Purcellville, VA (USA)

[I set my alarm for 0600 so I could get some Appalachian Trail in today - made it out to US-15 and got some gas - continued north until I located VA-7 - followed it out past Purcellville until reaching the area near Bluemont (Snickers Gap) - found a parking spot on VA-679 - the map said the David Lesser Shelter was around 10.5 miles away but I was not worried, figured I had it in me... - left my car around 0830, headed north - I found the Virginia / West Virginia border about two miles into the hike - everyone I saw this morning was SOBO (2 solos, 1 couple) - the terrain went up and down so many times that I lost track (crucial later) - when I finally got to a flat area, I encountered a sign that warned everyone that they had just left the "Roller Coaster" - I'd heard of this before but had thought it was between US-50 and VA-7 - hmmm.... - kept going through rocky woods - pretty flat - passed Blackburn Trail Center without stopping and walked another three miles until I reached my turn-around point from July 6 - I was still feeling good at this point, just a little tired and dehydrated - had more water with me, so I figured I was OK - on the way back towards my car, I chased a fast hiker headed SOBO but he soon left me behind - I eventually caught up to a family on a day hike and was tempted to see if they would drive me back to my car - kept going, though - I was definitely walking more slowly on the way back - I met up with several folks walking NOBO whenever I got "near" civilization - I even saw some rappellers on the rocks - it looked like fun - I reached about mile 18 for the day and I was pretty much spent - I was also out of water - as I pushed over at the top of the "Roller Coaster", I knew I was getting myself into some trouble but hoped for the best - it started out promising, with a huge downhill section - thought I would be OK but came to a large uphill - every step was painful and exhausting - I was winded and sore, even lightheaded - I would walk about 100 yards and stop for a rest on a big rock or log - I wanted to stop for good, but knew I had to make it back to the car - daylight was becoming an issue with every minute that I waited, so I kept going - eventually, I reached the top of what I thought was the last uphill climb - just then, I met up with a hiking couple who informed me there was still one more uphill to go - first, I headed down to the bottom of a ravine where a creek trickled through - by now, I was so thirsty that I filled up my bottle and drank tons of mountain water - I really needed that - the most interesting part of this last few miles was the fact that I was hungry but couldn't bring myself to eat - the last several hundred miles of the hike were only possible because I could hear the VA-7 traffic by then - when I finally saw my car again (1700), I knew I was lucky to have made it - 21 miles kicked my ass! - I drove back via VA-7 to Purcellville and got a big McDonald's drink before getting back on the road - also explored the end of the W&OD Trail - to get home, I used VA-7 all the way back to VA-28 - I had a good talk with the kids as I drove - made it to the house around 2000 and relaxed for a bit before bed - had no problem falling asleep - 10.57 miles on A.T. / 97.61 miles total]