5/30: Day 61
Zero Day in Waynesboro, VA
Today will be our 7th zero day of the trail. After an awesome hiker feed the Lutheran Church Hostel hosted last night, we woke up refreshed and well nourished. We ate some cereal for breakfast and enjoyed some coffee and orange juice while chatting with some other friend hikers. After breakfast, we headed out to tour the town of Waynesboro. It was founded in 1787, and had a lot of neat older buildings and plenty character for a quaint, little town. We had lunch at Ming Garden Chinese Restaurant. Despite some people's theories about eating Chinese food and hiking, we decided to brave it especially since a buffet is a novelty to a hiker. We were the very first people in the restaurant, and we got the best and freshest of everything. It was awesome, and we definitely got our monies worth. After lunch we went to the library to hang out for the rest of the afternoon. We met a local named James who was dealing with some addiction issues, so we were able to pray with him for some freedom and deliverance. The neat thing about James was he came and sought us out, we didn't seek him out. That seems to be the trend while we out here. It's so great seeing The Lord work. He just needs willing hearts to carry out the tasks.
Later, we went to Krogers to resupply for the Shenedoah's. We got back to the church hostel as the doors were opening at 5 pm. When we arrived we saw some sectioners (Mofo, Cruiser, Piligrim, and Wambo) we met and chatted with the night before. They had just gotten back from slack packing the first 15 miles of the Shenandoah's. We commented on how awesome that was and how we wish we could have done that. They offered to slack pack us the next day if we were willing to do 28 miles. We eagerly agreed! They invited us to dinner and we all ate at Chick Peas. It was a Mediterranean place that was probably the best food we've had on the trail yet. We ordered an Italian dish--eggplant Parmesan, which was absolutely phenomenal. The rest of the evening was spent hanging out with our fellow hiker friends at the hostel and just having a dandy time.
5/31: Day 62
Waynesboro, VA (857.8)- Loft Mountain Campground (885.9)
Total: 28.1 miles
Today marks the 2 month period since Jeremy and I started hiking the A.T. We celebrated this accomplishment by doing our biggest day yet! Yes folks, you read it right, 28 miles. It's has been the longest distance traveling on foot in a day either one of us has done ever. We are pleased to bump up our top number by a couple more miles. Another thing, we both lost over 20 lbs each! The 20+lbs of gear we've carried on our back since Springer Mountain, GA, that is. We did our first yet slack packing. Slack packing is where you have your gear shuttled to your final destination for the day, and the only items you carry are food, water, toilet paper, ect. This means no sleeping bags, tents, camp shoes, cook stove, extra clothes, ect. It is an amazing feeling. We even trail ran a couple miles! You can do almost anything with only 5lbs on your back.
Since we entered the Shenadoah National Park today we had on our minds that we were determined to see a bear. To this point, we have hiked 885 miles and have not seen one bear. Every previous thru-hiker promised us we would see one in the Shenedoah's. All day, I was looking in trees, behind boulders, and down the side trail searching for these Shenadoah black bears. I even made up a bear call and started calling for them! We would pass by day hikers, and they would brag about just seeing a bear, but every time the bear was gone by the time we arrived. On our 28th mile, 50 feet before the first campsite at Loft Mountain, there it was. A big black fury butt 20 ft away from us, and running further. I just said, "It's a bear!! It's a bear!! It's a bear!!" Alas, we saw our first bear of the A.T.
As we came into camp, I had to share with everyone about the first bear I had seen, including the owner of the tent the bear was patrolling. He seemed the least excited about it, but none the less I had seen my first bear! The rest of the evening was pretty relaxed. We just chatted with our section hiker friends and met a couple more thru-hikers--Bageara, Viking, and another Scout. That about sums up our day.
6/1: Day 63
Bootin Gap (914.9)- Loft Mnt. Campground (885.9) (southbound)
Total: 29 miles
Happy June! Our gift today was another awesome day of slack packing! Also, it is yet again our biggest day--29 miles. When we woke up this morning we were pretty exhausted. It was a nice, chilly morning of breaking camp and starting off our hike. Our awesome section hiking friends dropped us and two other hikers off at Bootin Gap which is 29 miles north of the Loft Mountain Campground. Then we headed south on the A.T. toward Loft Mountain. We passed so many of our hiker friends that were a day or two ahead of us. It was neat to see so many of them! We also received some trail blessings from Mama Goat. Her daughter is hiking the Pacific Crest Trail this year, so Mama Goat wanted to do as much as she can to help hikers out since her daughter is one of them. Thanks Mama Goat!!
About 12 miles from our final destination for the evening, we came across two guys telling us about a bear a couple yards back and off the trail. I get super excited while they are clearly rattled by their encounter with it. I moved past them searching for this bear so I could capture it's image. Jeremy spots it almost immediately. Eventually, I see it but it was way too far for a clear picture. I tried to get its attention by whistling, hitting a rock with my hiking pole, and even calling, "Beeearr". None of the latter worked. So, I gave my bear call a shot. "Rawwerrrr.....Raaawwerrrr". Next thing we know, this massive black bear comes running towards us! My first thought is ruuuun! Quickly I realize how foolish that was because a bear is way faster. The only other option was to ward it off with our trekking poles. Thankfully, the bear stopped about 30 feet in front us and stared. We videoed it for a while and the continued on. After that exciting experience we pushed it to camp so we could get ther by 6 pm to eat at the wayside. We made it to camp at 5:50 pm. The sectioner's saw us coming, and they applauded us for another big day in the bag. Cruiser let us borrow his truck so we could get some real food, and we got to eat until our hearts were content. We brought some ice cream back for the guys, and called it a night. Another big day down, and many more miles to go.
6/2: Day 64
Booten Gap (914.9)- Byrds Nest Shelter (934.7)
Total: 19.8 miles.
Today was a challenging day. Wait, who am I kidding? Everyday is a challenging day out here. It started with our alarm going off at 5:30 in the morning. As soon as I moved, the muscle pains from my hips down start shooting fireworks off awaking my lower body limbs. I moved slow because any sudden movement could send a shock of unwanted pain through my feet. It's another day of hiking. 20 miles would be the goal, and to accompany us would be all of our gear in our packs. Ahh, we gained that 20+ lbs back that we so happily lost. We scurried around, made some breakfast, and packed up our belongings to move on. It had been such an awesome two days of slack packing and staying at the Loft Mountain Campground. We are so appreciative of Wambo, Cruiser, Piligrim, and Mofo's generosity in slack packing us. They are the coolest guys! Hopefully we'll be able to see them again before Harper's Ferry.
Anyway, Wambo and Cruiser dropped us off at Bootin Gap and we said our goodbyes. We headed up the mountain and it felt like our packs were carrying enough bricks to build a small house. We made it six miles and decided to stop off at one of the Shenedoah's waysides to have a later second breakfast. We ended up staying there for two hours. This is where we shared some heartfelt thoughts on our journey and what's to come. We both admitted we missed home, a lot. This trip has been difficult. The honeymoon of the A.T. is way past over, and now we're just anticipating being done. Since we're within a week of being halfway finished, it is starting to set in that we still have to do everything we just did allllll over again. It is sobering. We also keep hearing of people dropping out. We have a mission though, and giving up is a choice just like finishing is a choice. We're going to stay focused and accomplish what we set out to do. Everyday we're going to find something that excites us and pursue it. We are determined and we will finish.
6/3: Day 65
Bryds Nest Shelter (934.7)- Gravel Springs Hut (952.2).
Total: 17.5
Today was a much better day than yesterday. Our bodies have finally adapted to the heavy packs, and we were cruising again. Well, minus the 3 hour break we took. We had a short day, only making it a little over 17 miles. We were able to eat lunch at the last wayside in the Shenandoah's, and ended up staying there for three hours. Since we left so late, we decided to follow the majority of thru-hikers to the next shelter only six miles away. We got there easily and without much agony. We chatted with some section hikers about our adventure so far, made some dinner, and headed to bed. It was a pretty simple day.
6/4: Day 66
Gravel Springs Hut (mile 952.2)-Manassas Gap Shelter (976.3).
Total: 24.1
Today we had a higher mileage goal than the previous. 24 miles. There wasn't much motivation. The morning sort of dragged on. When we finally made it to lunch we were so hungry the high humidity and gnats didn't bother us much. We also made it out of the Shenandoah's. We made it out before noon, so it took us 4.5 days. Right over 100 miles in 4.5 days. The Smokey Mountains in the earlier stages of our hike took us 4.5 days as well but they were only 76 or so miles long. My have we come a long way! Right before we exited the SNP, we saw a mama bear and her two cubs grubbing in the woods right off the trail. We watched for about 15 minutes as we were trying to get some good pictures of them. We got a couple but most of the pictures were obscured by the tree branches.
About a mile after lunch, mile 13, we came across this Mountain Home B&B. We decided to check it out. The owner, Scott, was super friendly. He gave us a tour of his property including the mid-1800s home soon to be transformed into a Bed and Breakfast. It was one of the neater things we've seen on the trail. He gave us some lemonade and we chatted for a bit. We really wanted to stay there but we knew we needed to put in another 10 miles to be able to make it to the Bears Den Hostel the next day. He understood and highly recommended the Bears Den. That's one of the things Jeremy and I both appreciated about Scott. He didn't try force his place on us just to get our money. He was a real genuine guy who enjoyed helping hikers out. Around 3:30pm we headed out to finish the remaining 10.5 miles to Manassas Gap Shelter. At mile 18 or so, our legs and feet started to feel the miles. The sky darkened as a light rain started to fall. We saw another bear just hanging out on the trail. It scampered into the woods as we approached. We were surprised to see one outside of the Shenadoahs. After that, we came across the Jim and Molly Denton Shelter. We stopped there for our last snack as it just started to pour. This shelter is one of the nicer ones. It was remodeled recently and had a huge front porch. We deliberated over staying at this shelter. We waited 10 minutes for the downpour to lighten and decided to push on and do the remaining six miles to our destination. There was a group of high schoolers that were doing a section of the trail, and they seemed to be surprised we were leaving a dry shelter to walk another six miles in the rain. We waved farewell and trekked on. The last six miles went by relatively fast. We made it to our final destination just slightly dampened but thrilled there was room in the shelter, so we could preserve our tent from the night's forecast of thunderstorms. We made our dinner and hurried off to bed because the next day was going to be another big day.
6/5: Day 67
Manassas Gap Shelter (976.3)-Bears Den Hostel (999.1).
Total: 22.8
This morning started off interesting. When we arrived at the shelter the night before, there was a man sleeping in a one person tent set up in the corner of the shelter. Well, no one had spoken with this guy because he was asleep the whole time. At about 10:45pm this guy decides to wake up. He makes all sorts of noises from rattling to creaking, zipping/ unzipping, pack shuffling, and on and on for what seemed like 30 minutes; meanwhile, all of this was being done in the dark with no headlamp. Well, when he finally gets cozy, he snores like a freight train. Jeremy described it as a bulldozer scraping against concrete. After being up for an hour, I was starting to get aggravated because I knew I needed the rest for another long day ahead. Finally, I was able to stick my ear plugs in far enough to dilute the noise and I put my fleece over my head to muffle out the excess. It was extremely difficult to wake this morning. At about 5:00 am, when we had originally planned on waking up, there was a steady downpour. There was no way we were going to trade our cozy, dry bags for wet clothing and soggy socks. So, we snoozed until 6am. By this time, the rain had let up some and it was only a slight drizzle. We did our normal camp routine and we were on the trail by 7:30 am. The morning was ultra muggy but we blazed through the first ten miles by 11:00 am. Eventually, we made it to the Bears Den Hostel. We made it there before their opening of 5pm, and we were able to take some showers and claim our bunks before check in. The shower was absolutely heavenly! The first ten minutes you usually just stand there and let the six days of filth build up soften and eventually wash away. Baby wipes and creek rinsing don't hold a candlestick to a hot shower. After our showers we were able to check in and get our dinner. The Bears Den offers a hiker special and for 30 dollars a person you receive: 1 13" tombstone pizza, a pint of Ben & Jerry's ice cream, a pop, laundry, shower, a bunk, and self-serve pancake breakfast. It was one of the best hiker hostel deals on the trail yet. We highly recommend that place. They were very hospitable, and you got your money's worth. After dinner we debriefed for a bit and chatted with some newly met friends. It was just so nice to be full and clean. We were content.
6/6: Day 68
Bears Den Hostel (999.1)- Campground (1015.5)
Total: 16.4 miles
Today has been the best day in quite some time. We woke around 6:15am, and headed to the breakfast room to get some coffee and make some pancakes. Jeremy mixed the batter and I started cooking the pancakes. He suggested I ask a guy if he would like some. I told him if I asked one person I'd have I ask all of them. He said I was right and that it was a good idea that we serve everyone. Well, no hikers turn down free already-made pancake. So we cooked pancakes for everyone until 7:30am, and then we sat down and chatted with the 15 plus hikers there. We met some ladies from Oklahoma who were going to section hike the Shenandoah's. One of the ladies was a youth leader, so it was neat talking with her! After breakfast, we packed up our gear and headed out around 9am. We had originally planned to make it into Harper's Ferry today but decided we would camp right before so we could hit it early Saturday morning. So, with knowing it was going to be a lower mile day of only 16, we just meandered through the woods quite content. Within our first mile of the day we hit the 1000 mile mark for the Appalachian Trail. Yes friends, we have walked over 1000 miles. Praise the Lord! This was an exciting accomplishment. The weather today was absolutely perfect. It was a high in the low 80s with really low humidity and a nice cool, continuous breeze. We stopped by the Burnhollow for lunch and the caretakers offered us a couple pops. We ate our lunch on a screen in porch which was the ideal setting for any hiker. You still get the sense of being outside, you're just not in the beaming sun with gnats trying to gnaw on your eyeballs. After lunch, we headed through the rocky yet basically flat last section of Virginia. We are very excited to be out of VA. We're just ready for something different. We like change! At mile 14 for the day, we came across a road crossing and when you looked to your right it said "Welcome to Virginia" and when you looked to your left it had a West Virginia sign. We decided to walk .3 miles off the trail to get some real food for dinner and we opted to go to the West Virginia side because Virginia had already consumed enough of our sweat and money. It's time to move on from VA! Bageara joined us at the restaurant and we all ate until we were full and satisfied. We walked the remaining 2.3 miles to the campsite. A couple of other thru-hikers were there, so we all shared some experiences of the trail thus far. One of the guys there was doing the trail for his 5th time and he's 63! His advice for life was to stay fit and life will be a lot more enjoyable. I couldn't agree more with that. It was a great evening to a pretty mild day.
6/7: Day 69.
Campsite (1015)- Rocky Run Shelter (1035)
Total: 20 miles.
Well, we made it to Harper's ferry by 9:30 am! Harper's Ferry is the halfway point psychologically, but in reality it is around 65 miles shy of the real halfway mark for the A.T. First thing we did was head to the Appalachian Trail Center to get our pictures and thru-hiker numbers. As you may recall in the beginning, we were thru-hiker numbers 804& 805 to start the trail on March 31st. We managed to almost knock those numbers is half! We came in at numbers 445&446 to make it to the halfway point. We hung around the ATC for awhile. We looked at previous thru-hikers from decades ago. We found our friends, the Kallins, in the book from 2002. They are doing their second thru-hike this year but with kids this time! They are such a neat family! After looking through the book, we got a free shuttle to Walmart where we resupplied and ate. After resupplying, we weren't sure how to get back to the ATC because it was five miles away. Well, we were sitting outside of Walmart and a guy that worked at the hostel we had stayed at the night before was able to give us a ride. What are the chances he'd be there the same exact time?! The Lord provides every time. After we got back to Harper's Ferry, we walked down town and checked out the outfitter. We ended up seeing Scout and Aerie. We chatted with them for a bit then departed to the trail. We left town at 2:30 pm, and we still had 16 miles that afternoon. We hiked on and made it to our destination right before dark. We were in three different states today. We were in Virginia, West Virginia, and Maryland. When we started into Maryland we decided to mention all of the things we were merry about. It was a good moral boost. It made us realize all the things we're so thankful for. So, today was a day of being thankful. We're especially thankful to be finished with Virginia!
1000 miles!!!!
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