Gotta love Virginia

4/9/07 25.5. miles to Wapiti Shelter. Was a bit chilly this morning as we drove Cough Drop's car to the trail head. It was also a bit weird to be driving ourselves to the trail. Got on and was not feeling all that well, neither was Tau. We had both somehow managed to get colds. I blame the change in weather. 85 degrees one day to 20 degrees and snowing two days later. Go figure. This was the most mileage I had attempted so far and it seemed like a very long day. It wasn't all that warm and the snow was melting. Some time in the middle of the day, I did a face plant. My poles got stuck between some logs and down I went. I think my face may have actually bounced off the ground. My nose spurted blood, I scraped my face, and my lip puffed out. Good times. But I got back up, Tau laughed and took a picture, and we were on our way. Didn't really see many folks today but crossed a very nice bridge and then got slap happy when it took forever to walk the last four miles to shelter. Laughter is so nice out here and I laugh every day, I love it!

4/10/07 16.6 miles into Pearisburg, another chilly morning! We were going to get an early start into Pearisburg but it was hard to get out of the bag. We both still weren't feeling well and I was a bit sluggish after my Tylenol PM. Ran into some section hikers in the morning but we just moved slow. Some days you just do. Made it to Pearisburg around 2:20 pm, only 20 minutes late meeting Cough Drop. He took us to get some ice cream and then back to my favorite hostel - Martie's place (aka Cough Drop's moms town house). Did laundry and Cough Drop even made dinner for us - red curry tofu. i was in heaven. Got some much needed rest and medicine gearing up to get back on the trail tomorrow morning.

4/11/07 22.7 miles to Bailey Gap Shelter. What a wet and miserable weather day. It was probably 40 degrees outside but with rain/sleet and 40 mph wind gusts. Can we say brr! We just kept walking all day, not wanting to stop much and get cold, jamming food in our mouths for calories. Ran into Orange Blaze in the morning (he's the guy in the orange shirt) and we ended up hiking a couple days with him. I was soaked by the time I got to the shelter. Thankfully, it cleared up over night and warmed up a bit during the night - my socks and trailrunners were soggy. But alas, that is trail life for us and Virginia has been full of all kinds of surprises.

4/12/07 21.3 miles to Sarvers Hollow. The weather cleared up - yeah! I used my pack as a clothesline today, hanging out my shirt and pant legs to dry. Luckily it was a bit windy so it worked nicely. Made excellent time in the morning and then a bit slower in the afternoon. Climbed two very large hills, the last one about killing me. But I made it to the top and then realized we had to walk . 25 miles to the shelter straight down. At least it was a very nice shelter. The quote on the shelter wall "While looking for the light, you may suddenly be devoured by the darkness and find the true light." ~J. Kerouac

4/13/07 30.4 miles (That's right, I saide 30!!!) to John Springs Shelter. Got up this morning with no intention of walking 30, it just worked out that way. We were thinking of camping out somewhere past Dragons Tooth, in between two shelters. Ran into Rambler (a section/thru hiker) that i ran into back in Georgia. He gave us all kinds of good information. He said Cough Drop had left Tau's forgotten fuel bottle at the next road with two sodas (woohoo!) and that we absolutely could not miss the Homeplace (all you can eat country food - magical words to thru-hikers). So we changed our plans a bit. We hiked over Dragons Tooth which was an adventure in itself. It took forever to get up to Dragons Tooth. Realized we didn't see the actually tooth and then had a bit of trouble getting down the trail to the road. We ended up bushwacking down the mountain and finally finding the road, just on the wrong spot. Turns out Orange Blaze and another guy did the same thing. We got up with them and got a ride to the Homeplace. Ran into several other hikers there (picture of white house is Homeplace). They also got turned out. It was nice to hear it wasn't just us! Ate til we couldn't move and then got back on the trail around 7:30 pm. It was a very pleasant evening, sun setting, dusk rolling in, cool night air. I got to do my first night hike, rolling into camp around 10:15pm. This was definitely my longest day but also my best so far. I had so much fun, all because I wasn't following some plan for the day. Me and Tau laughed our butts off, I got lost, ate lots of food, and just thoroughly enjoyed myself. I guess I should stray away from my plans more often.

4/14/07 18.8 miles into Daleville, VA. And the cold wet weather is back for another spell. Two of the best views in Virginia we saw in the fog (mcafee knob and tinker cliffs) and we were moving fast due to the windy wet weather. Good times. My body is definitely feeling the 30 mile day but we are headed for hot showers and dry fefet so I'm not minding too much. Another one of those not stopping much days due to not wanting to get any colder. Made it into town around 3 pm. I was able to go get a very large hot cocoa and my resupply box at the outfitters. All that time Tau was making fun of my gray and pink shoes and she bought the same ones from the outfitter - haha! Met up with Juniper and Salamander and we all got a hotel room (that's those two on the bed). so nice to eat mexican, have warm dry clothes to put on and a warm dry bed to sleep in. Life is good.

4/15/07 11.2 miles to Wilson Creek Shelter. Took the morning off, had a nice breakfast. Ran into Comer and Jean at breakfast. They got in a day a head of us and slacked so they could come back to the hotel. It was so nice to catch up with them. Packed up all our stuff, ate another huge meal at Pizza Hut (note to self: bad idea to eat alot of pizza and then hike 11 miles up a mountain). Got on the trail, it started to clear up (as it was raining all morning) but started again 5 miles into the hike. Wasn't too bad though. However, Tau fell in the creek and got her very nice camera wet - not so good. Made it to the shelter, met Pix Take (section hiker), and at the pizza I carried up from Daleville. Man, I feel fat but happy!

4/16/07 20.6 miles to Bryant Ridge Shelter. Hiked another day with Salamander and Juniper. We all made it to this very nice shelter. 40 mph wind gusts. I used the same clothesline/pack thing to dry out my socks that were wet from yesterday's romp up the mountain but man, was it chilly today. The terrain was great, we followed the Blueridge Pkwy for a piece and there was not so much up and downs. Here is a quote from the shelter log "Remote for detachment, narrow for company, winding for leisure, lonely for contemplation, the trail leads not merely north and south but upward to the body, mind and soul of man." That is what it is all about.

4/17/07 22.7 miles to Matts Creek Shelter. What a climb this morning! Went up several mountains up to Apple Orchard Mountain and then down to the James River. Still windy but warmer. By the time I got to camp, I was able to soak my feet in the creek and not get cold. It was so refreshing. I was even able to finally smell spring as I was approaching the James River valley. Picture of a flower I took near the shelter. What a pleasant evening.

4/18/07 2.2 miles to US 501 and 1.5 miles to next shelter up. Just in and out today. Cough Drop met us at the trailhead this morning and took us to get something to eat. Yummy Tired Feet Cafe! Did some laundry, updated the blog, and I am getting back on the trail in a few hours.

Hope you enjoyed the update, talk to everybody soon. I can't believe I will be in W. Virginia in less than two weeks. I hit my 1/3 of the trail mark this week. Thanks again for all the love and support.

Love,

Kentucky Blue

I'm dreaming of a white Easter!

4/1/07 And we're back on the trail after a very nice rest in Damascus and much needed day off. Also decided to switch to trail running shoes after spending an hour talking to Dave at Mount Rogers Outfitters about my feet. I started hiking with a size 7 boot and I just purchased an size 8 wide trail runner. Go figure. Let's just say, I am beginning to feel my toes and feet again. That has to be a good sign. Bridgette dropped me and Guthook off at the trail in misting rain and a bit breezy. Hiked 15.4 miles to Old Orchard Shelter. I will finally say goodbye to Guthook for real today as he speeds up to finish his quest. I am posting a link to his blog along with a few other of my trail friends out here if you want to check out their pages. Made good time today even over the rocks of Grayson Highlands. What a beautiful area. There were even feral ponies. Check out the picture. Met tons of section hikers today, must be the weekend and spring break. Cough Drop decided he wanted to meet me at the shelter with my favorite tasty beverage - yeah pennsylvania lager. Give a little shout out to tanya on that one! We had a great night listening to the pouring rain.

4/2/07 14. 4 miles to Trimpi Shelter. Got into the shelter really early today. I was thinking of heading to the next shelter but Cough Drop said he would bring some more tasty beverages to the trail. How do you pass that up? Ran into sectionhikers again today that I saw near Damascus - Hannah the wonder dog accompanied them. They were heading on because it was such a nice day out. I was also Tau/Jennifer and Mouse Trap would catch up and hike with us for awhile. They both caught up and were excited about snacks and beverages provided by our favorite trail angel Cough Drop. Me and Jen decided to hike 22 miles to get to Atkins in one day instead of 2. Should be an awesome walk!

4/3/07 22.2 miles to Atkins, VA. Got up early and hiked out because it was supposed to be really hot and it was. 85 degrees out there, it's crazy. Sweating all day but what beautiful country we traveled. Me and Jen made great time and made it to Atkins by 2:15 where Cough Drop was waiting to take us to Martie's hostel - my new favorite place on the trail. Got my maildrop at Relax Inn and was ready for a fabulous dinner of grilled salmon and summer squash with fresh bruschetta as an appetizer and warm chocolate chip cookies for dessert. I even got to get my grill on as grill master for the evening. Really enjoyed spending time with Martie, Cough Drop and Tau.

4/4/07 2.5 miles to Davis Path Shelter. My old Atlanta roomie Joseph and his son Aaron made the trip to come hike with me for a few days. And they brought some cold weather. Ran into Mouse Trap at the trail where he was waiting for a maildrop that never came - that can be so frustrating! Me and Joseph and Aaron got on the trail around 5 and enjoyed Aaron's first backpacking experience. Ran into the section hikers again with Hannah and camped with them for the night. So happy Joseph brough marshmallows!

4/5/07 11.5 miles to Knot Maul Branch Shelter. Hiked another day with Joseph and Aaron. I am so proud of Aaron for walking over all those mountains to make it to the shelter. I don't know many 7 year olds that could do that - way to go slugger (his new trail name!). We crossed some grassy virginia fields but man did it get chilly out there. It wouldn't have been bad but the wind was whipping all around. We were happy to get into camp and in our sleeping bags! Tau and Cough Drop took a day off yesterday so they could hike in and join me tonight. Was happy to see they made it. Got down to 25 degrees that night - brr!

4/6/07 19 miles to Jenkins Shelter. Said goodbye to Joseph and Aaron as they were heading back to Atkins and we are all headed to Pearisburg. Man it was hard getting moving out of the bag but knew I would be warmer while hiking. Made good time up to Chesnut Knob (near 4400 feet) It was wicked chilly up there for lunch. Didn't stay long. Ran into Tau up there and she also wanted to keep moving. We have had flurries the past few mornings and it was looking a bit cloudy. Got into camp around 4 and the flurries starting coming down. Got about six inches that night. Cough Drop got in just as it was getting dark. If i thought it was cold last night, this one was chillier. It was beautiful outside!

4/7/07 Decided to sleep in a bit today and let it warm up a bit. Sun was coming out a little but the trail was covered in snow. Me and Tau decided to hike together today due to the snow. Made the mistake of following the section hikers tracks out of the shelter and winded up at this fishing lodge/retreat place. But thanks to Tau, made out with some hot cocoa and free lunch and lots of free food to take on the trail. Thanks so much to those folks - they were really looking out for us! After getting warmed up, we got back on the trail. It turned out that we may have been on the wrong trail for awhile but we still walked plenty of miles for the day and wound up where we needed to be on the AT. We were walking in knee deep snow drifts - it was amazing outside! Made it to the road near Bland, VA and man our feet were starting to get chilly as we both sent home our waterproof boots and have switched to the trail running shoes. They got a bit damp with the melting snow. Took us an hour to find a ride and we had almost given up and were just going to head to the next shelter as planned. Got a ride and we were so thankful to warm-up in Bland. My feet needed to thaw and dry out a bit. Called Cough Drop to let him know we stopped off for awhile to regroup. He actually answered the phone and said he was catching a ride and was going off the trail. We decided to go back to Martie's place, regroup and head out first thing tomorrow morning. Yeah warm bed, hot shower, and dry shoes!

4/8/07 Zero day! So me and Tau got up this morning, raring to go, or rather we were both contemplating how cold it was still outside and how the snow would be melting, our shoes would be soaked after 26 miles and how it was supposed to get down to 20 degrees again tonight. Oh yeah and it is Easter sunday and we both wanted to go to church. So at 6 am, we decided to take a day off so Tau could get over her cold and we could let some of this really cold weather pass. It is good for me to just go with the flow. We all know I struggle with changing plans but after going to church this morning, having a big breakfast and now relaxing on this day of renewal, I feel I made the right decision. My body is thanking me. And it is really windy out there today. Onward to Pearisburg tomorrow! Happy Easter everyone!

Here are the towns I will be at in the next month or so in case you want to check out on the map where I am at:

Pearisburg, VA 4/10

Daleville, VA 4/14 or 4/15

Waynesboro, VA 4/21 or 4/22

Harpers Ferry, WV 4/30 or 5/1

Also, here are my friends blog links:

http://www.trailjournals.com/guthook

http://www.trailjournals.com/jennilev

http://travelincoughdrop.blogspot.com

Love,

Kentucky Blue