So far Virginia has been pretty great. The leaves are beginning to grow on the trees, especially at the lower elevations. The views have been a little less frequent, but they are still breathtaking.
Coming out of Marion was a pretty easy 14.8 miles. The weather was hot and rather humid, but was still bearable. The thing that really sticks in my mind was how amazing it smelled. You would be walking along meadows and you could smell all of the wet grass and flowers blooming. I honestly can’t say I’ve ever had this kind of experience. That night Tetris, Ptarmigan, and I decided to go to the campsite with the privy. There were concrete blocks so I assume that it used to be a shelter. There were definitely a lack of good tent sites. This just meant we all had to pitch our tents close together. Not a problem unless you were next to the Tetris Chainsaw Massacre (he snores).
After the privy campsite we took a good 20 miler up to Chestnut Knob Shelter. The views from here were spectacular. It was definitely one of the more scenic campsites that I’ve had. There was also a good amount of climbing that day, so I slept pretty great.
The next day we got some good rain. I was pretty lucky though and managed to time it perfectly. By the time I got to the shelter for lunch it had been dry. Then the rain started but when I decided to push on the rain had passed mostly. That night we camped near Laurel Creek (I doubt the same one that made Laurel falls). It rained a good amount that night, but only until after I had my diner made and food bag hung.
The next morning Ptarmigan and I left in the rain. Tetris decided to stay in the shelter 4.4 miles back. Probably not a bad decision considering my tent was so wet. This added about 3 pounds to my pack but I was able to dry it pretty well. That day I had to get some food in Bland (what a name). It was and easy hitch to town and back out. The town was quiet and nice, but I did notice a Trump yard sign. We didn’t stay in Bland, we only hiked 2 miles out to the next shelter.
That night at Helvey’s Mill Shelter we received a good size thunderstorm. I managed to stay relatively dry. What was nice was that I had reception so I could check the radar and see that most the storm was passing quickly. A luxury for sure.
That day we went to Dismal Falls. It was a nice waterfall and swimming hole, unfortunately the weather didn’t favor swimming. It was quite cold and gray. Most of the day was nice and easy going. A lot of Virginia has been on ridge line it seems, so not a lot of large ups and downs but many little ones.
After the falls I had a 15.7 mile day into Docs Knob Shelter, where I opted to sleep in the shelter. There wasn’t a lot of good camping and I wanted to have an early start the next day. Ptarmigan opted for Woods Hole Hostel about 2 miles before and I didn’t know where Tetris was, he stopped before Dismal Falls the night before.
Today I got the early start I wanted heading into Pearisburg. It wasn’t quite a nero at 9ish miles but it didn’t feel like much. Tonight I’m at the Holiday Motor Lodge with Polar Bear. We’ve been running into each other the last few days and I didn’t want my own hotel room. The place is definitely past its prime and feels quite run down, but at least the price was right. After I got into town I just had to get my food figured out for the next 5 maybe 6 days. This will be enough to get me all the way to Daleville where I’m getting my new shoes sent.
A few people have decided to zero tomorrow in Pearisburg, but I don’t think I need the break yet. My legs feel good and my feet are happy, so I don’t see too much of a reason to stop. I like it more on the trail anyways.