Pamola's Quest - Push 13 - The Push to Rockfish Gap- Part 1

The Push to Rockfish Gap, VA (Push 13) - Part 1

The last Push was going to be a nice challenge.  I headed out of Daleville, refreshed with a heavy pack. I technically had enough food to get me to Rockfish Gap, but I was ready to change the plan if I needed to.  This Push would be 133.8 miles and would take me nine days to complete.  It would be a mixture of long days and some not so long days, with a very short and easy day at the end.  This would complete Phase III of Pomala's Quest.

Day 407 - 18.5 miles - Bobblets Gap Shelter
Day 408 - 14.6 miles - Hilltop campsite
Day 409 - 12.3 miles - Harrison Spring Camp
Day 410 - 13.1 miles - John Hollow Shelter
Day 411 - 18.3 miles - Brown Mountain Creek Shelter
Day 412 - 15.8 miles - Seeley-Woodworth Shelter
Day 413 - 20.4 miles - Maupin Field Shelter
Day 414 - 15.8 miles - Paul C. Wolf Shelter
Day 415 - 5.0 - Rockfish Gap

Walking Along the Blue Ridge

Once again I confirmed that motel beds are not as comfy as my hammock as my shoulder pain made sleep a hard thing to find.  I was up early and headed out after another nice motel breakfast.  The climb out of town wasn't bad at all and I switchbacked my way up the ridge and crossed I-81 and some railroad tracks.  I made steady progress and took a break at Fullhardt Knob Shelter.  Frolic was there eating and eWolf and Handstand came in later.  I got to talk to them for a while, asking how their hike was going.  I would end up leapfrogging them all day long.  

Even though the day was going to be a long one, it wasn't too hard.  We crossed the Blue Ridge Parkway a few times and got to see some nice overlooks.  The great thing about these overlooks is they usually have a trash can.  We like to be able to dump our trash as we go.  I didn't have a lot, but I made sure I had none when I walked into camp.

View

At the last overlook there was some trail magic.  Freight Train's wife and sister were there handing out snacks and sodas.  I enjoyed some of each and took a banana with me for a camp snack.  It was an awesome end of the day.  As I talked to them, they said that Freight Train had mentioned me and the water I had left him.  This was some good Karma at its best. 

I came to the blue blaze for the shelter and it was a .3 walk down hill.  I wanted the convenience of the morning  privy, abundant water and use of the table, so I headed down as the others set up camp up top.  The pickings were slim for tents and hammocks, but I found a descent hang near the shelter over a bunch of rocks.  It wasn't ideal, but it would do.  

Later some girl scouts came in and the camp had a good amount of hikers in for the night.  They were pretty good at finding places to set up.  

A New Experience

After that long day, I now had three days of what I now call short days.  All around 13 miles or so.  It's funny how your definition of long, short and regular days changes as your body adjusts to the rigors of being on trail.  When we started this Quest, a 9 mile day was a good day for us.  Now, that is considered a nearo. 

The first part of the day was nice and easy as we rolled along the Blue Ridge, with no climb being too steep.  I had planned to eat lunch at Jennings Creek as I knew the climbs were going to start after that.  I got there as eWolf and Handstand were heading out. 

I had a nice lunch and thought about taking a dip in the creek, but decided not to for some reason.  Another opportunity missed or not taken advantage of.  Oh well, I had some mountains to climb so I just got to it.

I made the one big climb of the day and headed down to Bryant Ridge Shelter, my original goal for the day.  I had read in the comments that there were not any good hanging spots and hardly any tent spaces, but that usually had not deterred me from finding a spot in the past.  

I arrived at the huge shelter and took a snack break.  I actually did set up my hammock in the shelter off to the side, just to see if I could as it had a large porch in front and to the side.  I was able to get it up, but the hang wasn't very good.  I could have moved it across the side porch to the other side for a better hang, but now I felt as if I would be intruding on other hikers use of the shelter.  Looking at the topo in Guthooks, I saw that as I climbed up the next mountain, there was a spot near the top that looked like it had a level area.  All I would have to do is find some trees.  

I decided to move on.  This was a new experience for me.  So far, during this Quest and all my hiking along the trails, I hadn't been forced to move on because I couldn't find a place to hang.  It was strange.  Even stranger, just the day before, Two Crows had asked me if I ever had trouble finding a spot to hang as planned and my answer then had been never.  That was no longer the case. 

I slowly made my way up the climb.  I was in no hurry, it was still early and I knew I wouldn't have to go too far to find a place.  Eventually, I came to the level spot and saw a perfect place to hang.  It had been used before, so I wasn't carving a place out of virgin forest.  I was just reusing a camp that had been used before.

I set up and rested in my hammock as the other hikers came by and said hello.  I had good signal up on the ridge, so I called LoGear to catch up. Later, as I was looking around I found an Deuce of Spades, an expensive cat hole digging trowel, that I had coveted, but didn't want to spend the money for.  A gift from the trail.  I packed it away and looked forward to trying it out in the morning.  

I would be alone again it the woods that night, but sometimes, there's no better place to be.  

Happy Birthday Mom

It was a peaceful night all alone in the woods and I heard Bigfoot screech early, before dawn, but I rolled out of the hammock thinking about my mother.  Today would have been her 86th birthday.  I sent a happy birthday wish out on the wind and started my day.  I would use thoughts of her to get me through the day, but it was going to be an even shorter one today, since I had to move on the day before.  I saw no reason to change the plan for today, even though I did look at my options.  

The Deuce didn't disappoint and I was on the trail early as usual.  First on the list of things to do was to find water as last night had been a dry camp.  I didn't have to go too far before I was able to follow a trail downhill to a spring.  It was a little bit of a walk, but a necessary thing to do.  

The big climb of the day was Apple Orchard Mountain.  It was fairly long and challenging, but at the top I stopped for lunch at an FAA Tower.  There were quite a few bugs around, but they didn't bother me too much.

Buggy mountain top

On the down hill I passed another feature of the Trail, the Guillotine.  It is an impressive rock feature. Not too long after passing that rock, I was rolling into camp.  It was a descent campsite with good water nearby.  It also had a lot of gnats that wanted to dive bomb your eyes, but I just retreated into my hammock to get away from them and relaxed.  The short day felt good.

The Guillotine

Looking at my food bag, I did have enough to get me to Rockfish Gap, but I was already feeling the calorie deficit.  I would feel a tiredness later in the day and my hunger was turn't up another notch.  I started thinking that a trip into Glasgow would be necessary to load up on some town calories and maybe add a few more to my food bag.  

Since tomorrow was my last short day, I would plan a Hero stop.  For me, that means getting into town, eat, resupply as needed and getting back on the trail all in the same day.  The letters h e r o didn't stand for anything, it was just something coined out here to go with Zero and Nero.  You become a Hero when you don't let the town suck you in.  

Glasgow Refuel

There was some heavy rain overnight, but it was all done in the morning with a drippy start.  My plan to get into town and get some food solidified as I moved along the Trail.  There was only one challenging climb before the long descent to the James River and the longest footbridge of the Trail.  

Along the way, I had a nice, close encounter with a deer that was using the trail, same as me.  She waited for me to turn on my phone and take a couple of photos before moving off and letting me pass.  

Deer on the Trail

I got to the River and crossed.  The road after the bridge was the one to town.  I headed to one of the parking lots and planned on putting my thumb out.  Just as I approached the lot, I saw a pickup with two guys in it and a canoe on top start up.  I asked the guy if I could get a ride into Glasgow and he waved me over.

James River Footbridge

I sat in the back, in a puddle of river water for the windy ride into town and hopped out when we got to the sleepy, small town.  I looked around a bit, then headed to Scotto's to refuel my body.  After a very nice, large meal, I headed out with a plan in mind.  

Dino in Glasgow

I decided that I could try to drop a  little more weight as this Phase was almost over and the lighter I could get my pack, the easier it would be.  I went by the post office and picked up a box then started heading to Stanimal's Hostel, that is just down the road.  On the way there a woman called me over to her car.  Luckily enough, she was the hostel innkeeper, named Donna and she agreed to mail the box for me on Monday (for a small fee, which I readily offered) and I also arranged a ride back to the Trail later, for another small fee.

She took me over to the town shelter, which is a nice free place to stay if that was your inclination.  I hung out with the other hikers as I got my box ready to go, took a nice shower and rinsed out some clothes.  There was even some tape I could use to seal up my box.  

Donna was a little early, but I was ready to go and I hopped into her car after throwing my pack in her trunk.  She took the box and promised to get it to the post office first thing Monday.  After another five mile twisty ride, we were back at the trail.  

I made my way just about a 1.7 miles up to the next shelter and set up camp.  Some rain rolled in at the end of the day, but I was all snuggled into my hammock and feeling good.  My stomach was full and the day had worked out perfectly.  

An Empty Trail

Usually, there are a group of other hikers, that I see for several days in a row.  Either during the day or in camp.  From time to time that group changes.  It it either from the faster hikers moving ahead or hikers taking a night in town or a zero here and there, so the people I hike with constantly change.  After passing a town like Glasgow, which is small, but offers lots of amenities, I found myself alone on the trail almost all day long.  No one passed me and I didn't come up on any resting hikers.  It was just me and the forest.    

Looking back at the James River

The several long climbs of the day were each negotiated in their turn and after a while, I found myself descending into down to the Pedlar River and a reservoir that I would hike around.  As I moved along, I saw that I wasn't alone anymore.  I was actually catching another hiker.  I caught Triple Rainbow at a bridge where I had planned a break and water refill.  She was nursing a sore knee, (hense my catching her) and I filled her water bottles for her.  We talked a bit and then moved out together.  

Top of Bluff Mountain, where they found little Ottie in 1891

I quickly moved ahead, not a common thing for me and the Trail was nice.  We moved along the reservoir along a contour line and it was easy going.  After a while I could hear the rumble of thunder as a storm approached.  Soon I was walking in a downpour.  The day had been warm enough that it felt very refreshing and it only lasted about 10 minutes.  

I finished the day walking through the dripping woods and arrived at the shelter area.  The pickings for a good hang were slim once again, but I found my trees and set up.  The area had an interesting history.  It seemed that a collection of freed slaves had homesteaded there back over 100 years ago and you could still see a remnant or two of their presence.  A rock wall here and there, but the forest had reclaimed most of everything else.  

A real lady bug checks out the Museum bandanna

Triple Rainbow came in and stayed in the shelter and a group of four also rolled in later in the day.  Today's long day of over 18 miles will be followed by a normal day of around 15 miles.  These mileages would rotate back and forth until I completed the Push and the Phase. 

Seeing The Light at the End of the Tunnel

Stay tuned as I continue to walk along, ready to finish this Phase and see my bride again.  I had had my fill of hiking and I was ready to return to the Other World and see what I had to do to fix my shoulder.  But before that could happen I still had miles to go, before I finished.  


Peace,
EarthTone and LoGear