Post #24 Vistas and Ponies

On October 18, Anita and I had a pleasant surprise. Her sister, Erica, saw my blog post that was published the previous evening and called to let us know that she and Bryan were visiting Michael in Bristol, TN. This was only 45 minutes from where we were staying and they invited us for dinner. We enjoyed a pleasant evening meal followed by a little tour of Bristol, the birthplace of country music, led by Josh and Michael.

  On Monday morning Anita and I said goodbye to each other as I continued my hike south and she started her journey back to the north country.  

It was just a few days ago that I used to gaze across the valleys at the adjacent mountains which were all robed in green. Now those hills have shed their green robe and wear a purple cloak. During my ascent into the 5400’ Grayson highlands area, I noticed how the entire trail is now buried beneath layers of freshly fallen leaves. On a dry calm day, the slightest breeze makes hundreds of red, yellow, orange, and brown leaves begin their erratic journey to the forest floor. The sound of them fluttering and bouncing off tree branches and then landing on top of other dry crunchy leaves sounds like a shower- a leaf shower. These leaves conceal many dangers to my feet and ankles: Marble-like acorns, small tree stumps, rocks, tree roots, and at a few locations the most hideous of all dangers… cow patties. So I now have to exercise more caution than before.

I wish I could adequately describe the aromas of autumn. Some would say the fallen leaves have a sweet musky smell while the freshly mown hay field that I walked through smells sweet to me. And of course, the fragrance I smell while traversing a cow pasture is…….you guessed it: sweet digested hay. My vocabulary is woefully inadequate. You will just have to get out and let your olfactory gland enjoy this aromatic experience.

The Grayson Highlands remind me of the western part of this country. There are thousands of acres of open space, full of weeds, grass, brush, and rock outcroppings. There are smaller trees with lots of open space between them, featuring grazing longhorn cattle and wild ponies, and there are spectacular views of mountains and valleys, 30-40 miles away. If Anita were to make a card depicting the vista from the highlands, she would have to use 7 layers of paper to depict the mountain ranges that I saw from there. I just can’t use enough superlatives to describe the beauty of the area. This is definitely my favorite part of the AT so far.

During my journey from Grayson to Damascus, I spent an enjoyable evening camping and sitting around a campfire with Rock Steady and Water Boy, both recently retired engineers doing their own section hikes.

Damascus, VA calls itself “Trail Town USA” with good reason. In addition to the AT passing through the center of town, the popular 37 mile long Virginia Creeper bike path also bisects this village of 1500 residents. I counted at least six bike rental outfitters that offer shuttle services to the trail’s end. The cyclists then have a relaxing, downhill ride on a former railroad grade which follows Laurel Creek back to town.

Each May, except when there is a pandemic, 30,000 visitors converge on this small village for their annual Trail Days weekend celebration. There are food and gear vendors, story tellers, live music, and backpacking workshops. Thousands of former thru-hikers, grouped together by the year they hiked, participate in the hikers parade.

One of the highlights of my Damascus visit was that I got to pick up the new shoes and absentee ballot that were waiting for me at the post office. While doing that I also made reservations at the Boots Off trail hostel for Saturday and Sunday. This is 30 miles away, a two day journey.

It was when I was back in the mountains that I realized I had misinterpreted my trail app and the hostel is actually 40 miles away. Not only that, but if I wanted supper the next evening, I had to be at the hostel before 6:00 so I could catch their evening shuttle into town. If I had cell service I could have changed my reservation, but as things were, my only option was to convince myself that my legs are strong enough and I am in better physical condition than I was three months earlier. 18.5 miles later, I arrived at my destination for the day about the same time as a group of five SoBos (who were also heading for Boots Off). It was dark by the time we finished supper, but while I was ready to relax and recover from my longest day, they donned their packs and headed to the next shelter, an 8 mile night hike away!

The next day I needed to cover 23.5 miles and hoped to arrive at Boots Off around 5 pm. I can walk an average of two mph, so this meant I did my first night hiking -from 5:00-7:30 am on Friday morning. I made the rookie mistake of not replacing my headlamp batteries the previous evening, while there was enough light to see what I was doing. So 40 minutes after I started walking, I found myself standing in the middle of a woods on an overcast pre-dawn morning in the pitch dark. Since I didn’t even know how to open my headlamp to change the batteries, I was thinking I may have to just park my sorry butt on the trail and wait a couple of hours for daylight. But before I resorted to just waiting, I decided to see what I could do blindly. As my hand slid into my electronics bag in search of the replacement batteries, my fingers could feel the USB cords, phone charger, and battery block to recharge my phone. My phone, my phone, my phone…”Hey, my phone has a light!” Problem solved! I was back to following the beam of my headlamp three minutes later.

Night hiking is the epitome of tunnel vision; focusing on that small illuminated area, seeing nothing else to the left, right or above, desperately trying to avoid the path hazards listed above. I’m fortunate that this section of trail is smooth and relatively hazard free. Night hiking through pastures and hay fields can be challenging if there are not enough trail marker posts. Remember, I’m the guy that followed a cow path through a pasture instead of the trail in broad daylight!

To successfully complete this long day, I forced myself to take a five minute break every hour, give my legs and feet frequent massages, and most importantly, remind myself that I was feeling good and could do this. Perhaps I’m learning what endurance athletes know- overcoming fatigue requires mental discipline. I also had to overcome my preconceived ideas of when my muscles would be tired. I arrived at Boots Off at 5:20 pm.

Boots Off hostel seems to focus on the whimsical and rustic Appalachian outdoor living. The shower is a small wooden structure with a unique mixing shower head (see attached photo). I spent the first night in their tent cabin, a 12’x14’ shoe wall tent with a queen size bed and cot, table and chair, lp heater, mini-fridge, lights, and a covered deck with porch furniture. I spent the second night in a tiny 8’x10’ cabin with a queen size bed and mini-fridge. Guests hang out at the large fire pit surrounded by log benches. There were also picnic tables on the deck and in the enclosed porch that has been converted to a rustic kitchen.

During last night’s resupply shuttle trip to town, I asked a fellow hiker where the next resupply would be. When he said “Erwin”, I was caught off guard; Erwin is where my northbound hike ended in April, and I’ll be there in a week. Yikes! The end of my hike for the year is coming into view. I will only have the Smokies to do after I get to Erwin. It’s time for me to start finding work back home for the rest of the fall and winter.

Until next week.

And the answers to last week’s crossword puzzle.