Brenna had warned me that the insulation in her apartment was really bad and that it might be cold overnight. She was NOT kidding - brrrrr! I didn't get much sleep and was wide awake by 0600. Since Brenna wanted to sleep late, I got ready to leave without disturbing her. I headed out of Harrisonburg by 0645. On the way, I listened to more Moth Radio podcasts and texted with Mollie (so she'd know my ETA). To get to Blacksburg, I used I-81 and US-460 - traffic was light but it was really cold (30s) and windy again. I arrived at Mollie's apartment at 0845 and picked her up. We drove through Blacksburg until we reached Our Daily Bread Bakery and Bistro and went inside just after they opened (0900). It was already really crowded and we had trouble getting food quickly enough to find a table. The place reminded me of La Madeleine, one of our favorite breakfast spots in NoVA... We had a nice conversation and made plans to meet up when I was on my way back home. We finished eating at around 1000 and got back in the car. We then did some shopping at Kroger (Mollie had a social event later). After finished that activity, we drove a short distance to see her new apartment (for the 2022-2023 school year). It was located in a nice area and there was a big recreational area nearby. We ended up taking a walk in Blacksburg Municipal Park for about 45 minute in the cold, windy air. After that, I drove Mollie to her friends' house on the northeast side of Blacksburg and said goodbye to her. I departed town by US-460 but stopped for gas at Shell in Christiansburg (1100) before getting on I-81 again. Listened to more Moth Radio hour and then some music while I was driving. Decided to visit another Virginia State Park so got off the Interstate at Abingdon and then used ALT-US-58 to drive to the northwest. When I reached the town of St. Paul, I found signs directing me to a part of the Clinch River State Park. It was actually SO new that it had no real infrastructure or Visitor Center. But I figured out that it did have a more mature unit: the Sugar Hill Trail System. I parked at the trailhead just after 1300 and took a scenic walk for over an hour. Apart from a nice gravel bike trail, most of the other tracks were almost impossible to see due to lack of foot traffic. As a result, I found myself in some places where I was actually bushwhacking. This might normally have been OK but the drop-offs next to the trail didn’t look very forgiving... Fortunately, I eventually found the major landmark of the site: the ruins of a cabin, built in the late 18th Century by some intrepid pioneers, at the top of the huge cliffs overlooking the Clinch River. There was some good signage in that area and it appeared that anyone brave enough to settle in the area earlier than the 1790s was almost guaranteed to be killed by Native Americans because it was beyond the established frontier line. While I was alone up there, I tried to imagine myself working fields and tapping maple trees in the middle of the deep forest, miles from neighbors... Made my way down to the river by another lightly traveled trail and encountered the only other park guests I saw during my visit: a friendly, young, local couple with their dogs. I told them they were lucky to have such a nice nature area near their home and they agreed. Got back on the road at 1445 and retraced my route on US-58 (back to the east). Then took VA-71 to Gate City (to the southwest). Listened to audiobooks on the way. Switched to US-23 and took it to I-26, then got on I-81 and drove west to US-25E. Crossed Douglas Lake (water level VERY low)... Brenna called and we talked about my trip and preparations for the next day. I continued south until I reached US-321 and used it to get into Newport (TN). Passed I-40 and ate dinner (inside the restaurant) at Bojangles (1655). Afterwards, drove back towards the Interstate and checked into the Quality Inn (1745). Repacked my bags (including backpack) and read more information about the section I was hiking. Before bed, I listened to some more audiobooks. Asleep by 2215. Glad I got some more outdoor time during my long drive - but the real test of my hiking abilities starts tomorrow morning...
