of the night, taking care of them. Private mouse business. These were the only mice I encountered on the AT that continued to mess with my stuff all night, and every now and then they made enough noise to wake me up again and drive them away.
In the morning I discovered that rats were chewing on the cords of the friendship bracelets my sister and nieces had made to accompany me on my trip, although I had put them under my bag in case they were tempting. What little sausages!
Priests' Shelter – A rare morning I slept late enough to take a photo in daylight
