Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Slackpacking Trip - Day 5

[up early today - found some energy! - left hotel at 0715 and drove east on VA-608 (looking for the places on the trail I couldn't find yesterday) - between 0730 and 0830, I hiked a section near Crandon (saw three solo NOBO men) - highlights included: seeing a hidden campsite (missed on the way up, saw on way back), encountered a "600" or "God" written in broken sticks in the trail, heard crowing rooster the whole time - headed east again to VA-606 and parked for more hiking (0845 to 0945) - had to cross a pretty stream on a swaying suspension bridge and climb some steep terrain again - I encountered the three NOBO hikers again (they looked confused about how I could have got there) and talked to one of them about his journey - signed another checkpoint log - when I got back to my car, saw several groups of hikers getting dropped off by shuttle services - explored near VA-611 but couldn't find the trail - headed back to US-52 and parked along the side of VA-612 to set up the next section for my hike (biked to the bottom of the hill, crossing I-77) - between 1025 and 1200, I hiked south on the trail to the highest point I could reach and then backtracked north to the other end of the valley - in the middle of this section, I saw more pick-ups and drop-offs with shuttles (at the Senior Center) - on the trail, saw three more solo NOBO men - took advantage of some fresh water (left at a trail magic checkpoint) - drove back to get my bike and then got on I-77 - drove towards Wytheville and got some lunch at Popeyes (1230) - took care of work emails and answered voicemails - back on the road (1330), headed south on I-81 to find the trail again - backtracked on US-11 when I found it (just beyond a rest area) - I was able to fit in another couple of miles near Atkins (exit 54) - during the roughly 1.5 hours I hiked in the hot sun, I enjoyed a flatter area of the trail with swaying grasses, pretty creeks and beautiful views of brightly painted barns (saw a NOBO couple, mother/daughter NOBO, pair of NOBO men, 2 solo NOBO man) - also encountered a train, crossing the trail with little warning (and a local man waiting to see it - he said it almost never passes) - when I returned to where I parked my car (1515), I realized that I had filled up with fuel at this particular gas station before (see JUL 2012) - got in my car and drove to Bristol, where I spent the night in the Skyland Inn on the Virginia side (1630) - watched TV and snacked (vice dinner) before heading to bed (2200) - total on the trail for the day was 6.28 miles (not counting biking or backtracks) and Grand Total for the A.T. is now 30.48 miles.]